Darlene's Book Nook: #Book #Review: 4 out of 5 stars for Skipping Christmas by John Grisham @JohnGrisham @doubledaybooks

Saturday, December 10, 2016

#Book #Review: 4 out of 5 stars for Skipping Christmas by John Grisham @JohnGrisham @doubledaybooks

TITLE: Skipping Christmas

AUTHOR: John Grisham

PUBLISHER: DoubleDay

PUBLICATION DATE: November 6, 2001

FORMAT: Hardcover

LENGTH: 177 pages

GENRE: Holiday/Christmas

ISBN: 9780385505833

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.

MY REVIEW:

Christmas with the Kranks is one of my Top 3 Christmas Movies that I absolutely HAVE to watch each Christmas. This is one of the few occasions where I watched the movie before reading the book. I think in this case, my love for the movie enhanced my enjoyment of the book!

With their daughter off to Peru for her assignment with the Peace Corps, Nora Krank is sad at the prospect of spending a lonely Christmas without their daughter. Nora’s husband, Luther, takes advantage of that and convinces his wife that they should “skip” Christmas. Rather than throw a lavish Christmas Eve party and partake in all the festivities, he wants them to take a ten-day Caribbean cruise. Being the accountant that he is, he digs out the receipts for what they spent the previous year on Christmas festivities and the grand total was over $6,000. He reasons that by skipping Christmas that they will SAVE money, because the cruise is only half that cost! He sells Nora on the idea, but he insists on a total boycott which means no Christmas tree, no decorations, no gift-giving, no Christmas cards, and more. Neighbours and friends are a bit insulted and think that the Kranks are being selfish.

It’s Christmas Eve, and Luther and Nora are packing and on track to leave for their trip on the following day. Everything changes when they receive a telephone call from their daughter, Blair, who ecstatically tells them that she is currently in Miami with her new fiancé and they are coming home for Christmas. Blair reminisces about the Kranks’ annual Christmas Eve party and all the family’s Christmas traditions, and how excited she is to share that with her new fiancé and for him to experience a White Christmas. Out goes their travel plans, and now they have to cover their tracks so that Blair never finds out that they didn’t intend to celebrate Christmas! They only way that they can pull this off is with the help of friends and neighbours, the same ones that they pissed off!

I love Christmas with the Kranks so much, and I was disappointed that some of my most favourite scenes from the movie are missing from the book! They definitely added to the comedic effect of the movie, which made it funnier than the book. This is one of the few occasions that I actually love the movie more than the book, but I still really enjoyed the book. It’s a great feel-good story, where the Christmas Spirit can do a lot to mend fences. The coming together of the community to help the Kranks pull off The Best Christmas Ever for their beloved daughter and son-in-law-to-be is very heart-warming and touching. It still earns a spot amongst my favourite Christmas books!

John Grisham is a new-to-me author, and I know that this type of book isn’t his usual forte but I'd love to see him write more books like this! I still would like to try reading one of his legal thrillers.

MY RATING: