by Anthony Conty (Parkville, MD): Did any author have a better start to their career than John Grisham? “The Firm,” “The Pelican Brief,” “The Client,” “The Chamber,” and “The Rainmaker” broke an extended reading drought. I DNFed a few of his middle works and did not return. “Skipping Christmas” is a cute piece of writing that reminds you of his skill and gifts.
“Skipping Christmas” became the critically panned movie “Christmas with the Kranks,” starring Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis, but the book was fairly popular in 2001. It made a nice Christmas gift. Protagonist Luther questions the forced Christmas Spirit and calculates that a cruise will cost less. Even though we anticipate a change by story’s end, we question the process as well.
The usual hijinks ensue, and you wonder how the novel would be different now as opposed to 2001. With housing authorities, you anticipate snide, indirect punishment for pure, unbridled nonconformity. When the Kranks’ plans inevitably unravel, you do not know what to root for. Is this a “true meaning of Christmas” piece or a thought-provoking alternative to the commercialized norm?
In the spoiler alert department, a famous critic came up with a solution to their predicament that would have made most of the story unnecessary, but I enjoyed the ride. We expect syrupy lessons in a holiday movie and appreciate the resolution if it allows us to yearn for Christmas. Grisham isn’t reinventing the wheel here, but he knows that.
The only knock on this I can say is that I didn’t really laugh out loud, as the jacket said I would in its promotional statements. It was a nice Holiday story without going overboard in delivering a Yuletide message. Storytelling is Grisham’s gift, and here he does not disappoint. It holds up well 25 years later and satisfies me.
