Hey, you!
Last Wednesday, we had our book club discussion and it's sad but no one really loved the book. Boohoo. We need to seriously step things up in the coming months!
According to the Daily Mail, Mr. Dickens and His Carol is ....“This clever, original debut brilliantly imagines the writing of A Christmas Carol…Wildly moving, chock full of Dickensian atmosphere and written in a style as rich as a Victorian Christmas dinner.”
Uhmmmm ... 👀 Really Daily Mail?
Clever? Orginal? Brilliant? Wildy moving? Excuse me while I choke on my coffee! 🙄🙄
They sure know on how to exaggerate things.
Art imitates life imitates art. Why not? The idea sure sounded good. We all know Mr. Dickens and his carols have been told and retold. So a book on how the classic came to be is an interesting idea, unfortunately it just never took off for me.
There's a certain appeal to it that I can understand why some muay have it enjoyed it, but personally I found it plain boring. Someone in our book club group mentioned a twist and I had to double-check - there was a twist?? I literally force myself to finish the book for our book club discussion. And that's never good.
Book Club Questions:
Were you familiar with A Christmas Carol before reading this book?
Do you think it's necessary to read A Christmas Carol before reading this book?
How do you feel about Mr. Dickens' portrayal in the book?
What do you think of Mr. Dickens being portrayed as some kind of womaniser?
Do you like books of "art imitating life imitating art"?
What were the main themes of the book? How were those themes brought to life?
Were there any quotes (or passages) that stood out to you? Why?
What did you think of the twist?
What do you think of Samantha Silva's writing style?
How did the book make you feel? What emotions did it evoke?
How did you feel about the ending?
How have the characters changed by the end of the book?
Have any of your personal views on A Christmas Carol changed because of this book? If so, how?
In her author’s note, Silva writes: "I’m keenly aware that a good biography tells us the truth about a person; a good story, the truth about ourselves." What do you think she means?