Book Review: Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
Skipping Christmas
Author: John Grisham
Narrator: Dennis Boutsikaris
Published: November 6, 2001
Audiobook: 3 hours 42 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: December 4-5, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars
Audiobook Description:
Imagine a year without Christmas. No crowded shops, 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 the street without a rooftop Frosty the snowman; 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 has become part of holiday tradition.
Jessica’s Review:
I read Skipping Christmas many years ago and was only reading it again because it was December’s read for the book club I am in. As I started it, I remembered what was going to happen. If you have seen the movie Christmas with the Kranks then you know what happens. I had seen that movie once as well and just didn’t like it. I remembered Jamie Lee Curtis and Tim Allen played the main characters so I pictured them as I was listening to this short audiobook. I also remembering not really liking the movie and the book was just average for me this time around. It’s a lot of slapstick comedy ( I mean it is Tim Allen in the movie!).
Luther and Nora’s daughter has joined the Peace Corp and this is her first Christmas away from them. Luther does the math and saw how much they spent last Christmas so he comes up with the idea of “Let’s just skip Christmas and go on a cruise!”. The book deals with the aftermath of that decision. And a lot of people make their thoughts clear on it.
I just didn’t really think highly of this book. Not everyone celebrates Christmas so to each their own. Just let the Krank’s do what they want regardless of what they have done in the past! And OMG, No Christmas party!!?!?!? For shame!!!!
Regardless of how you feel, everyone (over)reacts to the Krank’s decision, with an unexpected twist that comes if you haven’t seen the movie or read the book; you see how everyone can come together to make Christmas something after all.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Christmas with the Kranks movie trailer: