Customer Reviews

The Last Christmas of Ebenezer Scrooge: The Sequel to A Christmas Carol

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

You don't have to be a Dickens fanatic to enjoy this book. I was intrigued to find out what really happened AFTER Ebenezer Scrooges's Christmas Eve conversion from miser to man of charity.

Marvin Kaye gives full life to those who until now we've only glimpsed. A poor Jewish boy called Paulie is the lad who fetches the turkey for the ecstatic Scrooge when he wakes from his nightmare on Christmas Day. Tiny Tim grows out of his child "victim" status and into a compassionate and capable young man upon whom Scrooge relies. Bob Cratchit goes from strength to strength under the transformed benevolent influence of his former task master. Generally, the world is a better place now that Scrooge is about the business of sharing his wealth and personal charity. But still, something is not right, and the ghosts have not completely left the scene.

Kaye weaves a wonderful, surprising story complete with intrigue, mystery and even a bit of ancient Talmudic wisdom thrown in for good measure. While the writing is evocative of the period, it's accessible and flows easily, even for a dyslexic reader like me....

As an American who has lived in England for the past 11 years, I also appreciated how Kaye gives us the real flavor of English culture and language without being too precious about it. In short, The Last Christmas of Ebenezer Scrooge is a delight. Buy it, read it and recommend it to a friend!

Sequels to great and loved novels are the most difficult writing to pull off. Because no matter what you do, someone usually is unhappy with it. (Need I mention SCARLETT-- the sequel to Gone With The Wind?)
However, Mr. Kaye not only created a beautiful and touching story, but he doesn't even WRITE like Marvin Kaye. The metaphors, the descriptions themselves are pure Dickens-- not a copy of the master, but the use of language in the style made famous by the man called "the Shakespeare of the Novel".
Yet at the same time, the story is original. All the best loved characters are there, yet sublimely altered due to Mr. Scrooge's haunted evening. The story presents what Dickens himself suggested at the end of the original.
In this novel, Scrooge is called upon not only to make the world a better place, but to redeem Jacob Marley, as Marley did for him. It is an exciting tale, worthy to grace any bookshelf with the original.

My wife and I had the pleasure of being in the audience hearing the
author read his excellent book. Charles Dickens would be proud to have
his story continued in such an effective and entertaining manner. This
book provides a new dimension to Christmas season literature, building
skilfully on a well-known classic. It enthralls with delight, and is
recommended reading for all. Like a follow-up story in a newspaper of a
major event, it is so satisfying and interesting to find out what

happened to the people involved. The way the author adds to a holiday
legend
makes a great read!

Bill King
New York City

Don't worry if this Christmas the snow doesn't fall, and you can't put logs in the fireplace. Reading Marvin Kaye's book will put you in the mood for Christmas: immediately.

This comforting tale, written in elegant Dickensian prose, but with a touch of contemporary sensibility, is a delight. The Christmas Carol cast is reassembled and we meet the Scrooge we knew existed all along, the one we only glimpsed at in the Christmas Carol. It is always good to know there is a second chance, and the Jewish angle is interesting and timely without being preachy. The descriptions feel authentic and the dialogue is lively. It was a lovely read, and I was sorry to finish it.

THE LAST CHRISTMAS OF EBENEZER SCROOGE (Wildside Press) by Marvin Kaye is one of the most delightful and magical Christmas stories written. A sequel to Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Mr. Kaye has written a charming and poignant novel that revisits the scenes and characters of the Dickens classic, and gives the reader a glimpse of the Afterlife which Dickens' eluded to in his masterly tale of literature's greatest miser.

Mr. Kaye's style of writing evokes Dickens' own without imitating Dickens. It is a rapid moving story with the charm, surprize, mystery and insight of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, and a beauty and wonder all its own. THE LAST CHRISTMAS OF EBENZER SCROOGE is a masterpiece and should be read, annually, along with A CHRISTMAS CAROL. The wonder and grandeur of Christmas, and the true meaning of the Season, as exemplified in Ebenzer Scrooge, is the hallmark of this magnificant work.

Mr. Kaye is one of the most gifted and original novelists practicing his craft today. THE LAST CHRISTMAS OF EBENZER SCROOGE is a "must read". Don't miss it!!

I think of them as one-as two parts of a whole. Marvin Kaye's sequel to "The Christmas Carol" picks up Dickens's thread so effortlessly and so honestly and yet at the same time so originally. Mr. Kaye speaks with his own voice or else there would be only an echo of another's voice and there is no such echo in this story. There is instead a clear ringing of honesty.
Mr. Kaye does not immitate Dickens in any way, yet it is as though Mr. Kaye has walked in Dickens's shoes through the din and foulness of some of London's 19th Century streets, that they have spent many long evenings in front of a warm fire listening to one another well. It is not only a common shoe size these two authors share, they share too a kindred soul- a soul that reaches out to embrace their fellow-man bringing them together as brothers. The after-life court room scene is so vivid and convincing that I cannot imagine that Mr.Kaye has not indeed been there himself! The careful weaving of this story took me on a journey that brought me to a wonderful place of completion-a story which dropped me off further up the road than where it found me. I imagine Dicken's is very pleased with the "Last Christmas of Ebenezer Scrooge" and Mr.Kaye need not have any fears hauntings, but might feel perhaps instead a very pleasant patting on the back. This story for me shall always be the last chapter of "The Christmas Carol". I am full of warm hope and thankful Christmas spirits!

In this sequel to "A Christmas Carol," Jacob Marley was a Jew who converted to Christianity. Also, Scrooge spends the rest of his life helping others, including Jews. One of the Jews he helps is the boy whom he sent to buy the prize turkey as big as he was!

Inspite of the emphasis on Jewish history and philosophy, this story is brief and well written. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the original "Christmas Carol," as well as to Jews and friends of Jews.

Being a Dickens' fan for many decades, I picked up "The last Christmas of Ebeneezer Scrooge" with some trepidation, fearing that I would be offended by a copycat effort at reproducing a classic....an effort which one rightly dreads. To my utter delight, I found myself engrossed in Dickens' world and unable to put the book down. Marvin Kaye captures the feeling and spirit of "A Christmas Carol" and then carefully leads you beyond that into a world of spritual awakening and a search for redemption that keeps the reader involved, and, like every good mystery, eager to discover the solution.

I heartily recommend this book as a perfect Christmas gift for your friends who are discriminating readers, and a must for Dickens lovers!

"A Christmas Carol" is one of my favorite books. However, I've always had that "What happened next?" feeling plus a decided opinion that one great wrong had not been righted. Mr. Kaye has answered those questions and righted that wrong and done it in an engaging book that seemlessly picks up the original story. It stands on its own as a fine tale. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good read and especially to fans of Dickens.