Bookworm

[#1]

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham   

Reviewed by the Bookworm

While Grisham is brilliant, this story with a bit of scrooge-like undertones, is not. This 2001 novella made its way back to store shelves just in time for holiday shopping this year. Luther Krank (the oh-to-obvious main character’s name should have given away what we were in for…) decides that he’s going to skip Christmas and all the trimmings. With the money saved, Krank is going to take wife Nora on a cruise instead. Just to throw in a few more obvious references, two of Nora’s friends are Candi and Merry.

The book has the expected ending, but to get there, we must wade through some irritating episodes in the bloated tale of Krank’s past overindulgences.  Who really spends $250 bucks on Christmas cards…or thousands of dollars on miscellaneous holiday decorations, food and other non-gift stuff? For the average American, these unrealistic extravagances leave a bad taste. It seems fine for Krank to avoid the competitive holiday decorating, but when he turns down fruitcakes and Christmas trees designed to fund local charities and the Boy Scouts, you really start to dislike the guy. Even ornery Scrooge was more relatable as a soon-to-be loved character than the smug Luther.

Wife Nora is a non-developed character who spends much of her time hiding in the kitchen or bathroom to avoid being tempted into getting in the holidays spirit. While it might be fine to avoid the expense of Christmas, the Krank’s still spend money on fake tans to get ready for their holiday cruise...yet absurdly don’t drop a $20 for a calendar sold by the local police officers (in my book, if a cop personally comes a calling asking for a charitable donation, get out the wallet…it’s the right thing to do.)

And so, if you didn’t get the book under the tree, my advice…skip it.

About the Author: John Grisham

Long before his name became synonymous with the modern legal thriller, he was working 60-70 hours a week at a small Southaven, Mississippi, law practice, squeezing in time before going to the office and during courtroom recesses to work on his hobby—writing his first novel. One day, Grisham overheard the harrowing testimony of a twelve-year-old rape victim and was inspired to start a novel exploring what would have happened if the girl’s father had murdered her assailants. Getting up at 5 a.m. every day to get in several hours of writing time before heading off to work, Grisham spent three years on A Time to Kill and finished it in 1987. Initially rejected by many publishers, it was eventually bought by Wynwood Press, who gave it a modest 5,000 copy printing and published it in June 1988.

He had already begun his next book, and it would quickly turn that hobby into a new full-time career—and spark one of publishing’s greatest success stories. The day after Grisham completed A Time to Kill, he began work on another novel, the story of a hotshot young attorney lured to an apparently perfect law firm that was not what it appeared. When he sold the film rights to The Firm to Paramount Pictures for $600,000, Grisham suddenly became a hot property among publishers, and book rights were bought by Doubleday. Spending 47 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, The Firm became the bestselling novel of 1991.

The successes of The Pelican Brief, which hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and The Client, which debuted at number one, confirmed Grisham’s reputation as the master of the legal thriller. Grisham’s success even renewed interest in A Time to Kill, which was republished in hardcover by Doubleday and then in paperback by Dell. This time around, it was a bestseller.

Other books include:

• The Firm
• The Client
• The Chamber
•  The Rainmaker
• The Runaway Jury
• The Partner
• The Street Lawyer
• The Testament
• The Brethren
• A Painted House
• The Summons
• The King of Torts, Bleachers
• The Appeal
• The Associate

 

The bookworm is currently reading “American Wife” by Curtis Sittenfeld.

[#2]

I like this book very much.  I have not  written about it on my blog, nice to see it reviewed here. 

Rob

http://basementofbooks.blogspot.com

[#3]

Nice blog!  Some great info and articles... I'm always hesitant to give any book a bad review. As you noted in your blog, the number of kids reading after high school and college drops considerably, so who am I to dissuade them? But I'm always a bit irritated when a really great author such as Grisham seemingly sells out to move some books for the holidays.

As novelle's go, this isn't really that bad...predictable, but sweet ending. Thanks for your feedback.  Keep up the great writing on your blog...I'll be reading.   Sandy 

[#4]

Not your typical Grisham novel, but enjoyable none-the-less.

[#5]

I agree with the comments above by Sandy K.  Pretty obvious stuff here "Luther", "Krank", "Candi", Merry"  - come on John, don't need a stick to beat us over the head with.   Just read "The Maze At Four Chimneys" and enjoyed it.  Takes place in Chicago and northern Michigan, two of my favorite spots.   

[#6]

Mysteryman, who wrote The Maze at Four Chimneys?  Is that a Grisham novel, too?

For those who like legal thrillers, try Scott Turow. He was a prosecutor in Chicago and his Presumed Innocent is really well-written and cleverly plotted. It was also turned into a movie with Harrison Ford and Greta Scacchi (sp) which was well done. I personally like Turow's writing style better than Grisham's....