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Summary: family of the 50's
Review: Who could not fall in love with this family. You feel a part of this group. You cannot wait to turn the page but at the same time you do not want this story to end. Johan Grisham is really a wonderful writer. He draws you in and holds your intrest until the last page. I though of this family for days after the book was put down. A story that I will some day read again.
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Summary: Change Is Good
Review: John Grisham takes a different approach with A Painted House and it certainly works. Instead of writing another legal thriller, Grisham paints the scene of a farmer family. The descriptions of the Chandlers, The Hill People, The Mexicans, and other Arkansas townspeople are quite vivid. The underlying story lines are fairly captivating as it goes to show that people from differing backgrounds do not get along so easily.A Painted House is more focused as all the side stories seem to mesh together without an extra dose of excess. A fairly light read that braodens Grisham's horizons a bit more.
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Summary: I should have listened to my first instinct
Review: I haven't bought any of Grisham's legal "thrillers" in years, because I feel his writing has become increasingly more for the screen than for the reader. The only reason I picked this one up is that I thought it might recall some of his earlier, less commercial work. That being said, I found the story in The Painted House compelling at first, then as I got deeper into it, I started to wonder "where is this going?" That question was never answered. The story is nice, but there is no plot. The story just sort of...dribbles away. The "shattering secrets" Luke uncovers never have any discernable effect, either on the town or the story. I had more sympathy for the grandparents trying to make a go of it farming than the family that picks up and moves north, with the final image of a mother's self-satisfied smirk.
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Summary: A Novel that Rings True
Review: "A Painted House" is about secrets. At first they are subtle like the ones we have in our own lives. We hardly notice that they dwell among us; they nestle in our busy lives unnoticed.
Soon, however, we notice the secrets in this book. They come faster and faster, piling up like compounded interest. There are secrets of all sorts. Some are kept because of blackmail, some because of guilt. There are secrets that are only disguised prejudices, secrets that surround a legend like the aura of perfume.
Grisham's protagonist, six-year-old Luke Chandler, becomes so inundated in secrets the pressure builds like it does in the cooker his gran and mother use to "put up" tomatoes and beans. "Lots of secrets," he says, "and no way to unload them."
Finally the book is about telling secrets as release. That can be done in a myriad of ways, too. If one is an author he might fictionalize secrets and put them in a really good book. The trick is to find the perfect voice, just the right time, and just the right audience. Grisham does just that. This may be the book John Grisham always wanted to write. If he's not careful he may soon have the whole nation reading literary novels as freely as they do romances--or his legal thrillers. (Reviewed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of "This is the Place,"
... --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition
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Summary: A Painted House - down the road
Review: I was so very excited about the A Painted House when I heard about it. The story takes place just down the road from where I grew up. Black Oak, Ar. is about 4 miles from my families farm. Mr Grisham's family owns the land next to my Dad's so you can understand my excitement. The book was very well written as are all of his books and it brought back many memories of my childhood. I even learned some things I did not remember. I look forward to each new book John Grisham puts out, as each one seems to be a little better than the last.
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Summary: BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN
Review: Grisham strays far from the courtroom in this book, and the reader's opinion of the book will likely depend to a certain extent on whether they prefer the typical Grisham plots or like the new direction he has taken with "A Painted House". To this book's credit is the same familiar writing style. Grisham can turn the most devastating delimna into absolute prose with his eloquent, breath-taking writing style. There is an excellent plot to this book set in rural 1952 Arkansas. The Chandler's have taken on a crew of migrant Mexicans to work on their cotton farm but unrest settles in between the Mexicans and the "hill people." The story is told through the eyes of young Luke, who witnesses a murder. The book holds the readers attention but it lacks the thrill and suspense of many of Grisham's legal courtroom thrillers. The one aspect of the book that does disappoint me is the character development of young Luke. His dialogue seems far too wordly-wise for a boy seven years of age. His actions could pass for a young boy mature for his years, but the dialogue certainly does not mesh with his age. Do I like the new Grisham? The author certainly has creative talent and he deserves stars for that, but personally, I prefer the old Grisham. His familiar legal courtroom dramas have more suspense and a touch of psychological thrill that does not appear in "A Painted House." Overall, this book is worth reading, but it is not the work we have come to expect and anticipate from Grisham.
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Summary: Missing Out on a Painted House
Review: I have not been able to get into this book. Maybe because it was the first different book he wrote. I did love Skipping Christmas, though it was great.
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Summary: Cotton Was King?
Review: A completely fascinating read. I have read all of Grisham's book and except for The Chair and the tobacco company book, have evjoyed each. When I first saw A Painted House advertised, mention was made that it reflected Grisham's own childhood and I decided I didn't want to read it. In Target over the holidays, I picked it up to read. What a wonderful cast of characters, the writing was so concise in describing events and people. I had a hard time believing 1952 Arkansas was that backward. I graduated from high school that year and had lived in central Florida for many years without seeing the poverty he described, or the desolation. I do have Illinois farmer ancesors and can really relate to the troubles of the farmer and the pessimism over their ever breaking out of the circle of despair and poverty. I'm completely hooked. What happened to these people when they did "go North"? I don't necessarily mean the Chandlers. I mean all the sharecroppers and small land owners who just finally couldn't keep going. Particularly when the allure of cars, good jobs, painted houses was an 18 hour bus trip away. How about another--either about the Chandlers or of the same genre?
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Summary: Excellent Reading
Review: Certainly a departure from Grishom's usual writing. I loved the book. You almost felt as if you were on the cotton farm with the young boy. It was apparent throughout the book that this was written by someone who had experienced first-hand all the hardships, friendships, and love generated during a less than luster crop season. Keep them coming, John. Also loved Skipping Christmas.
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Summary: A Cotton-Picking Page-Turner
Review: John Grisham has yet to disappoint. Faced with spending time with the parents for Christmas, I decided I needed a book to read, and picked up A Painted House. I chose it not becuase I particularly wanted to read about picking cotton in Arkansas, but because I have greatly enjoyed Grisham's legal thrillers. Although there was not a lawyer to be found, the tale of seven-year-old Luke Chandler and his family was quite gripping. I found it difficult to put the book down (as I had with Grisham's other works), and I finished it in two days.
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