Customer Reviews

Skipping Christmas (Windsor Selection)

5 star:		(382)
4 star:		(240)
3 star:		(100)
2 star:		(71)
1 star:		(155)

 

 

OK, it's not your typical Grisham courtroom drama but, once again, he makes a plausible argument for "skipping Christmas" in his latest book of the same title. "Bah Humbug", I said, when first hearing about the book's premise until the plans surrounding the main characters' scheduled departure for the Caribbean sounded so enticing that it left me wondering if they might take me along.

While this book is not about doing away with Christmas forever, it's one couple's desire to just skip it, for just one year, and spend the money on a cruise instead. And, why not? Their only child Blair has just left for a stint in Peru with the Peace Corps and they are looking at spending their first Christmas alone in a very long time. But skipping Christmas entirely means not doing anything "holiday" related at all - no cards, no presents, no holiday parties and, most importantly, no rooftop Frosty...the "symbol" of Christmas in their Hemlock Street neighborhood in Illinois. But Luther and Nora KRANK are about to find out what the true "symbol" of Christmas really is -- whether they like it or not.

While their friends and neighbors are appalled at their decision to forego the Christmas festivities, Luther and Nora remain stalwart in their resolution of "no Christmas for the Kranks." Grisham throws some humor into many of the scenes as he has the Kranks hiding out in their own home as carolers sing Christmas songs on their lawn and then has them eating lettuce leaves in an effort to lose weight for the trip.

But it's the end of the book where the true meaning of Christmas will be exhibited. It's not money spent or gifts bought or Frosty's on the roof. It's much simpler and easier than that. The Kranks will find out that the true meaning of Christmas, in Grisham's story, is that of giving...giving of yourself. And, you'll have a good time reading how they get to this point and hoping, just as I am, that all of us will come to this realization during this upcoming holiday season.

...is to be able to skip it.

Who hasn't said one time or another something to the effect of "next year, let's keep it simple...let's go away for Christmas without family and friends." John Grisham's "Skipping Christmas" is a fantastic, light-hearted story about how we all feel every Christmas...rushed and broke. This pleasant and quick-to-read tale is a MUST for anyone who needs to take some time out during the holidays for a little bit of "brain candy." I took this book with me on vacation with me last week and was able to read it within a day.

Grisham is a comedian, it's a nice breath of fresh air. Everyone should read it...because in the end there's a positive message ringing to the tune of "this is what Christmas is really all about."

We've all been fed up with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season at one time or another. This book shows that feeling this way isn't necesarily a bad feeling but it's not what the holidays are all about. The lead character is Luther Krank, a man totally mad that he is going through another boring, debt-filled Christmas. He thinks if he ignores the holiday completely and goes on a cruise instead that it will pass un-noticed. He learns through trials and tribulations that money and crowds and last minute shopping are not at all what Christmas is about. Rather, friendship and family makes our lives worthwhile!! A treasure of a book that i'd highly reccommend to all and I will probably find myself reading every year at this time!

For the legions of fans anxiously awaiting John Grisham's latest thriller, this will probably be pretty unsatisfying. Me, I'm not a big fan of his thrillers, and am glad to see him branching out more and writing the sorts of books I enjoy reading, with The Painted House, and now this. Plus, I'm a sucker for Christmas stories.

Like most Christmas stories, this isn't groundbreaking literature. It's as familiar and comfortable as watching a rerun of It's a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street while a yule log blazes away in a stocking-bedecked fireplace, and in the corner of the room you can see the lights twinkling on the Christmas tree. It's the story of Luther and Nora Krank, who, with their daughter having joined the Peace Corps, decide to avoid their usual Christmas hassles and expenses and take a cruise instead. Of course, this shocks their neighbors, who are completely bound up in annual Christmas traditions. Told in an easy, breezy style, this story feels like the novel-length version of something that would appear in the New Yorker, poking fun at the pointlessness of all the surface trappings of Christmas in a slightly condescending but good-natured way. There are few real surprises in this story, but that isn't the point. We aren't reading this book for the shocks or the plot twists. We're reading it to smile as Luthor finds himself under siege by neighborhood carolers.

While this story ultimately does nothing more than reinforce traditional Christmas values, Grisham gets points for not having someone stand up and state the obvious. Indeed, upon first finishing this story, I felt sort of irritated. I had the impression that Grisham had ended up endorsing the sorts of activities he had initially lampooned. However, upon further reflection, I saw how he had subtly underlined a more important message: it isn't important what you do or don't do for Christmas, but the reasons why you do it are important. For sticking to his guns without being too obvious about it, this novel earns four stars as a Christmas story.

Who *hasn't* felt the way Luther and Nora Krank feel when they decide to sit this Christmas out? Identification with that feeling immediately connects you to the main characters of this charming, outrageously funny book. The societal pressures the Kranks have to face in their quest for a non-holiday holiday are those that, while made larger for the sake of fiction, we all face when deviating from the norm. More subtly, I imagine Grisham has illuminated what it must feel like to be one of the small groups of Americans who don't celebrate Christmas *any* year.

I dare not say more lest I give away any of the plot of this absolutely terrific book. Just read it, you'll love it -- as long as you're looking for something fun. This book is not meant to be great literary fiction. It is a light-hearted Christmas tale with a sappy ending. (Would you really want anything different for a Christmas story?) It's a quick read (I read it in two hours) and laugh-out-loud funny. I actually laughed myself to tears reading this book -- a first for me!

I highly recommend this tale as a respite from the stresses of the holidays -- perhaps while waiting to get on a plane to your holiday destination!

I hesitated reading it. I liked the early 'classic' Grishams, but did not like the shift in genre with "the Painted House" and was appropriately cautious when approaching this book. I was very pleasantly surprised. Yes, it is a quick read. Yes, the main character's last name is too obvious. However, I could quickly sympathize with the main character's desire to just skip the commercial trappings of Christmas, just once! It was cathartic to watch someone else swim against the tide of commercialism. The plot twists were not expected at all (maybe I am just slow) but worked out nicely. Was the ending a little smaltzy? Sort of, but I still thought it was a good ending. I rarely buy Grisham in hardcover, but I have added this one to my library of holiday books. Maybe not the book to read on Christmas Eve by the fire, but give it a try before you start decorating, shopping and writing Christmas cards and you may just look at the frenzy with a fresh view. Finally, be prepared to laugh. The mental image evoked by a certain rooftop scene reduced me to tears. I agree with another reviewer that this could very well be made into a movie and completely agree with Steve Martin as the main character! Enjoy!!

John Grisham has brought home the over-indulgence of our Christmas spirit in a witty tale about a couple skipping out on anything Christmas to take a cruise. He has done in book form what Chevy Chase and Christmas Vacation did on screen. Both provide a hilarlious take on the Christmas season.

In this slim volume, Grisham has continued his detour from legal thrillers to capture meaning in his subject in much the same way he did in A Painted House.

While the concept of Americans over doing it around Christmas is cliched, Grisham's tale is still a fine original.

John Grisham delivers a humorous Christmas parable, ending with a thoughtful message on the true meaning of the season in "Skipping Christmas." The Kranks decide not to celebrate Christmas in a neighborhood obsessed with the yultide season. This delivers a great deal of tension and angst for all. The character are larger than life. The author pokes fun at most holiday traditions and excesses. The reader sorts through all of the chaos until a very satisfying ending. This reader continues to enjoy Grisham's detours from legal thrillers. The balance helps me better appreciate all aspects of his work.

John Grisham exits nicely from the world of lawyers, courtrooms, and sleeze and takes us into a world all of us would recognize: What would happen if we passed on Christmas this year?

Protagonist Luther Krank (okay, the name is a bit to revealing), an accountant who knows the cost of Christmas but not its value, calculates an alternative to Christmas parties, unwanted gifts, illuminated Frosty's, and more. Why not simply say "no" to Christmas? "No" to the neighbors decorating their homes, to the Boy Scouts selling trees, to the policeman selling calendars, to medics selling fruitcakes...just say "no" to everyone and everything concerning Christmas. Take all that money you spend on mindless cards, trinkets, and parties and spend it on something half the cost and much less stressful, like a cruise. Perhaps the only sentiment stronger than the tempatation to pass on the anxiety, crass commercialism, drunken office parties and competitive neighborhood decorations must be the nostalgia we all have for Bing Crosby White Christmas past. The Kranks fight hard to stay the course.

A slim, fast read, it would be a shame to deter the prospective reader by revealing the plot twist but it is transparent and predictable. But it's also fun, and heartwarming. A nice Christmas gift.

In "Skipping Christmas" Grisham is totally unrealistic about how any normal person or community might react because one couple decide to go on a cruise. The reaction of the community was, I thought, very mean spirited and totally lacking in the true meaning of Christmas. To not advise their daughter of their plans is also totally unrealistic. While this was a mildly pleasant "read" I found it predictable and drawn-out. Though a short book, I found myself wanting the author to get to the point. Even the ending does not make you feel that it is a community of which you would want to be a part. Skip "Skipping Christmas" and reread Barbara Robinson's, "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever"