A Painted House

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: A Painted House, by John Grisham, is one of the first summer reading books I've actually enjoyed. It tells the story of Luke Chandler, a seven-year-old boy growing up in a farming family in rural Arkansas. Luke has never had to tell a lie or keep a secret in his life. But as Mexicans and hill people arrive on the farm to help the Chandlers harvest cotton, everything begins to change. Murder, forbidden love, and many other strange secrets begin to surface- and Luke is caught up in the middle. John Grisham has woven a story with lovable characters and a lesson in growing up that anyone can enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: The Best!
Review: This is the best book I have read this year. I have enjoyed all of Grisham's books, but this one was a refreshing change. He is a terrific writer. As a baby boomer, it's quite a delight to pick up a book which doesn't have profanity and sexual content on every page - just a good, clean book, the thoughts of which are conveyed by a 7-year-old boy -- a "Norman Rockwell" painting. Having grown up in the 50's I was able to identify with so much -- a trip to town on Saturday afternoons for ice cream, relatives having to live in the same house for economic reasons, an uncle being off in the war, having a parents who picked cotton 18 hours a day in the relentless heat, helping out the less fortunate neighbors, and the deep-seated need for every family to be in church every Sunday, and praying daily together. I can't say enough good things about this book -- a must read for the summer.

Rating:
Summary: I loved It!!!
Review: I knew from the moment that I heard that John Grisham had written a new book that I wanted to read it. I knew that it had nothing to do with law and lawyers, and that peaked my interest even more. I got the book from a library and started reading it the night I got it. I finished it the next day after work; I couldn't put it down. I loved it. It was such a great look into the inner workings of a family, and a small town. I love baseball and loved how that fit into the story. I thoroughly enjoyed A Painted House.

Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece!
Review: I've read almost all of John Grisham's books and have enjoyed them. He is certainly a master story teller when it comes to themes related to the law, lawyers, courts, etc. However, I give a book five stars if, at the end, I feel I've met real people and feel connected to them. In addition, I want to know more about these people and have a strong desire for the author to write a sequel so that I can continue to enjoy my association and connection with the people I've begun to know and to like. This is what happened to me with "A Painted House."

It was a good story with many moments of excitement but I was truly sad when this novel ended because I wanted more. I want to know what happens to my new friends!

I also give a book five stars if it captures a moment in history and relates in a believable manner what people were like at that time and what they were probably thinking and experiencing. "A Painted House" did all these things and much more as the lives of people from four different social strata were interwoven in a masterful way. It is my prediction that fifty to one hundred years from now, "A Painted House" will be considered a masterpiece. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Portrait of 1950¿s Farm Life in A Painted House
Review: I had delayed reading this latest Grisham novel, because I was afraid that his venture into non-legal thrillers wouldn't live up to his reputation. I'm happy to report that I was wrong. Grisham has mastered this genre as skillfully as the legal field.

In the summer of 1952, Luke Chandler learns about keeping secrets and telling lies. At the tender age of 7, he's the central character in this novel set in the rural Arkansas town of Black Oak in the heart of cotton farming land. The crops are ready for picking, and the Chandlers, like all the local farmers, hire on gangs of Mexicans and hill people to pick the crops during the long harvest season.

Luke lives with his mother and father and grandma and grandpa on the Chandler farm. They're barely eking out a living, since the cost of seed, fertilizer and equipment is barely covered by the crops, which can be so easily affected by drought or floods. Farmers are born worriers, and though they try not to talk too much about their worries in front of Luke, he is very perceptive and mature for a 7-year old. His father's younger brother is away fighting in Korea, which gives them something else to worry about.

Right away, Luke senses trouble among the Spruills, who are the hill people that are now camping in their front yard. They have a beautiful, sultry 17-year old daughter, as well as a surly, violent older son, and a mentally retarded son. The Chandler's main concern is that every member of the family pick as much cotton as possible every day. The Mexicans are staying in the barn, and at least one of them is sinister and violent and carries a knife. The tension between the Mexicans and Spruills simmers just below the boiling point, and threatens to boil over at any moment.

Luke witnesses and overhears events that are very troubling to him, and although as a good Baptist he knows the evil of lying and keeping secrets, he is also aware of the damage that could be done if he reveals everything he knows. The town is all riled up after a brutal fight ended in a death. A fatherless baby is born to the teenage daughter of the nearby sharecroppers. The Spruills' daughter is flirting with the violent Mexican picker, and Luke witnesses a brutal murder. The farmers are obsessed with the prospect of early floods that would destroy the cotton before it can be picked. Following each and every game of the St. Louis Cardinals provides one of the few entertainments available to the farmers. Meanwhile, someone is secretively painting the weathered siding of the Chandlers' farmhouse one plank at a time.

Life on a cotton farm seems simple and placid, but the intrigue and emotions portrayed in this novel contradict that misconception. The characters are vivid and real. The details of everyday life in the farming community are extraordinary. What seems to be a simple novel about farming in the 1950's becomes a fascinating, absorbing tale of the daily struggle to survive. The pristine white paint that creeps up the siding of the house one board at a time provides the contrast to the dark evil that lurks within the community.

I became thoroughly engaged in this novel, and sincerely hope that Grisham decides to try his hand again at this type of character-based novel.

Rating:
Summary: A Painted House
Review: This book was so enjoyable,I hated for it to end. I think a sequel is in order.

Rating:
Summary: Don't buy if you're looking for a legal thriller!
Review: When Grisham's The Firm was released, it was the first fiction book I read in many, many years. He convinced me that I could really enjoy reading a book. I got hooked on legal thrillers. Buying this book, Painted House, was a huge mistake. It's not a legal thriller. Nevertheless, I kept hoping it would grab my interest, but it didn't. I tossed out the book after reading about 1/2 of it (and checking the ending to make sure I wouldn't miss anything by tossing it out).

Rating:
Summary: Yawn.
Review: "A Painted House" is a novel about one season of cotton picking in the life of Luke Chandler, a likeable seven year-old Cardinals fan growing up on his grandparents' farm in Arkansas. His father and grandfather are cotton-picking fiends, fighting the elements. Hired labor includes a group of Mexicans and the "hill people" who come down to the farms to hire out during picking season. His mother has never wanted to live on a farm and does her best to keep Luke's ambitions higher as well. Luke's uncle Ricky is an unseen presence, fighting the Korean War. The Chandlers make trips to town for church, deliveries to the cotton gin, and general shopping and socializing on Saturdays (after bath time for Luke). Worry overshadows everything... about the weather, about Ricky in Korea, about troubles with the laborers, and mostly about the crop, the crop, the crop. And in the meantime, the farmhouse gets painted.

It's a nice enough, well-written story. Luke's voice is authentic and touching.
But, sadly, it's dull, dull, dull... and there just isn't much else to say.

Rating:
Summary: A Painted House
Review: John Grisham the former trial lawyer turned best selling author has given us his first non legal thriller since he first burst on the scene with the gut wrenching morality tale "A Time To Kill". This book evokes the splendours and pleasantries of southern lifestyles in the 1950's. It's main Character Luke Chandler is a young boy who is slowly coming of age. He works tirelessly with his father and the Mexican Migrants who are employed for the summer by local farmers. They grow and harvest a bountiful crop of Cotton but the last few years have been incredibly trying for the Chandler family. Luke is hopeful that this year things will be different as he has heard talk amongst the grownups that this year it could be a "Good Crop". The story takes Luke and family through many misadventures including Luke's first look at a naked woman in the form of Tally, one of the Mexican workers who Luke finds attractive. There is also the mystery as to who has been painting sections of the decrepit old house and even life threatning secrets to contend with. Grisham strays as far away from the legal stories as he can without completely turning his back. The pace is slower then his usual books but the multi - layered plot is a warm and inviting experience.

Rating:
Summary: A Painted House
Review: Kelsey Stephens
Core 4
"Then, he picked up a two by four, hit him on the head and killed him," a young, seven year old told the police officer.
The police officer was interviewing the young Luke Chandler because he was a bystander in a large fight that took place.
A Painted House by John Grisham is a great book with a lot of twists and turns with morals along the way.
A lot of times people, who aren't in anyway disabled, just go on with their lives not noticing things. People, who are cripple in some way, absorb more and get more meaning out of things. Such as Trot does when he is a guest at the Chandler's home. He realizes that these people aren't blessed with fortune so they can paint their house. Instead, they don't have any paneling, siding, or paint on their house. Trot sees that this embarrasses the family so he slowly paints the house all by himself and with his own money.
Children can very easily get themselves into unwanted territory just like Luke does when he accidently witnesses murders. Also, how Luke goes out sneaking during the night and learns some things that he was never supposed to know.
I really liked this book because I got both a great read, and I learned about John Grisham's life. Also, this story is taken place in the 1950's era. I learned how people have to do hard labor to make it through the rough times. I can now compare modern life to fifty years ago. Grisham wrote this story based on his own childhood. I really enjoyed learning about him while having the pleasure of reading a great novel.
Conflicts arise very easily amongst people with different backgrounds. The Mexicans who come to the Chandler's cotton farm were very much different than the Chandler's. They believed differently on things that were right and wrong. Such as when they don't think that getting in a fight and severely hurting someone is a big deal. Even death arises in some situations.
It really moved me when Trot painted the house. It really touched me because it took Trot so long, and it would be so much trouble for him to go through.
I didn't like the parts where Luke would talk about the St. Louis Cardinals because I am a big Cub's fan. Although, I did like it, baseball was a fairly large part of the book.
I thought that Luke liking the older Mexican was cute. It made me more interested in the book. At the beginning, I thought for sure that there was no way a seventeen year old girl would like a seven year old boy. But, as I progressed through the book, I begin to believe more and more that maybe she did like Luke. But, reality struck me, and I came to my senses. I really enjoyed reading this book. Not only did I learn about Grisham's childhood, but I also got a taste of what it was like to live in the 1950's. The beginning is a little slow, but it is worth the wait to get to the suspenseful part.