A fun story. Predictable and with a good message... friends and neighbors to the rescue. We have thought about skipping Christmas a few times but haven’t had the guts to try it... yet

Cute story. Loved it much more than the movie. Entertaining for the Christmas season.

I just re-read this because I needed a Christmas themed book for a book challenge. My opinion of it is still the same: meh. I still can't believe it was written by John Grisham. Comedy is not his thing. There are a few endearing parts of the book, so I will give it 3 stars.

Predivna priča.

3.5⭐
Al principio el libro no me enganchaba, pero según iba leyendo la cosa se iba poniendo mejor, y ya el giro k pega a un tercio del final hizo que terminase gustandome... es un final muy americano pero me encanto

Going through and slowly but surely re-reviewing all of my old reviews that somehow got deleted.
This book is a bit nostalgic for me as I decided on a whim to pick this up early December of 2019 and so created my new obsession of books. It ended up being the perfect timing due to Covid-19 and so that's all I ever did during lockdown. My big thanks goes out to this book and John Grisham for creating a reading monster!
I recall thinking this was such a fun book! I remember watching the corny movie numerous times growing up, but reading this as an adult I had a way different perception as I've started to relate to wanting to skip a large family event with a ton of people in light of the pandemic and how nice it would be to spend my Christmas or Thanksgiving morning reading or hanging out with my kids instead of making some elaborate meal that no one will end up eating or spending a fortune on Holiday-esque expenses. As such, it's the fantasy of it rather than the reality as I couldn't imagine not doing something that's been such a part of my life my whole life. I think it was fun reading about something a lot of people probably fantasize about doing but know they never will because of how important seeing family and celebrating the Holidays are.
My Dad is a HUGE John Grisham fan and he tells me that his books are quite different from this one so although I anticipate I will read more from Grisham eventually, I'll go in with expectation of his other works being still good/great, yet different from this entertaining read.
A solid 4 stars!!

Try to picture not having to prepare for or celebrate Christmas. Not because of any social or religious reasons, but simply to leave the craziness of malls, inflatables on the lawn, and other inane traditions behind. John Grisham—legal thriller expert like no other—envisions just that in this short Christmas piece. It’s a great move away from his tradition stories, which gets to the humorous side of things and makes quite the impact for the reader who is able to put their preconceived notions aside. I needed something to add to my holiday reading list and this one hit the spot.

After Luther and Nora Krank learn that their daughter will be away for Christmas, they ponder leaving it all behind. They plan a trip for just them and dump the money they would have spent into something for just the two of them. When they settle on a cruise, they begin making plans and dodging the outward holiday plans that many have come to expect. There is no need to head to the mall, where money could be spent on tanning and eating much healthier. The Kranks are ready for this, even if others around them refuse to accept their plans or ideas of how to spend the holiday season.

With a great deal of pushback, Luther and Nora begin to see just how much others rely on them to keep the Christmas season going. They refuse to stand down, even as the neighbourhood kids toss threats in their direction. Then, a call comes in on Christmas Eve, one that could put their plans in jeopardy and they must decide how to handle it. It’s sure to be a real challenge, as monumental as the decision Scrooge made all those years ago about the holidays. Grisham does a great job, adding humour and some sentimentality to a Christmas story that checks all the boxes.

While I have long loved the stories that John Grisham has to offer, I was pleasantly surprised to pick this book up after so many years. It’s a great piece that adds some serious aspects of the holiday season with the comical perspective of the craziness that people choose to put themselves in for no apparent reason. Grisham builds up the story while delivering strong characters and a few twists. The panic that ensues is just what’s needed and I could not get enough. With a cinematic rendition also out there, I will have to watch to see how it compares to this short piece that is perfect for the Christmas season.

Kudos, Mr. Grisham, for a great holiday story!

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Sinospsis super sintética: Tras despedir en el aeropuerto a su hija, una pareja llega a la conclusión de que la Navidad no será lo mismo sin ella y deciden saltearse la celebración. Es acá donde los problemas comienzan. Lo curioso de este libro es que supuestamente tiene una gran carga de humor, y a mí solo me generó mucho fastidio, sobre todo por el nivel de egoísmo y obsesión que tiene el entorno social de esta pareja, en especial los vecinos, que son unos chismosos insufribles.

Realmente terminé un poco irritada, molesta por cómo se "resolvió" todo en el libro, las decisiones tomadas, lo absurdo de algunas situaciones y actitudes de los personajes. Entiendo que buena parte del libro busca ser una crítica social ante el consumismo, el materialismo y todas las estupideces banales que giran en torno a la Navidad. Sin embargo llega un punto en el que se torna insostenible, al menos para mí. Y una de las peores cosas que tiene el libro, lo que más me hizo ruido al finalizar la lectura, es que en oportunidades se dejaban ver algunos comentarios sumamente racistas. Intenté darle la vuelta para no pensar mal, pero no hay con qué darle. Y por lo que pude ver en otras reseñas, no soy la única que lo sintió así. Mal por Grisham, y qué mala impresión me dejó con este primer libro que leo de su autoría. Quizá no fue la mejor bienvenida.

A pesar de todo, la lectura es ágil y entretenida hasta cierto punto, y seguramente pruebe otros títulos del autor para no quedarme con un mal sabor de boca. Finalmente, cumple con la consigna del reto de la Very Merry Readathon, en el cual estoy participando al momento de escribir la reseña. Con motivo de la maratón, haré un vlog de lectura y lo subiré en mi canal muy pronto, por si gustan ver: https://www.youtube.com/coosburton

Simpatičan humoristični božićni skeč, mada možda malo pre-američki, što znači malo previše pretjerivanja. Iako kužim poantu, pobunu protiv konzumerizma i materijaliziranja Božića, razbacivanja i božićnog šoping-ludila. Taj dio skroz podržavam.
Malo sam se zeznula jer sam išla guglat trailer za film, i čim sam ga pogledala, sve je bilo jasno. Doduše, Tim Allen i Jamie Lee Curtis zaista pašu u uloge, pa sad imam osjećaj kao da sam gledala film, a ne čitala knjigu.
Sve u svemu, zabavno.

Dieses Weihnachtsbuch hatte ich mir von einer Freundin geliehen, als ich erfuhr, dass es die Vorlage zum amerikanischen Weihnachtsfilm „Verrückte Weihnachten“ (mit Tim Allen & Jamie Lee Curtis) ist. Mein zweitliebster Film zu dieser Jahreszeit.

Das kleine Büchlein macht fast genauso viel Freude, wie der Film selbst welcher zum Glück sehr nah an der Vorlage ist. Natürlich hatte ich die entsprechenden Schauspieler*innen immer vor Augen und musste diverse Male lächeln. Es kommen keine Längen auf und man rauscht gemütlich durch die Seiten.

Ich war sehr überrascht, dass John Grisham, welcher sonst eher durch Justizthriller von sich reden macht, so ein humorvolles Buch geschrieben hat. Hier und da hätte ich mir aber gerne noch eine etwas „blumigere“ Sprache gewünscht. Dafür gibt es einen Stern Abzug, aber ansonsten überlege ich mir, ob das Buch auf meine Wunschliste für meine Bibliothek kommt. Denn der Freundin gebe ich es natürlich zurück.

Den Originaltitel „Skipping Christmas“ finde ich übrigens gelungener als Frohes Fest, aber das nur am Rande :) Es war mir eine große Freude Nora & Luther durch ihr turbulentes Weihnachtsfest zu begleiten, was so herrlich amerikanisch, überdreht und verrückt war. Auch wenn ich es nach Weihnachten gelesen habe, kam dabei die Weihnachtsstimmung wieder richtig gut auf!

did the grinch write this?

(this book was also racist and fatphobic, on top of being boring and lifeless)

The movie based on this book, Christmas with the Kranks, was funnier. Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis made the main characters a bit more likable. Here, Luther was just curmudgeonly and Nora was whiny. And everyone’s judgment about their decision to go on a cruise and skip Christmas was annoying, not funny. This was not the book to put me in the Christmas spirit or to end the year.