November 22nd, 2005 - Skipping Christmas book review
If you enjoy reading this blog and ever considered buying into BuyNothingChristmas, do NOT read Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. In case you don’t head my warning and do plan to read it, please be forewarned that this post reveals the entire storyline.
The premise of the story: Luther and Nora’s only daughter has just left for the Peace Corps and this will be their first Christmas without her. They’ve always done it big, and had big bills to show for it ($6100 the prior year). They decide to skip Christmas completely, spend half the money taking a cruise after Christmas, and save the rest. They find it pretty difficult to explain to others, but slowly but surely they realize how wonderful their idea is. No long lines or crowds. No regretted spending. No angry conversations between them. No last minute gotta-haves. No uncomfortable parties or dinners. No hassle.
Unfortunately, the people around them are merciless when it comes to trying to change their minds. They even get hate mail! Their neighbors get carolers to stand on their sidewalk for hours. A neighbor blasts Christmas music from his driveway. Civic groups seeking donations/selling Christmas items don’t get his “no, thanks, not this year,” even when he says “Come back in spring for X, and I’ll give you $100.” No one gets it and everyone thinks Nora and Luther are stupid. Well, except for one coworker who tells Luther he’s his hero and wishes he could do the same.
I kept hoping that the moral of the story in the end would shine through and the angry friends and neighbors would realize that you don’t have to spend thousands to have a good time in December. Hah. I should have known (and did suspect) from the start when I learned Luther and Nora’s last name is Krank. Grisham starts out with them in the bad seat just with their last name.
On Christmas Eve morning, their daughter calls from Miami to say she’s coming home for Christmas with her fiance. She’s told him all about the big to-dos they have and they are both looking forward to a real Christmas. Luther and Nora are so shocked they can’t tell her the truth. The rush around for the next 8 hours preparing the Christmas they always had. Of course, it’s a mad rush; they yell at each other; the lines are horrid; nothing good is left on the shelves; etc.
No, they don’t realize at the end that they had the right idea and tell their daughter when she arrives, “Wonderful to see you dear and what a great guy you found. Enjoy the house; we’re off on a cruise!” Instead, their plans in disarray, the awful neighbors pull through to help pull off a party and gifts. Luther, realizing that his whole cruise idea had just been “selfish” gives it away to a neighbor. (This is the only good part of the book–the neighbor has just had cancer return and it’s probably their last Christmas together.)
I also have to note that Luther and Nora are terribly afraid of the skin color of their son-in-law to be and are relieved when he turns out to be fairly pale. Heaven’s! Why did he have to include that minor bit? It was completely unnecessary. I guess it was just one more way to make Luther and Nora look “petty.” I don’t believe their other actions in trying to skip Christmas were petty but commendable!
ARGH! And this book was recommended by the authors of the HomEconomiser budgetting newsletter I get. I was sure they wouldn’t recommend a book whose moral is “The more you spend and the worse you feel–that’s what Christmas is all about.” They also said it was laugh out loud hilarious. I didn’t find any of it funny, especially the cruel things people did to try to convince them of their waywardness, nor the agonizing preparations when they hear their daughter is coming back (Luther almost kills himself at one point).
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