Skipping Christmas | John Grisham | A FUN WAY TO KILL A FEW HOURS. NOT A BAD READ AT ALL.

Skipping Christmas | John Grisham | Oh no! Not Christmas again!

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Skipping Christmas

	Skipping Christmas John Grisham Doubleday, 2002 - 177 pages average customer review:based on 906 reviews view larger image
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Imagine a year without Christmas. No crowded malls, no corny office parties, no fruitcakes, no unwanted presents. That?s just what Luther and Nora Krank have in mind when they decide that, just this once, they?ll skip the holiday altogether. Theirs will be the only house on Hemlock Street without a rooftop Frosty; they won?t be hosting their annual Christmas Eve bash; they aren?t even going to have a tree. They won?t need one, because come December 25 they?re setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. But, as this weary couple is about to discover, skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences?and isn?t half as easy as they?d imagined.

A classic tale for modern times, Skipping Christmas offers a hilarious look at the chaos and frenzy that have become part of our holiday tradition.

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A FUN WAY TO KILL A FEW HOURS. NOT A BAD READ AT ALL.

I am one of those few readers in the known universe that is not overly fond of John Grisham's legal thrillers. I do like the way the man writes though, and thoroughly love his novel, A Painted House. This work sort of falls into the category of "this is not a book I would seek out, but hey, I need something light to read."

The basic premise of this story is a wear couple, a successful couple, which has just shed their only child to a stint working for the Peace Corps in some South American Country. Christmas is coming on, with all the usually frantic spending, party going, visiting, dinners and (I can relate to this) the pain of decorating. In short, Luther Crank decides to skip Christmas all together, and talks his wife into taking a cruise instead; not party, not cards, not gift giving, no donations and no decorating. Of course you know the old saying; "the best laid plans of mice and men...." Thereby hangs the tale.

This is a rather light read and should be read as the author intended, sort of tongue in cheek. It is a fast read, one that you do not have to think about all that much and is amusing, although I must say, shows quite a lot of insight in to our psychic and our forced interaction with community and family. Much of the silliness that surrounds Christmas, many of the little quirks of this holiday are rather exaggerated by the author; but this is simply good story telling. I will do feel though, that by overly exaggerating the situation, the author makes some pretty good points and certainly will give you some food for thought. The overall story moves along at a very nice pace. Some of the interaction with neighbors and business associates can be pretty funny, and I must say, pretty typical.

Overall, this is a fun little read but if you choose not to take in all that seriously, then it becomes even more fun. I like it when an author strays from his or her normal genre, even though it seems that many fans almost seem betrayed. Give Grisham a break...at least he makes the effort to write something other than his normal fare.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

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Oh no! Not Christmas again!

Luther and Nora's life is in turmoil as their daughter, Blair, is departing to Peru with the Peace Corps for a year of charity work. Blair will even miss Christmas this year. With everything up in the air and uncertain old traditions come under question. Luther, an accountant, does a tally of last year's Christmas expenses and discovers that the whole thing cost over $3,000.00. Isn't Christmas just rampant consumerism? Isn't the whole holiday one mad rush, filled with stress as we worry that everything is just right? Couldn't this money be spent in a better way? Suddenly Luther has a 'brain wave' that this year he and Nora will just "skip Christmas". But of course nothing is as simple as it seems.

John Grisham normally writes lawyer and courtroom dramas, but this book is a strong departure from that genre. It is, so far, Grisham's only attempt at comedy. The book is not bad as a first attempt, however, it contains some flaws. The most clear failing is that the first half of the book is just too repetitive. There are three visits from the boy scouts, the ambulance and the police all following the same basic script. There are two calls from the stationary shop. I got the point of these incidents the first time round and I didn't need to have the idea repeated again and again like I was learning my times table. I felt that Grisham would have been much better off writing a novella, as he did with Bleachers, rather than trying to make this a full novel. Secondly having read the book I was left wondering a bit about its philosophy. What exactly is Grisham trying to say? After all doesn't Luther have a reasonable point? Isn't Christmas just too commercial? The ending seems deny this and reaffirm the 'glitzy' status-quo. Or does it? Well at least Grisham has made me think.

Don't get me wrong here: I am not saying this is a bad book. It is written in a very enjoyable style and I found myself liking Luther and Nora quite a lot. There are some chuckles along the way and the book certainly is good enough to fill a few empty hours.

In 2004 this book was made into the moderately successful film Christmas with the Kranks staring Tim Allen as Luther and Jamie Lee Curtis as Nora.

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Oh no! Not Christmas again!

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Oh no! Not Christmas again!

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