Mention Books Toward Marly's Ghost
| Original Title: | Marly's Ghost |
| ISBN: | 0803730632 (ISBN13: 9780803730632) |
| Edition Language: | English |
David Levithan
Hardcover | Pages: 176 pages Rating: 3.19 | 1526 Users | 248 Reviews
Narrative Conducive To Books Marly's Ghost
I have VERY mixed feelings about Marly's Ghost. This is a 'remix' of A Christmas Carol, set around Valentine's Day where a 16 year old guy who's girlfriend has recently died is being a 'scrooge' about love. I think that's fairly expected, personally. He's then visited by the ghost of his dead girlfriend (this is just 4 months after her death, mind you. Nice) who is weighed down by a chain of objects because he won't let her go or move on. FOUR MONTHS. There follows three ghosts who show him things that turn him into a different person overnight, as the story goes.Now, my first impressions were bad. This book made me very uncomfortable. We start with a very heart-wrenching scene of Marly's death and Ben's despair. Ultimately the purpose of this story is that remembering loved ones who've passed is good, but you have to let yourself live on. This is a good and powerful message. BUT this story is a sentence for sentence 'translation' of the original text (which I actually read last week, so was fresh in my mind), and these teenagers speak like Victorian kids even though it's set in modern day. It all felt so strange! If Levithan had taken the story and adapted it into his own novel then fine, but sticking SO closely to the original structure AND language made it weird, and it felt like a bit of a joke. When the token/mandatory gay couple (this is a Leviathan book after all - I'm all for diversity in books, but these characters were strangers and had no relation to Ben and Marly at all) turned up called 'Tiny' and 'Tim' it felt even more surreal and 'jokey'. And a story about a 16 year old girl losing her battle with cancer shouldn't feel like that.
The message itself is a good one, and I did have a lot of sympathy for the character. I had less sympathy for the 'friends' who were trying to force him along to a Valentine's party (did I mention it had been four months?) In his own acceptance and growth at the hands of the ghosts Ben turns out some powerful lines, and I definitely felt for the character (in a way you'd never feel for the original Ebenezer, although I think that's kind of the point of a 'Scrooge'). These powerful moments is why I gave this two stars instead of one, but overall all I can say is that this book didn't 'feel' right.
This book was provided by the publisher for review. This hasn't influenced my opinion in any way. Obviously.
List Based On Books Marly's Ghost
| Title | : | Marly's Ghost |
| Author | : | David Levithan |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 176 pages |
| Published | : | December 1st 2005 by Dial |
| Categories | : | Young Adult. Fantasy. Romance. Contemporary. Fiction |
Rating Based On Books Marly's Ghost
Ratings: 3.19 From 1526 Users | 248 ReviewsEvaluation Based On Books Marly's Ghost
1? 1,5? 2? Why it's so hard for me lately to rate some books? This just isn't for me. It was boring, and from the characters dialogues I would say they were 60 years old, no 16Marly's Ghost is David Levithan's take on Dickens' A Christmas Carol with a twist. Rather than focusing on Christmas, Marly's Ghost focuses on love and Valentine's Day. While I really enjoyed reading more of David Levithan's work, I felt that this book was a bit unoriginal in plot. It sticks very closely to the original work and was very predictable. I never found myself truly captivated by the story though I was interested in some of the events that took place in the past, present and future.
I'm not sure whether I should've read this at Christmas or closer to Valentine's day? The whole tone was...odd. I appreciated what ti was trying to do, but the actual story I felt was a bit lacklustre. Also, I haven't read Will Grayson, Will Grayson (and never intend to) so Tiny's significance went over my head meaning I wasn't too connected with the characters to begin with.
Marly's Ghost is a reimagining of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens but it is set on Valentine's Day rather than Christmas Day. Ben's girlfriend Marly dies and he has become bitter and no longer believes in the goodness of love. Marly's ghost turns up and brings three other spirits with her for Ben to experience Valentines past, present and future. We learn from the author's notes that he translated the original work section by section. I think that's an intriguing method and it does mostly
This book is based closely on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, so much so, that some of the ghosts' dialogue was taken one to one from the original and Dickens is listed as a co-author. The story is about an 18 yr old who has lost his girlfriend and no longer believes in love and friendship (symbolised by valentine's day*). The book was well written and the sense of grief and loss was eloquent and painful. The fresh take on the original made me realise just how good and multi-year Dickens'
I have mixed feelings about Marlys Ghost, I was quite disappointed with this book. Bens girlfriend Marly dies and he becomes bitter and no longer believes in the goodness of love. Marlys ghost turns up and brings three other spirits with her for Ben to experience Valentines past, present and future. This is a modern day retelling of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens with a Valentines twist to it.Read Full Review Here
Marly's Ghost is a modern day retelling of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens with a Valentine's twist to it. I haven't read the original Dickens story but I am familiar with the story so I'm glad it ended up being a pretty great book.The story revolves around Ben (Ebenezer) who lost his girlfriend Marly due to illness. Her death made Ben bitter and uncaring about love and even his friends, until Marly's ghost send three spirits to Ben. That's where the remix of A Christmas Carol really
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