Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

A Christmas Tree by Charles Dickens is our
December 2021 Short Story/Novella Read.

This discussion will open on December 1

Beware Short Story Discussions will have Spoilers

I listened to this audiobook mid November on my daily commute. I gave the story 3 stars. It was interesting to hear all the literary references. I think that this story was surprising because suddenly ghost stories appeared in the middle of what seemed to be an old man traveling back in time to childhood memories.

Poor Charles Dickens. .. I think A Christmas Carol is one of the best things ever written. I cannot help but compare all of Dicken's writing to that masterpiece. A Christmas Tree does not have the plot development or characterization that I expect from Dickens. It felt more like reading a list. Still it was enjoyable and a solid 3 stars in my opinion.

A short read. Cannot compare with his other works, more like a personal essay.

It was interesting to know how Christmas trees used to be decorated!

Anjali wrote: "A short read. Cannot compare with his other works, more like a personal essay."

I agree about the personal essay. It was like a tour through his childhood memories.

I read this last year, and agree it read like an essay, but thought it revealed an interesting, kind of melancholy side to Charles Dickens.

Do the ghost stories serve as a memento mori here? A reminder of mortality?

I enjoyed this, particularly the ghost stories. It had a feeling of sitting around the fire and each person trying to tell a tale to outdo the last person's. We used to do that as kids, so it had a feeling of nostalgia. I will freely admit that we never, ever had a tree like the ones he describes. Ours were all tinsel and electric lights and, while there were ornaments, there was nothing like the toys he lists.

Sara wrote: "I enjoyed this, particularly the ghost stories. It had a feeling of sitting around the fire and each person trying to tell a tale to outdo the last person's. We used to do that as kids, so it had a..."

Yes! It was a common pastime in my family, too, to sit around after dinner and tell ghost stories. It was especially exciting when cousins, aunts and uncles came over for the holidays. I had actually forgotten about this until I read this story; it was heartwarming.

I also really enjoyed Dickens's description of The Mask that he was terrified of. I had forgotten about the strange fears I used to develop as a kid, especially to very ordinary things. I remember developing a fear of a battery-operated toy bus that sang children's rhymes! Oh, and clowns. Just as Dickens said, I remember them as an 'era' in my life, such was the intense fear. :) I guess it may be because I haven't read Dickens much, but I was blown away by this astute observation of his about childhood fears.

Sneha wrote: "Yes! It was a common pastime in my family, too, to sit around after dinner and tell ghost stories. It was especially exciting when cousins, aunts and uncles came over for the holidays. I had actually forgotten about this until I read this story; it was heartwarming."

We were a very large family and when cousins were over we all slept in a large room in the back. The older children would tell scary stories, and we younger ones would lie awake all night watching the shadows in the room while they slept. I love the way Dickens can pull up buried memories.

Sara wrote: "Sneha wrote: "Yes! It was a common pastime in my family, too, to sit around after dinner and tell ghost stories. It was especially exciting when cousins, aunts and uncles came over for the holidays..."

Haha, yes, my memories are very similar!
It's true about his skill at unearthing these memories :)

From what I am reading, the ghost story telling is not a memento mori created by Dickens but an actual Christmas tradition I did not have. Does anyone know if that was traditional in Dickens' time or something developed afterwards?

Sam wrote: "From what I am reading, the ghost story telling is not a memento mori created by Dickens but an actual Christmas tradition I did not have. Does anyone know if that was traditional in Dickens' time ..."

This is a really interesting question. I had never given it thought in this direction - that this could be a common Christmas tradition rather than just something my family does. I looked it up and after some rabbit-hole-like reading, what I understand is that this was an old tradition starting with the pagan tradition of Yule. It does have some connection, as you pointed out, with thoughts of death and the end of life that is encouraged by the end of the year. But looks like it was Charles Dickens who brought it back and made it a mainstream tradition in his time.

Since I am new to Goodreads, I haven't yet figured out how to attach hyperlinks here to the articles I read. I'll leave the links below anyway, and if they don't work, I hope you can copy-paste them on your search engine or something, and give it a read :)

Here are two articles that I found interesting:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/histor...

https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/ch...

Both articles were quite interesting, Sneha (and both links worked perfectly). Thanks.

Sneha wrote: "Sam wrote: "From what I am reading, the ghost story telling is not a memento mori created by Dickens but an actual Christmas tradition I did not have. Does anyone know if that was traditional in Di..."

Thank you very much. I think the whole subject of ghost stories and Christmas fascinating.

Sneha wrote: "I also really enjoyed Dickens's description of The Mask that he was terrified of. I had forgotten about the strange fears I used to develop as a kid, especially to very ordinary things. I remember developing a fear of a battery-operated toy bus that sang children's rhymes!..."

I like this Sneha. We recently had to get rid of a Minnie Mouse doll that my niece had in a stroller because of a nightmare she had. Kids' imaginations are wonderful, but they sometimes cause strange fears!

And the old pagan Yule tradition of telling ghost stories is quite fascinating! I had never heard this before.

For me, the very long listing of toys and decorations in the beginning isn't as engaging as a story would be, though it does have occasional highlights.

Even so, I suppose Dickens makes a giant list like this about as interesting as it could be. And it's kind of a curiosity to know what kinds of things Victorian kids played with and put on the tree.

I haven't gotten to the ghost stories yet, only read about a quarter of it so far.

Sneha wrote: "Sam wrote: "From what I am reading, the ghost story telling is not a memento mori created by Dickens but an actual Christmas tradition I did not have. Does anyone know if that was traditional in Di..."

That is interesting. In my personal experience, I have no history whatsoever of anyone in my family telling ghost stories, much less at Christmas. There were some ghost stories at Girl Scout Camp, but that's about it. Maybe that is why horror is one of my least favorite genres.

Lynn - My family doesn’t have any traditions of ghost stories at any time of the year, either. I don’t like horror either. 😆

My sister was an amazing teller of ghost stories, and she would make the coat hanging on a door knob into an intruder that left you literally frozen and afraid to move. But, perhaps that is why I like them, Lynn.

It is interesting how this tradition has survived in some families and not in others.

Really enjoyed the second half after the ghost stories started - felt more like Dickens after the list ended and it settled into some narratives.

I also loved the hopeful ending about looking to the top of the tree, putting things in perspective and remembering what was important.

A very nice read.

A first reading for me despite being a Dickens’ fan.

Like others, I felt the story was split in two parts: listing objects and the ghosts stories. I love history so every little detail fascinated me, but it didn’t truly satisfy me as a short story; more an insight into Victorian life and Dickens’ memories.

The object listing reminded me of the food listed in ‘A Christmas Carol’ when the Ghost of Christmas Present appears.

Three stars awarded.

When my sister and I were young, we had a little plastic toy family called Circle People. After the tree was up and lit for the night, we would "drive" the family around to visit the objects on the tree - each of which was an old friend. The meant that each object had a back story and fond memories attached. I had forgotten that until I read the first part of this book. While the reading did inspire this remembrance, the list became a little tiresome to read. I did really like the ghost stories though. I am not usually a ghost story reader but maybe my love of A Christmas Carol made me more receptive of them at this time of year and/or from Dickens in general.

Shauna wrote: "When my sister and I were young, we had a little plastic toy family called Circle People. After the tree was up and lit for the night, we would "drive" the family around to visit the objects on the..."

What a lovely memory Shauna!

And I definitely agree that the ghost story half was much more gripping than the first half. I felt that way too.

Yesterday I've finished reading one book for a reading challenge, so I think it's time to catch up this Christmas' classic. I've avoided your previous commentaries to not reading possible spoilers, but I'll try to come here soon after reading it...

I'm afraid that for me this was a 2 star read. It just seemed to be missing some Christmas sparkle/joy. I remember a couple of years ago reading Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory" and it was such a delightful story that it was impossible not to feel joyful and nostalgic as you read it and maybe even a little envious of the wonderful Christmases that Capote had. Dicken's versión seemed a bit more like a tedious exercise for him.

While the ghost stories were an improvement, they still lacked that element of suspense and fear that truly makes such a story enjoyable to read.

Oh yes, A Christmas Memory is a wonderful read! Without the ghost stories, this one would be very ordinary, I think. We tend to expect a lot from Dickens because A Christmas Carol is the second greatest Christmas story ever told.

Sara wrote: "Oh yes, A Christmas Memory is a wonderful read! Without the ghost stories, this one would be very ordinary, I think. We tend to expect a lot from Dickens because [book:A Christmas Carol..."

Just curious Sara, if it's the second greatest, what's the greatest? Or do you mean the Biblical one? :)

Yes, Greg, the Biblical one...the reason for all the others.

Sara wrote: "Yes, Greg, the Biblical one...the reason for all the others."

Makes sense Sara.

Like Dickens' reminder toward the end of the story, the looking up at the top of the tree. I found the way he expressed it touching:

"O vanishing tree, of which the lower boughs are dark to me as yet, and let me look once more! I know there are blank spaces on thy branches where eyes that I have loved have shone and smiled; from which they are departed. But, far above, I see the raiser of the dead girl, and the Widow's son; and God is good! If Age be hiding for me in the unseen portion of thy downward growth, O may I, with a grey head, turn a child's heart to that figure yet, and a child's trustfulness and confidence!

Now, the tree is decorated with bright merriment, and song, and dance, and cheerfulness. And they are welcome. Innocent and welcome be they ever held, beneath the branches of the Christmas Tree, which cast no gloomy shadow! But, as it sinks into the ground, I hear a whisper going through the leaves. 'This is commemoration of the law of love and kindess, mercy, and compassion. This, in remembrance of Me!'"

That final sentence says it all for me. What Christmas has sometimes been, and ought always to be, is "love, kindness, mercy and compassion". It is the ideal we ought to reach for at least.

I just listened to the story while preparing vegetables for Christmas dinner and I agree that the ghost stories took up a larger part of the story than I would have expected. For me, it was tied together as he recollected Christmases past, starting with the simple toys of childhood, followed by more complex stories that inspired imagination. I suppose the ghost stories are a bigger section if they represent the stories adults tell each other? He ends by looking forward to the undecorated branches that lie ahead.

As for the ghost stories, that was never a tradition in my family, but it makes sense for Dickens. A Christmas Carol is certainly a ghost story, as is The Chimes, if I remember correctly. I suppose the "magic" we associate with Christmas today was more otherworldly at that time?

Just beginning this today on the morning after Christmas. My first impression is that it strongly resembles The Remembrance of Things Past, especially the initial scene of Swann’s Way where Proust describes lying in bed and watching the light play of a mobile overhead which prompts imagination and memories like the Christmas tree does here in Dickens.

Well, so much for first impressions. It switched gears halfway through into being a collection of short ghost story anecdotes. I liked the way the tree stood as a metaphor for the narrator’s life before and after those ghost stories. And the lower boughs representing the life yet to be lived was interesting. Some resonance with A Christmas Carol here, too.

I am a little disappointed with A Christmas Tree but I loved the closing paragraph: ..... I hear a whisper going through the leaves. " This , in commemoration of the law of love and kindness , mercy and compassion . This , in remembrance of Me ! "
I re-read A Christmas Carol last year and was once again captivated by the beauty of the novella and its beautiful message. A Christmas Tree didn't impress me as much .

Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year to all our members !
🔔🌟🎄🌟🔔

Savita wrote: "I am a little disappointed with A Christmas Tree but I loved the closing paragraph: ..... I hear a whisper going through the leaves. " This , in commemoration of the law of love and kindness , mer..."

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you also Savita!

Greg wrote: "Savita wrote: "I am a little disappointed with A Christmas Tree but I loved the closing paragraph: ..... I hear a whisper going through the leaves. " This , in commemoration of the law of love and ..."

Thank you so much , Greg !
🔔❄🎊🎄🎊❄🔔