Rating: 
Summary: Luke's Initiation
Review: A PAINTED HOUSE by John Grisham is a classic piece of Americana. Luke Chandler's adventures in an Arkansas cotton field are as eloquent as Tom Sawyer's trip down the Mississippi or Huck Finn's sneaky excursions in and out of his aunt's house. Secrets keep piling up on seven-year old Luke during the summer of l952, a pivotal time for his struggling farm family. He deals with secret knowledge of vicious beatings, an illegitimate baby, and murder. It's much more than an adult could be expected to handle successfully. But Luke does it with great coolness. John Grisham is a lawyer turned writer. His storytelling skills have thrilled readers ever since A TIME TO KILL was published in l988. Plot twists turn up at a fast pace and the reader is left to wonder how young Luke can withstand the steady pounding of one tragedy after another. They engulf his life like the flood waters that creep inch by inch into the cotton fields. But the secret painting of the farm house is a metaphor of hope and change to come. Grisham crafted a story that is complete. It works. Subplots intertwine masterfully creating a tightly woven tapestry of a lifestyle that exists in the poor backwaters of the South. Grisham fans will enjoy A PAINTED HOUSE even though the courtroom has been left behind. The brutal work in the cotton fields becomes real and a perfect setting to display human passions that flare and wreck havoc. Some of Grisham's other novels are THE FIRM, THE CHAMBER, and THE BRETHEN.
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Summary: My favorite Grisham novel.
Review: I just want to add my voice to the crowd; this book is worth reading. I loved it and my wife loved it as well. This book is simply, IMO, John Grisham's best effort to date. That being said, I haven't read the SUMMONS yet.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice Story
Review: Grisham really peiced together a good book. It tells the story of Luke Chandler's boyhood on a cotton farm in Arkanas and goes through several adventures with the workers hired to pick the cotton.
Grisham finally gets away from the lawyer theme in this book, which was a pleasant change. I have always found that a famous author writting out of his genre can produce a nice story, once they get away from the formula that is present in other works. Another good example of this is Wish You Well by Dave Baldacci. I suggest it if you liked this book.
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Summary: GREAT READ!!
Review: This has to be one of Grishams best! I read it one day and at the end it just left me wanting more!!!
Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: I bought this book because I have read all of Grisham's books. I left it on the shelf forever and kept putting off reading it because I didn't think I would like it. I was so wrong. It was amazing. This book could become a classic - you could very well see this on the high school reading lists someday.
Rating: 
Summary: Paint by Numbers
Review: 'A Painted House' is set in Arkansas in 1952, on a cotton farm run by the Chandler family, with seven-year-old Luke Chandler serving as our narrator and protagonist. In order to harvest the cotton, the Chandlers hire two groups of migrant workers, the 'hill country' Spruill family and a band of Mexicans. The Spruills set camp on the Chandlers' front yard, while the Mexicans settle in the barn. Thus Grisham sets up a neat little triangle of conflict between the Chandlers, the Spruills, and the Mexicans. The Chandlers are under pressure to get the crop in on time; they also worry about Ricky, Luke's uncle, who is fighting in Korea.
The first thing a careful reader notices about 'A Painted House' is Grisham's flouting of a cardinal rule: a writer must show, not tell. Throughout the book, Grisham 'tells' with a vengeance, as is shown here, when Luke contrasts the differences between his mother and grandmother: "But Gran had been born and bred deep in the cotton patch. She knew she would be buried deep in the soil she worked. My mother longed for an escape." How much better it would be if that longing for escape were shown. Consider the following passage, the narrator's focus still on the two women: "They both loved music, and occasionally one would hum while the other sang softly. The music kept the tension buried." Conflict between two major characters can and should be dramatically shown; the two passages above convey information, but neither is interesting. This problem is perpetuated throughout the novel. Since we don't experience the story, nothing comes into sharp focus; the narrator merely tells, so we get the story second-hand. Grisham also has problems describing characters, as in this example, when the Mexican laborers arrive on the farm: "They were all a little shorter than Pappy, very thin, and they all had black hair and brown skin." We must assume that Mr. Grisham is writing for Martians-the rest of us have already seen these black haired, dark skinned Mexicans; Grisham shouldn't have bothered for our sake. Another issue is the moral nature and psychological makeup of our narrator. The seven-year-old Luke is given an adolescent libido, which results in a series of strange passages, with Luke displaying a sexual awareness hardly consistent with his age. 'A Painted House' reads like a first draft, where a writer is laying out the bare bones of a story, knowing full well that he will have to flesh out scenes and create dramatic sequences on the second pass. Yet it seems that no second pass was ever attempted, and we are left scratching our heads as to how this novel, in its current form, was ever published. A good editor was needed, one who could say to the writer: Your story has promise, but it's under-developed. And we need a resolution regarding Ricky Chandler. And maybe Luke should be twelve, instead of seven. All of these things may have gotten Grisham on the right track. Who will like this novel? I would recommend it only to those who already enjoy Grisham's work.
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Summary: bittersweet, evocative account of a tumultuous boyhood
Review: After savoring John Grisham's "A Painted House," it is easy to understand why this talented author has such a devoted national following. Sensitive, provocative and sweetly sad, "A Painted House" perfectly evokes time, place and character; the narrative is utterly captivating as it encourages the reader to not only identify with the people who live in the novel's pages but to perceive life in rural 1952 Arkansas as if we are sharing the lives of the Chandler family. Grisham's abundant talents as a storyteller are evident in this sympathetic recounting of Luke Chandler's seventh year of life, but the reader can savor even more the deft, subtle introduction of serious themes throughout the novel. Black Oak, Arkansas, 1952, becomes of microcosm of impoverished rural America on the cusp of modernization. Isolated by geography and culture, the three generations of Chandler men, Eli, Jesse and young Luke, have been wed to subsistence cotton farming. Tenuously holding on to survival, the Chandlers depend on cotton; their lives are tethered to the land and are subjected to the vagaries of weather, the market and the availability of seasonal labor to harvest their precious crop. Against this backdrop of family and regional pride, the Chandlers encounter circumstances which compel them to examine their attitudes, behaviors and expectations. "A Painted House" movingly presents the shattering events of Luke's seventh year with uncommon skill and grace. The youthful Luke absorbs experiences and confidences which at once confirm and challenge his previously-held perception of his world. Events compel secrets; secrets reveal knowledge, and knowledge begets obligations. How does Luke respond to newfound responsibilities? In what manner will he balance the need for quiet and the surging urge for shared knowledge? Is it possible to reconcile the divergent pressures for family coherence, economic survival and ethical behavior? What exactly is the right thing to do when confronted with wrong? All of a sudden, life becomes much more than fantasizing about his beloved St. Louis Cardinals, and heroic performance is transmuted from Stan Musial's exploits to real actions by family members and fellow workers. The sheer wonder of the narrative, however, is eclipsed, in my judgment, by the majesty in which John Grisham treats the numerous serious themes aswirl in his work. Previously isolated rural America is in the process of modernization, and the attendant stresses and dislocations (from war to the vagaries of economic markets) receive serious attention. Racial antipathies, blended skillfully with class antagonisms and regional prejudices, not only advance the plot but compel Luke to consider moral behaviors in a markedly modern cast. Human sexual behavior, from childbirth to romance, entices and confuses Luke; his reluctant, but exciting, knowledge of the adult world of family life, romantic love and human sexuality is one of the best aspects of the novel. Grisham also deftly treats natural disaster, casual violence and familial power relations with uncommon sensitivity. "A Painted House" is that kind of book that yearns to be shared. A celebration of voice, the novel rings with authenticity. Its vibrant chracters have real struggles; its conflicts yield no easy solutions; its optimism is genuine and deeply affecting. Blending Mark Twain's capacity to tell a good story while instructing the readers as to matters of the heart and John Steinbeck's abiding love for and trust in the decency of working men and women, John Grisham's novel will endure as a treasure.
Rating:
Summary: One of Grisham's best
Review: I was pleasantly surprised with this novel which is, so far as I know, Grisham's first attempt at non-courtroom-centred drama. The story is told from the perspective of Luke Chandler, a 7-year-old living with his parents and grandparents on their Arkansan cotton farm in the early 1950s. To help with the harvest, two groups of people, Mexicans and Hill People, live with the Chandlers over the summer. The story follows Luke as he watches the big world unfold around him. There's a murder, a fatherless baby, a seductive young girl, a carnival, church every Sunday - all the fixings for a great read, really. Pure Americana. I absolutely loved this book. It had just the right tone for me. It was observational, and never came across as one-sided or preachy. The book is made up of little observations, about church (why do the church members pray for the soul of a man they knew was going to hell?), crop-farming, lying, parenting and family in general (the family structure is fabulous - the characters are great), all the good stuff. From the first page, I felt as though I had entered Luke's world, where cotton farming, church on Sunday and weekly trips to town are just a part of life, and where Cardinals baseball is larger than life itself. You can debate all you want about whether this book is about the costs of lying or justice or whatever else you want, but the book's really about Luke's dreams. Nothing more and nothing less. If you don't think so, just read the last line again. I found it ended exactly where I wanted to. The only issue I really wanted to see resolved was Ricky's return home, but that's neither here nor there. This book is certainly worth a read, for Grisham fans and non-Grisham fans (who will be happy to find not a single lawyer or courtroom) alike. In the end, it's just a slice of life story - no huge moral or life-shattering event - but Grisham's uncanny ability to write concise prose, natural dialogue and - especially - grasp the view point of child make this a well-told and thoughtful read. Matty J
Rating:
Summary: Excellent reading, different road for Grisham
Review: Enjoyed the book and wonderful manner in which it is written. Being from the south, much of the language and thought processes are familiar to me. Overall, very good reading. Recommend.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Pick!
Review: This book was great. The story line kept me hooked. Only one objection. At the end of the book, I wanted to know what was the fate of the farm and the little boy and his family. Maybe a sequel?
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