Book Synopsis:
Charles Dickens should be looking forward to Christmas. But when his latest book, 'Martin Chuzzlewit', is a flop, his publishers give him an ultimatum. Either he writes a Christmas book in a month or they will call in his debts and he could lose everything. Dickens has no choice but to grudgingly accept...
My Review:
5/5 stars. This was a short and sweet Christmassy story. The plot was a little slow in the middle of the book, but the ending made up for it. The plot twist near the end was shocking and made my rating go up. As a writer, I can say that this book really captures the energy and joy you get from writing.
The character of Charles Dickens in this book was so relatable at times. As I writer, I know the love and attachment you get for your characters and your writing, something that Dickens expressed in this story. There were a lot of lines about writing and how it feels to write that I loved and related to. Even his fear of failure and wanting praise was relatable. Most writers are perfectionists - I definitely am - who don't like when their work is bad. This book felt like a love letter to the art and craft of writing.
On a similar note, the best way I can describe the way I felt while reading this book is that it was like a slow burn romance, but instead of waiting for the couple to get together, you're waiting for the book to be written. I felt the same frustration and anticipation over Dickens' lack of ideas and inability to write as I do with great, slow-burn relationships. The satisfying conclusion at the end is the words finally being put down on paper.
I loved how descriptive this book was. The imagery of the setting and characters was great. It was easy to picture what Dickens experienced because everything was described so well. The London sky at both night and day, the Christmas buzz in the air, the many different types and classes of people - it was all vividly and specifically detailed.
There were lots of little moments throughout the book - people he briefly meets or situations he's in - that were things from the actual A Christmas Carol book. While most of this inspiration he got was likely made up, it was fun to see little details like that. I always chuckled when something was mentioned that became a part of the book, or even Dickens' future books. It was almost meta - like when a TV show character mentions something about a cut character.
About halfway through the story, the plot felt a little slow. Things kind of dragged on a little bit. It was a lot of just Charles Dickens wandering around London and not doing any writing. The one thing that would make this book better is if the middle part was condensed slightly.
The ending made up for the slow middle. There was the resolution of Dickens' finally completing the book, as well as a big plot twist. I'm not going to spoil it, but it blew my mind. I wasn't expecting it at all, but it didn't feel out of nowhere. If I were to reread this book knowing the twist, lots of things would make sense and fit with it.
Content Warning:
Even though this is an "adult" book, it's perfectly okay for kids. There's no bad language, no sex, and no violence. There's a tiny bit of kissing and some romantic feelings described, but nothing bad. Some parts of the book might be sad for a younger audience, but this book is safe for all ages.
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