Skipping Christmas

Skipping Christmas is a short, funny novel by John Grisham. I had thought I'd be the last person left who hadn't read a Grisham novel, and I'm not actually sure this one counts since it's so different from what I usually hear about. This is a fun and quick read, perfect for a light-hearted holiday distraction.

In this book, a middle-aged couple send their only child off to a post-graduate school stint in Peru to serve in the Peace Corps. As they look to the upcoming Christmas holiday -the first without their daughter- with feelings of loss bordering on depression, they realize they could just skip Christmas entirely. They plan a 10-day cruise and announce to all and sundry that they won't be participating in the annual festivities.

from the dust jacket:

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.

Entertainment Weekly gives it a C+ and closes their review with this: ""Skipping" represents a departure for the king of the legal thrillers, but in this case, it's to an unworthy destination."

It's mentioned on page 65 that the Kranks are Methodist.