Skipping Christmas: A Novel
John Grisham
Language: English
Pages: 256
ISBN: 0440422965
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
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.
SKIPPING CHRISTMAS A Dell Book Published by Bantam Dell A Division of Random House, Inc. New York, New York All of the characters in this book are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All rights reserved Copyright © 2001 by Belfry Holdings, Inc. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2001277586 Dell is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc. eISBN: 978-0-307-57607-1
would’ve bolted outside and commenced spraying houses. Instead he sat for a long time with a knot in his stomach and tried to convince himself that this too would pass. Just four days until they left, and when they came back all those damned Frostys would be stored away, the lights and trees would be gone. The bills would start flooding in, and perhaps then all his wonderful neighbors would be more sympathetic. He flipped through the newspaper but his concentration was shot. Finally, Luther
almost the last minute to buy whatever was left in the stores. The traffic was dense and slow, and when he finally arrived at the mall a traffic cop was blocking the entrance. Parking lots were full. No more room. Go away. Gladly, thought Luther. He met Nora for lunch at a crowded bakery in the District. They’d actually made a reservation, something unheard of for the rest of the year. He was late. She’d been crying. “It’s Bev Scheel,” she said. “Went for a checkup yesterday. The cancer’s
thaw his feet, then watched the large people come and go at the burger place. Traffic was stalled on the streets beyond. How nice it would be to avoid Christmas, he began to think. A snap of the fingers and it’s January 2. No tree, no shopping, no meaningless gifts, no tipping, no clutter and wrappings, no traffic and crowds, no fruitcakes, no liquor and hams that no one needed, no “Rudolph” and “Frosty,” no office party, no wasted money. His list grew long. He huddled over the wheel, smiling
tipped over and was gone, careening down the front of the roof with nothing to hold him back—no ropes, cords, bands, nothing. Luther was right behind him, but, fortunately, Luther had managed to entangle himself with everything. Sliding headfirst down the steep roof, and yelling loud enough for Walt and Bev to hear indoors, Luther sped like an avalanche toward certain death. Later, he would recall, to himself of course, that he clearly remembered the fall. Evidently, there was more ice on the