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Summary: Want to be depressed for Christmas? Read this book
Review: Yes, Virginia, it does end happily, sort of, but Skipping Christmas is smug, cynical, repetative and derivative, all wrapped up in one easy to wrap package, just like a lump of coal.The characters aren't particularly sympathetic--they aren't even truly awful like Scrooge--they just sort of whine and complain. Some of the points are good, but we already knew that, and the pseudo-redemption at the last is too little, too late. Skip this book.
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Summary: Good Old Scrooge
Review: John Grisham's Skipping Christmas is not a very original Christmas tale; it mixes and blends the best elements of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and A Christmas Carol together to offer us a modern-day tale about the joys and meaning of Christmas. Sure, the book is at time a bit repetitive and it feels a little recycled, but it's good harmless fun nonetheless. Luther Krank has decided to skip Christmas this year. There will be no celebrating, no tree, no presents, no fruit cakes, no decorations. Instead, he will save the money he usually spends of such things and go on a cruise with his wife. And why? Because he feels a little depressed since his only daughter is gone to Peru on a Corps mission and will not be back for Christmas. Of course, the people around the Krank house feel a little irritated that Krank would refuse to participate in the celebrations. But of course, they will all come together in the end because this is Christmas, a time of giving and a time of loving. The book is very short and often funny. I found myself smiling more than once. This will not become a Christmas classic like A Christmas Carol or The Christmas Box, but it is still a fun read that I will want to come back to every year as Christmas comes closer and closer. Had the book been longer, than I might not have felt the same way. But coming in at a trim 177 pages, the story is a very quick and very entertaining read. A book that will surely put you in the Christmas spirit!
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Summary: They did what a lot of us have only been thinking!
Review: Grisham set the scenario that goes through our heads when the spirit of Christmas goes out the window during the big rush. A cruise would be the easy way out! Full of comedy yet heartwarming. A refreshing change from his courtroom dramas.
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Summary: Skipping Christmas
Review: Luther and Nora Kranks have skipped Xmas this year: their daughter is in Peru, Luther is frustrated with Christmas. So he decides to take a break from madness of the winter season by way of a cruise with his reluctant wife, only to learn that all this can by the biggest mistake of his life. Though I'm not a devout fan of Grisham's, I thoroughly enjoyed Skipping Christmas. It's a funny, easy-reading book that is compared to as a modern "A Christmas Carol." Like A Painted House, he's skipped courtroom thrillers. I hope he does it again. Will be looking forward to The Summons, his probable return to the courtroom.
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Summary: Agree With Prior Review, "THE IRONY OF IT ALL", From 18 Nov.
Review: The prior reviewer from New York gave the author (not the book, I expect) five stars for how clever he was to exploit "the irony of it all". I fully agree. We in the U.K. do not have this problem on Christmastime. So, I'm shocked at what the author says in this book. Is that how it really is in America? I don't know if I would recommend the book for its value. I would recommend that you read the fascinating review from 18 November, and then decide whether the book is worth buying just for a lesson in enterprise by the author.
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Summary: Typical Grisham?
Review: No, this is not a typical John Grisham novel. Don't buy it thinking it is the typical lawyer yarn. It's not. It is enjoyable, though. I laughed hard at several of the scenes at the end. I recommend it.
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Summary: Didn't Glue Itself to My Hand
Review: Frankly, I was disappointed, and many times thought of not finishing the book. But ... it was so small, I stuck it out. The ending was good, but getting there was a chore. Mr. Grisham should stick to what he knows.
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Summary: Funny, enjoyable book
Review: This is not the usual Grisham lawyer book. It's a funny quick read. Very enjoyable. I would even let my middle school child read without being embrassed by content or language. I can see this as a TV movie with Alan Alda.
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Summary: Non-conformists beware!
Review: As one who is attempting to simplify my own holiday celebrations, I was hoping for a tale that thumbed its nose at the rampant commercialism encountered this time of year. There was some of that, but mostly I was rewarded with a very strong conformist message. "Don't be a free thinker...don't make your own choices...just follow the herd and do what everyone else does". If you don't want to participate in Christmas, that's fine, just look out for your neighbors and so-called friends. If I had to live anywhere near that street, I would high-tail it to the country.
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Summary: Skipping Christmas Reveiw
Review: This is my first John Grisham book i've ever read so i wasn't expecting anything wonderful from him. But i ended up likeing this book. It's really entertaining, the story never gets dull. It's a quick/easy book to read. It's a good novel.
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