Review: an excellent way to usher in the holiday season
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 14, 2009
Josh Lanyon's novella "The Dickens with Love" is a story of love, redemption and holiday spirit that will both entertain and charm its readers. Basically, this is a Christmas story about a Christmas story; it is clever, well-written, and frequently humorous, and it captures the many facets of the holiday season. Within the pages of this story, we find Christmas cheer, seasonal depression, music both annoying and inspiring, fellowship and family, and that magical feeling of anticipation that comes no other time of the year.Lovers of Charles Dickens - actually book lovers, period - will find this to be a fascinating tale. What bibliophile doesn't dream of finding an undiscovered manuscript written by a master? Although the tale in question, "The Christmas Cake", doesn't exist, Mr. Lanyon has built up a solid story around it and has made its existence seem entirely plausible. He includes wonderful small excerpts from this fictional work, and although I cannot profess to be an expert on that author, these passages simply screamed "Dickens" at me. Of course, now I want to read The Christmas Cake, and it doesn't exist, darn it.Along with a very witty and well-paced narrative and an involving plot, Mr. Lanyon gives us a couple of almost irresistible main characters. First there is James Winter, the narrator of the story. There is no way that you cannot love this fellow, who is something of a loner and has a self-deprecating wit and a hint of sadness that will reel you right in to him. Then we have Sedgwick Crisparkle, great-great-great-grandson of Canon Crisparkle, a character in Charles Dickens' "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." He wears a stern demeanor like a mask, but under his many protective layers is a man who is has a lot of love to offer others.Mr. Lanyon has a way of making the reader feel the emotions of his characters. We laugh when they laugh, and we hurt when they do; we experience their ups and downs. During one memorable scene, Sedgwick calls James a whore in a fit of anger, and the effect is like a slap in the face. The overall effect that this had on me was that I became very invested in a happy ending for these characters.While "The Dickens with Love" is not a whodunit, Mr. Lanyon still incorporates an element of mystery to it as James investigates the Dickens manuscript and tries to untangle its background and origins. I found this process of discovery to be a very interesting and well executed addition to the story.  Overall, I truly enjoyed "The Dickens with Love." This story is smart, fun, and just plain entertaining, and I found reading to be an excellent way to usher in the holiday season.