- Hardcover: 192 pages
- Publisher: Doubleday (Oct 29 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0385508417
- ISBN-13: 978-0385508414
- Product Dimensions: 13.4 x 1.9 x 19.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 295 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (802 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #216,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
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 --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
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.
--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
The gate was packed with weary travelers, most of them standing and huddled along the walls because the meager allotment of plastic chairs had long since been taken. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
The gate was packed with weary travelers, most of them standing and huddled along the walls because the meager allotment of plastic chairs had long since been taken. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great holiday book!!!!,
By
This review is from: Skipping Christmas: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)
IF you need something to read over the holidays and you need a laugh, go with this book! I picked it up yesterday and read it in a few hours. I must say, I can see myself in the pages, and feel like I'm there!It's a funny look into trying to skip Christmas, what people think and feel, about the pains of Christmas, etc... Love it and I do recommend this book! Good reading to all and Merry Christmas! - Michel
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not a Usual,
By A Customer
This review is from: Skipping Christmas: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)
This is out of the norm for John Grisham. Had nothing to do with a law firm. The idea was great. It kept you reading, got you all worked up and then crashed at the end. Not the best ending that could have happened.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not one to skip,
This review is from: Skipping Christmas / Christmas with the Kranks (Mass Market Paperback)
In all my 30 plus years of reading fiction, I have never laughed as hard as I did when I read this story. I literally had to put the book down due to being in stitches from the comical situations in this book. If you are a little down this Christmas and are in need of some good cheer, then get this novel. Get ready to laugh and cry...sometimes at the same time. This was also a fast read for you folks who are too busy to read. Enjoy! Also recommended: THE CHILDREN'S CORNER by McCrae
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
