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Summary: Hey Hurricane Warning!
Review: I found this book to be a great read and would recomend it to anyone. By the way, SKIPPING Christmas was an excellent book to read anytime.
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Summary: Dry as Dirt
Review: I finally managed to finish this book on the third try. If you're expecting the typical Grisham intrigue and legal wranglings, pass this one by. If, on the other hand, you're into Americana and rural Arkansas, and maybe a cotton afficionado, you'll love it. People who liked Steinbeck's "The Red Pony" will probably lap it up. The synopsis on the back cover is far more interesting than the actual book, because it states all the plot points without the cotton padding. In fact it distorts the content of the book in an effort to fool you into thinking it's an entertaining read. The hero, Luke Chandler, is simply not believable as a seven year old, and the hill people, the sharecroppers, and the Mexicans are caricatures of a hundred bad movies. The last few chapters are the best in the book, as the gloom and despair lifts to reveal some light at the end of a long tunnel. Will somebody please send Mr. Grisham back to the courtroom?
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Summary: Good relaxing book
Review: Excellent book. He's an awesome novelist. This is a very relaxing book.
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Summary: A Great Summer Book
Review: I was looking for a decent novel to start off my summer leisure reading and I found it in this book. I found the characters to be vivid and believable and the plot was excellent with a thread of tension that starts in the first chapter and runs through the entire story. The main character, Luke, is a seven year old boy who has many attributes of children in that age range. But he is also an independent little soul who becomes overwhelmed at times with the secrets and events he witnesses. The vulnerability of Luke and his family, who are simple farmers thrust into a world of murder and devious people, will keep you reading. Grab a lawn chair and an iced tea and settle in for a good story!
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Summary: Boring
Review: Although the story is very well written--good character development, etc. it was BORING and predictable. So much so that with only 1/4 of the book left I found myself jumping ahead 50 pages or so at a time and not missing anything.
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Summary: Different, but good ! ! !
Review: It's nice to see Grisham take a break from his legal work and have a bit of fun. I read somewhere that this takes him back to his childhood. Well written and great characters. I made the mistake of watching the movie.
I wish the movie makers were able to do to the movie what Grisham did to the book.
I know that only so much can go into a movie, but I can dream can't I? Another excellent piece of work...! ! !T hanks...! ! !
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book..No doubt about it!
Review: A painted house was a great book, no doubt about it. I would have liked to have more a follow up with the different charactors. Although, I thought it fitting considering your hearing the story through a seven-year-old and his mindset. The book gave great illustration of life in that time. The symbolism is hidden and you have to search for it, that's what I loved about the book. I give it three Stars.
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Summary: Slow paced Americana novel..
Review: I wanted to like Painted House, but I admit, I found this book way too slow-paced for me. 1/4 way through, I had to give up on it. This book isn't necessarily bad. But it reads like a Steinbeck Americana novel, and having grown up on Steinbeck country, I'm saturated to the gills with novels describing the gritty early days of the 20th century. The protagonist is a young boy who longs to be a baseball star. At the age of 7 he toils in the fields alongside his family and grandparents. Highlights seem to include gossiping about other people in the small town, and listening to the radio. The boy's main interest appear to be a): baseball, and b): curiosity about the laborers his parents hire to harvest cotton. Okay, what I really wanted in the first two hours of listening to this tape, was for something to just HAPPEN. Nothing DOES. The boy just works the farm and dreams of playing baseball. YAWN. (I gather from reading the other reviews, something more serious happens later on, but for me I just could not muster the interest in reading further). Fans of Americana might like Painted House for its gritty depiction of 20th century life. Fans of his legal thrillers might have trouble with the turgid pacing and bland characters, I know I did.
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Summary: Seems oddly familar!
Review: A Painted House, is a coming of age story set in the cotton fields of rural Arkansas. 7-year-old Luke Chandler, who already seems older than his years, matures even more through many events he witnesses in the Summer of 1952. The only thing I really didn't like about this book is that I've read it before. 'To Kill A Mockingbird' by Harper Lee and 'Sometimes There's A Dove' by lesser known Mississippi author, Cynthia Ward. Maybe I was just tired of the rural, country tales by the time I got to 'A Painted House.' But it seemes as if he read both of these books and fused them into, 'A Painted House.' Grisham should stick with what he writes best...Legal thrillers...In my humble opinion.
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Summary: I loved it so much....a mom who read it to her aged 12 son
Review: We read to our son every night and are always looking for good material. This was one of my very favorites of many, many books we've read. I hadn't read any of Grisham's other books. I was so impressed with his marvelous writing and so enjoyed the story. The book was wonderful to read outloud, plus how great it was to be able to read a great book of substance to a kid and not have to censor it. Night after night after reading to my son I would say later to my husband, "I REALLY like the book we're reading...."
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