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:
First Line Friday #48
Today’s First Line Friday is one I read many years ago when it was first published. This was way back on November 6, 2001. I loved the cover and remember enjoying the book! It’s a quick read at just 177 pages! Then there was a very loose adaption of the book made into a film called Christmas with the Kranks in 2004 which stared Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis.
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.
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.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Buy the Film:
Standalone Sunday: A Time to Kill
Standalone Sunday was started by Megan over at Bookslayer Reads.
What is Standalone Sunday?
Each Sunday bloggers feature a standalone book (one that is not part of a series) that they loved or would recommend. The standalone can also be one you want to read. There is so much focus on books that are part of a series that standalone books seem to be forgotten. They can be just as great as book series!
Here is my selection for this week:
A Time to Kill by John Grisham
Book Description:
The life of a ten-year-old girl is shattered by two drunken and remorseless young men. The mostly white town of Clanton in Ford County, Mississippi, reacts with shock and horror at the inhuman crime. Until her black father acquires an assault rifle and takes justice into his own outraged hands.
For ten days, as burning crosses and the crack of sniper fire spread through the streets of Clanton, the nation sits spellbound as young defense attorney Jake Brigance struggles to save his client’s life–and then his own.
This is a story that most everyone knows. I would think most have seen the movie which stars Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, and Samuel L Jackson. It is a great but also hard to watch movie which deals with a father’s decision on and the consequences of this actions. As a parent, what would you do to the men who brutalized your daughter?
I own this book and hope to one day read it and see how it compares to the film.
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