If you’re like me and you’ve listened to a lot of audiobooks, you might transpose your sense and understanding of one narrator associated with a particular author onto other authors when that narrator shows up later. So maybe John Lee’s presence on an audio addition of Lord Jim makes it feel like Jo Nesbo has just written that novel. Or maybe Simon Vance reading a contemporary British novel makes you feel like it’s written by Patrick O’Brien, Anne Rice, or Naomi Novik. And of course Frank Muller, Steven Weber, and Will Patton will forever be Stephen King in my mind along with a few others.
So about the first time that Charles Dickens writes the word “Horrible” coming out of Scrooge’s mouth and hearing Jim Dale in his familiar Hermione Granger voice say “Hoowible”, it turns out J.K. Rowling has written A Christmas Carol.
There’s plenty of other editions of this book and as much as I like Simon Prebble, having Jim Dale read this feels perfect. His familiar voice, but also the relative clarity and modernity of Dickens’s writing in this novel, and the deeply deeply familiar material makes this a joy. I have to admit that I am more and more Scrooge as I get older, hoarding my time off and holiday cheer and not my money. But then again, I think enjoying the festivities of the Cratchett household or the party at Fezziwig’s sounds infinitely more enjoyable than the weird ritualistic repetition of holiday movies, commericials, consumerism, and other things that makes me like Christmas less and less each year.
But I will tell you that I’ve only ever seen It’s a Wonderful Life one time, and I loved it and recall watching it in like June. So maybe that’s something I can still have.
My argument, speaking of Jim Dale and JK Rowling is that despite recent chatter about Harry Potter being Halloween movies is that they are all Christmas movies — as is, wait for it……The Addams Family.
(Photo: https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Carol-Charles-Dickens/dp/1400086035/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=a+christmas+carol+jim+dale&qid=1576684987&sr=8-1)