Skipping Christmas by John Grisham: A Critical Review
This paper offers a critical review of John Grisham's 2001 novella Skipping Christmas, tracing the plot of Luther and Nora Krank's attempt to bypass the holiday season in favor of a Caribbean cruise. The review examines the novel's critical reception, drawing on reviews from USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, and the Denver Rocky Mountain News. It also evaluates the book's bestseller credentials using criteria from publishing industry sources, including author name recognition, marketing, and perseverance. The paper concludes with a personal assessment comparing the novella to other holiday classics and considering its potential as a film adaptation.
- Introduction and Plot Summary: Overview of the Kranks' decision to skip Christmas
- Critical Reception and Comparisons: Critics compare the novel to holiday film classics
- What Makes a Bestseller: Publishing industry criteria for bestseller status
- Skipping Christmas as a Bestseller: Applying bestseller traits to Grisham's novella
- Personal Assessment and Conclusion: Personal comparison to other Christmas literary classics
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What makes this paper effective
- The review integrates multiple critical voices from major publications — USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, and the Denver Rocky Mountain News — to support its claims about the book's reception, lending credibility to the analysis.
- The paper moves logically from plot summary to external criticism to publishing theory, creating a layered argument rather than a simple opinion piece.
- The author balances summary, critical synthesis, and personal opinion clearly, signaling when the perspective shifts from reported views to their own assessment.
Key academic technique demonstrated
This paper demonstrates effective use of critical synthesis — the author does not merely quote reviewers but identifies a pattern across multiple critics (the shared comparison to It's a Wonderful Life) to draw a broader conclusion about the novel's character and appeal. This technique elevates the review beyond summary into genuine critical analysis.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a plot summary, then surveys critical reviews, then pivots to a theoretical framework (what makes a bestseller) drawn from publishing industry sources, and finally applies that framework back to the novel. It closes with a personal comparative assessment. This structure — describe, survey, theorize, apply, evaluate — is a strong model for a book review essay at the undergraduate level.
Introduction and Plot Summary
John Grisham's Skipping Christmas could be called a Christmas story for the new millennium. It is the story of Luther Krank, his wife Nora, and their daughter Blair. When Blair leaves for the Peace Corps at the beginning of the Christmas season, Luther sees it as a wonderful opportunity to skip the holiday hullabaloo and take a cruise with Nora. However, the couple quickly becomes outcasts among local merchants, the Boy Scouts selling trees, the firemen with their fruitcakes, the police selling calendars, and just about everyone else in town. Even their neighbors are upset because the Kranks did not decorate their lawn, and now the entire street stands to lose the prize for the best-decorated street. Friends and neighbors are also disappointed that Luther and Nora are not going to hold their annual Christmas party (Grisham 2001).
The Kranks remain stoic in their decision to spend on a Caribbean cruise the money they would otherwise have spent on Christmas — until the morning of Christmas Eve, when Blair telephones. She is coming home that day with her new boyfriend, and they plan to marry. She also expresses how much she is looking forward to their annual party. Luther and Nora quickly discover that the stores are sold out of food and their friends and neighbors have already made other plans (Grisham 2001). Chaos begins.
Critical Reception and Comparisons
So too does an ending that seems straight from the film It's a Wonderful Life. The majority of critics have made this comparison, whether they panned the book or praised it. Bob Minzesheimer of USA Today writes, "Grisham's novel, especially its ending, owes more to the sentimental spirit of the omnipresent holiday movie It's a Wonderful Life than to Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol" (Minzesheimer 2001). Justin Matott of the Denver Rocky Mountain News echoes, "With an ending too reminiscent of It's a Wonderful Life, Skipping Christmas will entertain, while spurring readers to fantasize about what it might be like to be Scrooge for just one year" (Matott 2001).
It seems that no matter how the critics felt about Grisham's book, all agreed that it was destined to ride the waves of success along with his long list of bestsellers. Even skeptics, such as Bruce Fretts of Entertainment Weekly, showed a hint of belief in its success: "If you believe the publisher's press release (and that's almost as rational as believing in Santa), John Grisham's novella Skipping Christmas is 'certain to become as timeless and beloved a classic as A Christmas Carol and The Grinch'" (Fretts 2001).
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