Skipping Christmas, by John Grisham

My first novel by John Grisham was not of the kind you'd expect from watching the famous movies based on his books, like The Firm, The Client, or The Pelican Brief.

This was a comedy and at times pretty funny, although quite often the characters made choices that were so stupid or unreal that I found myself shaking my head in disbelief or even screaming at them to pick the other choice.

That's never a good sign.

The story is all in the title, as a middle age couple decides to skip Christmas and take a cruise instead. All sorts of complications ensue, as one might expect.

This book has been turned into a movie as well, and although I never saw it, it doesn't seem to have received very good reviews. I'm not surprised, given that the story on which it's based treads water here and there.

However, I checked out the cast for the movie and I have to say that the actors picked to play the different roles were perfect, based on the mental image I had created of them. I'll watch it someday, although I'm not a fan of Tim Allen, who plays the main character.

Anyway, all considered, the book isn't that bad, and it's short too, so if you're in the mood, give it a try.

Grade: 7