Product Description

Luther and Nora Krank are fed up with the chaos of Christmas. The endless shopping lists, the frenzied dashes through the mall, the hassle of decorating the tree... where has all the joy gone? This year, celebrating seems like too much effort. With their only child off in Peru, they decide that just this once, they'll skip the holidays. They spend their Christmas budget on a Caribbean cruise set to sail on December 25, and happily settle in for a restful holiday season free of rooftop snowmen and festive parties.

But the Kranks soon learn that their vacation from Christmas isn't much of a vacation at all, and that skipping the holidays has consequences they didn't bargain for...

A modern Christmas classic, Skipping Christmas is a charming and hilarious look at the mayhem and madness that have become ingrained in our holiday tradition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #132120 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-12
• Released on: 2004-10-12
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 227 pages

Amazon.com
John Grisham turns a satirical eye on the overblown ritual of the festive holiday season, and the result is Skipping Christmas, a modest but funny novel about the tyranny of December 25. Grisham's story revolves around a typical middle-aged American couple, Luther and Nora Krank. On the first Sunday after Thanksgiving they wave their daughter Blair off to Peru to work for the Peace Corps, and they suddenly realize that "for the first time in her young and sheltered life Blair would spend Christmas away from home."

Luther Krank sees his daughter's Christmas absence as an opportunity. He estimates that "a year earlier, the Luther Krank family had spent $6,100 on Christmas," and have "precious little to show for it." So he makes an executive decision, telling his wife, friends, and neighbors that "we won't do Christmas." Instead, Luther books a 10-day Caribbean cruise. But things start to turn nasty when horrified neighbors get wind of the Krank's subversive scheme and besiege the couple with questions about their decision.

Grisham builds up a funny but increasingly terrifying picture of how this tight-knit community turns on the Kranks, who find themselves under increasing pressure to conform. As the tension mounts, readers may wonder whether they will manage to board their plane on Christmas day. Skipping Christmas is Grisham-lite, with none of the serious action or drama of his legal thrillers, but a funny poke at the craziness of Christmas. --Jerry Brotton, Amazon.co.uk

From Publishers Weekly
For all its clever curmudgeonly edge and minor charms, no way does this Christmas yarn from Grisham rank with A Christmas Carol, as the publisher claims. Nor does it rank with Grisham's own best work. The premise is terrific, as you'd expect from Grisham. Fed up with the commercial aspects of Christmas, particularly all the money spent, and alone for the holiday for the first time in decades (their daughter has just joined the Peace Corps), grumpy Luther Krank and his sweeter wife, Nora, decide to skip Christmas this year to forgo the gifts, the tree, the decorations, the cards, the parties and to spend the dollars saved on a 10-day Caribbean cruise. But as clever as this setup is, its elaboration is ho-hum. There's a good reason why nearly all classic Christmas tales rely on an element of fantasy, for, literarily at least, Christmas is a time of miracles. Grisham sticks to the mundane, however, and his story lacks magic for that. He does a smartly entertaining job of satirizing the usual Christmas frenzy, as Luther and Nora resist entreaties from various charities as well as increasing pressure from their neighbors (all sharply drawn, recognizable members of the generic all-American burb, the book's setting) to do up their house in the traditional way, including installing the giant Frosty that this year adorns the roof of every home on the block except theirs. And when something happens that prompts the Kranks to jump back into Christmas at the last minute, Grisham does slip in a celebration of the real spirit of Christmas, to the point of perhaps squeezing a tear or two from his most sentimental readers (even if he comes uncomfortably close to It's a Wonderful Life to do so). But it's too little, too late. The misanthropy in this short novel makes a good antidote to the more cloying Christmas tales, and the book is fun to read. To compare it to Dickens, however, is...humbug. 1.5-million first printing.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Accountant Luther Krank is a Scrooge for the new millennium. He calculates that he and his wife, Nora, can take a Caribbean cruise during Christmas for much less money than they spent during the previous year's Christmas season. But Luther doesn't just want to take a vacation during Christmas; he wants to take a vacation from Christmas and skip it altogether. This means that the Kranks will not buy a Christmas tree or calendar, put up any decorations, send any Christmas cards, give any gifts, or attend or host any parties much to the chagrin of their hyperfestive neighbors. However, an unexpected phone call at the last minute leads to a change in plans. Hilarity ensues, but the poignant conclusion is unforgettable. Grisham astutely captures the way many people spend the holiday season, from fighting the crowds to commenting on their neighbors' Christmas trees. A Painted House (LJ 3/1/01) was Grisham's first departure from the legal thriller genre, and this further demonstrates his ability to tell a story with nary a courtroom in sight. Highly recommended for all public libraries. Samantha J. Gust, Niagara Univ. Lib., NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

I Don't Get It
I've read two very different books by John Grisham and I have to say, I don't get his appeal. Skipping Christmas has a decent premise: fed up with the expense and consumerism of Christmas, a couple decides to skip the celebrations and instead go on a Caribbean cruise. The news doesn't sit well with the neighbors, who for some reason feel they have a say in their decision.

As I said, the idea is not bad, but the writing is so mediocre (and in occasions, worse than mediocre) that the novel never engages the reader. The end is better than the rest of the book, and it manages to be moving, but even though this novel is only 277 pages, it feels very, very long.

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.

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.