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Skipping Christmas | 
 enlarge | Authors: John Grisham, John Grisham
Publisher: Doubleday
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $19.94 (100%)
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Rating:  907 reviews
Sales Rank: 109267
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Pages: 176
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7
ISBN: 0385505833
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780385505833
ASIN: 0385505833
Publication Date: November 6, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
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Amazon.com Review
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
Product Description
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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| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
 Perfect timing November 30, 2008
J. Reeder (Denver, CO)
Don't you love when you read a book at the perfect time in your life? Thanksgiving was just a few days ago, and I always find the transition from feeling full and grateful on Thursday to crazed and stressed with Christmas shopping on Friday jarring. This year, with the economy in the toilet, I've been even more of a Scrooge, lamenting another year of increased credit card debt and whatnot.
I'm so glad I just finished Skipping Christmas. It starts as Luther and Nora Krank are saying goodbye to their daughter Blair at the airport - she's heading to Peru for two years with the Peace Corps. Christmas won't be the same without her, and Luther, an accountant, figures out they spent $6,100 on Christmas last year, "the vast majority of it down the drain ... And that, of course, does not include my time, your time, the traffic, the stress, worry, bickering, ill-will, sleep loss - all the wonderful things that we pour into the holiday season."
His solution: skip Christmas and use the money to go on a Carribbean cruise for 10 days. The cruise is only three grand, so they'll actually save money on the proposition. But the plan isn't well-received by the neighbors who expect to see Frosty on the roof, friends who will miss their annual invitation to the Krank's Christmas Eve bash, the scouts who sell Christmas trees, the cops who sell calendars...it's a hoot. I laughed - hard - and even cried at the end.
After I finished, I got up and it was snowing, and I made myself a sandwich with Thanksgiving leftovers and actually said to my husband, "I have the Christmas spirit!" (To which he replied, "I think I'll read that book before it goes back to the library.")
 A FUN WAY TO KILL A FEW HOURS. NOT A BAD READ AT ALL. August 26, 2008
D. Blankenship (The Ozarks)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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
 I Don't Get It May 8, 2008
UES
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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! April 9, 2008
Raymond Mathiesen (Armidale, N.S.W., Australia)
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! April 9, 2008
Raymond Mathiesen (Armidale, N.S.W., Australia)
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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