On Strike for Christmas | 
 enlarge | Author: Sheila Roberts
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy Used: $0.30
You Save: $13.65 (98%)
New (32) Used (31) Collectible (1) from $0.30
Rating:  16 reviews
Media: Paperback
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.4 x 1
ISBN: 0312370229
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780312370220
Publication Date: October 30, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
At Christmastime, it seems as though a woman’s work is never done. Trimming the tree, mailing the cards, schlepping to the mall, the endless wrapping—bah humbug! So this year, Joy and Laura and the rest of their knitting group decide to go on strike. If their husbands and families want a nice holiday—filled with parties, decorations, and presents—well, they’ll just have to do it themselves. The boycott soon takes on a life of its own when a reporter picks up the story and more women join in. But as Christmas Day approaches, Joy, Laura, and their husbands confront larger issues in their marriages and discover that a little holiday magic is exactly what they need to come together.
Sheila Roberts gives the best gift of all in this funny, heartwarming novel that touches the very core of Christmas spirit.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
a good read December 26, 2008
K. Mullins
This book isn't going to be at the top of the bestsellers list but it is a fun read during the holiday season.
 Meh. Not terribly impressed. December 1, 2008
L. Meyers (El Segundo, CA United States)
I kept thinking I could have written this better as I was reading. The concept was cute, but I expected more depth to the plot and more growth and change in the characters and their marriages, but it didn't really happen. The men finally appreciated what their wives did each year and the women learned to accept their husbands as they were. Big deal. I was expecting more and felt underwhelmed.
And she left some ends hanging. What happened with Carol and Darren? What happened with Rick and Rosemary?
I think this would be a great concept for a Christian novel...
Putting Men in Charge of Christmas November 8, 2008
Story Circle Book Reviews (www.storycirclebookreviews.org)
Bogged down reading several heavy tomes about impending doom, dealing with the dwindling state of our retirement fund, and bombarded with robo-calls prior to the election, I found myself in desperate need of a light-hearted reading escape. While cruising the aisles of my local Tar-jay store, I stumbled across the perfect thing.
Although I love a well-written Christmas story, I hate the shoddy ones that pop up on the store shelves mid-August. I was leery of buying one by an unfamiliar author, but the "Bookmarked-Breakout" sticker on the front of this one gave me courage. Plus, I couldn't resist the premise: a small town's women finally get fed up and go on strike, leaving the men to handle Christmas completely on their own.
The story begins with Joy, who loves celebrating the holidays with her huge, boisterous, extended family. Her husband wants to sit quietly at home, keeping her all to himself. Over the years, her resentment of his Grinch-like attitude toward tree-decorating and party-hosting builds up until finally, she throws in the towel. She vows not to lift a finger this Christmas, leaving her husband to do as much or as little as he wishes.
When friends in her knitting circle hear of her boycott, they climb on board. Laura's husband isn't a Grinch; he loves Christmas. However, he is totally clueless about what a burden it puts on Laura--a working mother of two--when he leaves her to handle the preparations. Another friend's husband is a skinflint who begrudges every penny she spends. When the local newspaper gets wind of the story, things really get out of hand.
In the end, the men aren't the only ones who learn some valuable lessons. I learned one or two myself. Perhaps it's time to take a closer look at the demanding traditions that began in the 50's, when women had a lot more time on their hands, and spiraled out of control when TV's domestic goddesses got hold of them. Maybe the husbands are right--it really doesn't have to be this hard!
by Becky Lane
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
Bland January 17, 2008
Linda W. (Kennesaw, GA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Sheila Roberts has a nice writing style. I read the book in three or four sittings, when I got the chance. But it was bland. Sure, there were one or two funny parts, admittedly "potty humor," but that's it.
The women were just there. Even in the middle of their so-called strike, none of them really seemed to work up any feeling for their stand. The men weren't too stereotypically useless, and they were able to get around their wives' strike by getting friends and mothers to help them.
The book ended with a whimper, not a bang. Everybody just gave up. The women started cooking, and the men agreed to help in the future. Big deal. I don't know if the women were supposed to admit to wanting holiday perfection; were giving up holiday perfection, or were willing to go ahead with holiday perfection, grateful for whatever help their husbands were willing to provide. For their part, the husbands still didn't appreciate the holidays their wives provided for them. They still felt all the fuss went too far, and that there was always a way around all the work: buy the turkey dinner, buy the cookies, etc.
I don't know why the half-hearted sex scenes were put in unless it was to make the women look like good sports even when their husbands treated them like chattel.
Come to think of it, maybe three stars is too much.
Very Enjoyable January 1, 2008
readsalot (Billings, MT)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It all started with an innocent idea.
Joy and Bob are empty-nesters. Joy, who loved the Christmas holidays, was tired of her Bob Humbug husband's attitude towards the festivities so she decided to go on strike. Since her husband didn't seem to appreciate the work behind the holiday anyways, if he wanted a Christmas he could do all the work, right? But then Joy took the idea to her knitting group, The Stitch `N Bitch, and the fun really began.
Joy's neighbor, Laura, was tired of all the work that went into the holidays. Her husband, Glen, enjoyed entertaining but did none of the work behind it. Also, Glen and Laura have two young children ~~ Amy, aged 4; and Tyler, aged 2. So, when Laura goes on strike, it's up to Glen to do all of the Christmas prep alone ~ including photos with Santa, decorations, Advent Calendars, Christmas Cards, etc., etc. Glen's antics alone were enough to make this an enjoyable read.
Although the story is primarily about Joy and Laura, there are the other ladies in the knitting club ~~ Sharon, who had 3 boys......well, 4 if you include her husband, Pete. Sharon is frazzled and tired of trying to be the perfect wife and making the holidays joyful for everyone but her. Kay, who is married to Jack and has two step-children. Kay does all the shopping, including the gifts that are supposed to be coming from her husband. Carol, who was widowed after 35 years of marriage and is spending her 2nd Christmas alone just shakes her head and wishes she had the problems that the other ladies of the knitting group had. Debbie and Jerri round out the rest of the group, though are not featured as prominently as the rest of the ladies on strike.
Journalist Rosemary and her photographer Rick cover the story for the Holly Herald and the strike eventually ends up affecting the staffers with surprising results. Soon, it seems the whole town of Holly is involved in the strike and throughout it all the men, as well as the women, learn valuable lessons about Christmas, patience, acceptance, and love.
This was Very Good ~ almost Excellent, in fact. I loved the lengths these women went to in order to get a little recognition and to see the men try to accomplish the tasks that were previously taken for granted made for a hilarious read.
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