Rating: 
Summary: Captivating story, great writing
Review: As the story slowly develope, "A Painted House" seem to draw many parallelism to John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men". The giantic Hank who was killed (similar to Lenin) which was later killed. The girl who seeked attention - Tally (similar to Curley's wife), the Mexicans (just as other ranch workers) etc.The book slowly unfolds the fate of a family in the summer of September 1955. The chain of events that led Luke Chandler, a seven year old boy to bear the many burdens of secrets he never had before, and learning to keep them. A delight to me came when Luke got the Mexicans to whitewash (paint) the house and gently reminds me of Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer". An excellent read about farm land down South, the story managed to captivate me and will prove to be worthy read.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing at all like 'The Firm'
Review: When I got this book, the only thing I had on my mind was all of his other books that he had written...suspense, thrills, edge-of-your-seat kind of action. Not at all like that!! It started out really, really slow. Set back in the 1950's on a cotton farm in the back woods of Arkansas, the Chandler family is having a tough time getting workers to work the fields. The son, Luke Chandler, is a character that you can't help but to fall in love with. This was a change for me, but all-in-all, it was a pretty good book; just too slow!!! Latrica
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable and fun
Review: What probably throws most people off about this book is the fact that it's such a departure from Grisham's other works. For me this was not a problem as this was my first "Grisham." Now, I've gone back and read his other books, and I can see why people are upset with his sudden and drastic foray into this type of writing. I don't know where the comparisons to "To Kill A Mockingbird" come in--good or bad--because I can see no similarities whatsoever. This book stands on it's own for what it is--a pleasant read, a diversion into a new style for the author, and a well-written little piece of fiction. My only hesitation with the book was that some of the loose ends were not tied up. Unless Grisham is planning a sequal, I felt he should have let us in on what happens to a few of the characters. All-in-all, this was pleasant time spent with an easy book. If you're a fan of books set in the South, such as Fried Green Tomatoes, Bark of the Dogwood, or The Color Purple, then you'll probably like this book as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Harper Lee
Review: For anyone who has read this book, did "To Kill a Mockingbird" come to mind after the first few pages? It did for me and I thought that it was a bad attempt at trying to create a story that mimics what Harper Lee did so beautifully so many years ago. I have to wonder if this is John Grisham's attempt to write "literature" instead of "pop fiction". As another reviewer pointed out, there is very little character development and, as a result, there's no reason to feel any sympathy for these characters who are working under extreme conditions in rural Arkansas in the '50s. Grisham didn't give me a reason to care. I will add that, at least in this book, the descriptions regarding several events were well written. I had no problem visualizing the baseball game in which the Mexicans played against the locals or the wrestling match at the carnival. He described those very well. In fact, they may have been a little too descriptive - as if they were ready to be adapted to the big screen. The dialogue - what little there was - needed some help and just didn't seem believable. Especially the dialogue between a 17 year-old girl and a 7 year-old boy. In a nutshell, it's an OK read if you are looking for something light and nostalgic
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Summary: A god damn boring book with no plot at all
Review: I was very disappointed with this book as it was god damn boring.I was very patient with the book and i waited for the plot to develop.However,there isn't a plot at all and the characters were poorly developed.The story just rambled on and on about how hard farm life is.Don't pick up this book unless u are really a fan of his....
Rating:
Summary: An Inviting Change of Pace for Grisham
Review: To his credit, John Grisham has begun to branch out over the past few years. This was the start of that phase and of the non-legal books he has published, it is probably the best. The story takes place in rural Arkansas in 1952 on the Chandler cotton farm. It's harvest time, and the family has hired a crew of migrant Mexicans and "hill people" to pick cotton. Trouble begins to brew between the Mexicans and the hill people, particularly during an impromptu baseball game. One of the hill people is particularly brutal and feared by nearly everyone. This all leads to his murder, which Luke, the seven-year old narrator of the book, has the misfortune of witnessing and not being able to tell what he saw out of fear for his life and his family's lives. Oddly, the murder does not overshadow the rest of the tale and it all reaches a rather odd, but somehow satisfying conclusion. The book in many ways is something of a rite of passage for Luke and his family as they come to realize that a way of life that they have known for years is coming to an end. Grisham demonstrates here that he definitely has a flair for more than legal thrillers, and while this book is no "To Kill a Mockingbird," it still is a nice read about a time now past.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: This was one of the better books I read this year. This book keep my attention all the way through the book. I hadn't read any of John Grisham's books before and I really liked this one. The book was about a boy named Luke, who lived on a cotton farm with his family. This book showed what it was like living in the 1950's on a cotton farm. It showed the hardships of the family's life on the farm. It also showed the different types of people in Arkansas during the 1950's, including the Hill people, who came down to work on the farm. A second group were the Mexicans, who were transported to Arkansas for work. Both groups were very different from Luke's family. I thought this book was so good that now I'am reading "The Firm" by John Grisham.
Rating:
Summary: Didn't really like it!
Review: I have read almost all of Grisham's other tales. I knew not to expect the typical lawyer tale, but I could not get into this book. For me it did not have the substance that I was seeking. I was frankly bored by the tale of the mountain-people coming to town to help the farmers. It just did not have mystery, suspense, romance or anything captivating to me. If you like this kind of story, I guess it is good for what it is, but it definately wasn't for me. If I had skipped ahead and read the last chapter, I probably would have quit the book less than half way through. Sorry, but I just didn't like the story!
Rating:
Summary: Slow paced, but Good
Review: This was my first Grisham novel. I know it is not the norm for him. I thought the 1st 100 pages were too slow, but it did eventually pick up. Then I wanted more and more. The ending left with a few unanswered questions, but I am glad I read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Good Story, But The Ending Is Lacking
Review: I enjoyed this book a great deal until I reached the ending. I did not feel that the author wrapped up a few of the story lines as he should. I was left wondering what happened to a few of the main characters. It would have been nice if the author had included some sort of epilogue as a way of letting the reader know what finally did become of the Chandler family, Ricky, and the Latcher family. Did Ricky ever make it home? Where did the Latcher's go after the flood ended? Did the Chandler's ever return back to the farm? All questions that I would have appreciated answers to. The author gives a few hints as to what could possibly happen, but I guess I just prefer things a bit more concrete. All in all though it's a good story that moves along at an excellent pace.
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