A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Charlton Griffin's inspired reading of this 1843 novella should be mandatory holiday listening. In Dickens's hopeful—if supernatural—look at a person's ability to change, Ebenezer Scrooge believes Christmas is a humbug, a way to cheat an honest businessman out of a day's work. One night, he's visited by a ghost wrapped in heavy chains. The ghost of his former partner foretells the coming of three spirits and warns Scrooge to change his ways. Griffin's performance offers a fully realized Scrooge whose bad-heartedness is apparent from the first. Griffin brings warmth to the Cratchit family's cold cottage, and at Scrooge's nephew's home, he makes the party sparkle. Griffin manifests each spirit with its exact essence, and the reformed Scrooge is so genuinely happy that we believe he’s a changed man. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2010 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2009]