A Painted House

Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected
Review: I am a huge John Grisham fan but I enjoyed John Grisham's past books much better than A Painted House. I, like so many other reviewers, purchased this book in anticipation of reading a gripping book that you just couldn't put down. It took me forever to read this book and the only reason I finished it was by sheer determination. It is John Grisham's choice to change his writing style and it was probably refreshing for him but it is not the style that his fans want and not the style that will sell the next time.

Rating:
Summary: Who Needs Heart-pounding Plot Twists
Review: One reviewer said this book was short on plot and short on characters. I agree. A Painted House is about setting. It is a simple story about about the lives of simple people over a brief period of time. But when I read this book, for one cloudy afternoon, I was plucked from my chair and quickly transported to and totally immersed in a different world. I've read all of Grisham's books, although I usually lose interest about halfway through most of them. Make no mistake about it, this guy is special. Like in A Time to Kill, his only other good book, John Grisham really knows how to put your fingertips on the eyelashes of a small southern town. You can feel the heat of the September sun, smell the slow moving river, hear the hillbilly laborers, feel a young boys awe for a pretty teenage girl, taste the excitement of Saturday afternoon in a farm town, bask in the laziness of a Sunday afternoon, sit on the porch in the summer twilight listening to a baseball game on the radio. No murders, no mafia, no heart-pounding plot twists. But who needs them when you've been transported to another world. It is amazing how such a simple story can be so captivating.

Rating:
Summary: Cotton Picking
Review: It doesn't seem to matter what subject he tackles, Grisham grabs you and won't let go until you're finished..and leaves you longing for more. This book reminded me of my childhood and growing up in the South in the 40s/50s. I use to visit my "rural cousins" and only once did I try to pick cotton - it was truly back-breaking work and I didn't even last one row. Through the eyes of a child Grisham expertly captures the spirit and lives of some of the hard scrabble Southern farm families, a picture of good, God-fearing people who work hard for little reward and share what they have with others less fortunate because it's the right thing to do. Luke doesn't even realize they are "poor" until there is no more money to buy paint. I personally hope Mr. Grisham will continue to draw on his Southern roots for other stories like this, as well as his legal thrillers which I also enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed!
Review: Being a Grisham fan to the nth degree (now having read all of his books), I dived in to this book with great expectations. Unfortunately, it took forever to "get in to" the story and when I finished I thought I'd missed something. It's such a total departure from his usual thrillers and, I guess, I'd like to see him continue his original focus rather than try this route.

Rating:
Summary: This book takes you back in time..
Review: This story is a complete departure from the usual Grisham law formula, and the results are wonderful. After years of sometimes great, sometimes cliche, and always entertaining lawyer dramas, Grisham suddenly decides to write a book about a 7-year-old on a poor cotton farm in Arkansas. The story comes to life. It is told in such a simple, compelling way, that it captures you in its innocence and honesty. I found myself not wanting the book to end because I was so in tune with this 7 year old and his view on life and the struggle for survival against the elements for this poor but proud family. The best way for me to describe the experience would be a "snapshot in time". It would like looking closely at an old grainy photograph of some people and wondering what and who they really were - and getting the chance to find out. If you haven't purchased or read the book, wait for the paperback. I give the story and the writing 4 stars, but deducted one for the outrageous price of the hardback version.

Rating:
Summary: Has Grisham lost his touch...?
Review: I became an immediate fan of John Grisham after reading "The Firm" back in 1992, and ever since, I've been anxiously waiting for him to write another compelling, page-turning, ingeneous legal thriller. He succeeded with both "The Client" and especially "The Pelican Brief". However, ever since "The Street Lawyer" - Grisham's by far worst novel so far - Grisham seems to be struggling to find new plots and interesting stories to tell. Maybe that explains his move away from the legal thriller genre and into a field where he must be considered a novice. "A Painted House" takes place in the cotton-picking season in rural Arkansas in the 1950s, and the storyteller is a 7-year-old boy. Complex character description has never been one of Grisham's strongest assets, but the exciting plots of his legal thrillers have somewhat compensated for this. But "A Painted House" has no exciting plot, and the characters remain as superficially described as in his most recent books, leaving little to hold up the story. A couple of people do die in this book, but there's no "who-dunnit" over it this time. Instead, Grisham spends about 85% of the book on telling about cotton-picking, another 7% on baseball, leaving 8% to tell about life for a 7-year-old boy and his family and friends. Talk about a terrible wast of good paper and time. So, mr. Grisham: Please drop these 'fine literature' ambitions and get back to the field that you used to master like no other contemporary writer - even Scott Turow could learn a few things from your first 4 novels!

Rating:
Summary: New directions for this author.
Review: John Grisham surprises the reader by delving into a different direction than his last few books. This one is fresh and disarming. It reads like a short story. It's easy to relate to a boy's summer on the farm, from carefree child to maturity over the harvest time. Grisham tells a great story.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful departure; Very talented storyteller...
Review: I love a good story, and that's just what this is. Yes it's a departure from his usual, but I have to admire his talent. Am I the only reader wishing for a sequel? I almost didn't read this, based on the reviews, but am very, very glad I did. This is a simply story relating the hard life of a young boy growing up on a cotton farm in Arkansas in the 50's.

Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: I loved "A Painted House", for many reasons. It was fascinating to read a book so divergent from the author's usual style. Although very different from his typical novels, Grisham's wonderful gift for writing comes through loud and clear. The book was so appealing to me as it evoked memories of my own childhood in the late 50's when my family moved from Connecticut to southeast Florida. At ten years old, I had never witnessed the "old south". Thoughts of driving through the southern states and viewing houses just like the ones mentioned in the book were reawakened. I can recall wondering, at seeing some of these old, abandoned houses, "who lived there?" and "what were their lives like?" Grisham certainly answered some of those questions. Yes, life certainly seemed difficult for the family written about in the book, however, it was a wonderful journey back to another era. Family values, a phrase so often overused and meaningless today were so beautifully expressed in this book. Since this book was based on Grisham's childhood, I would love to be able to ask the author about some of the incidents that were portrayed. Which were fact and which were fiction? The novel centers around a seven year old boy, but anyone can relate to the emotions that this child experienced. An excellent read!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: As a Mexican-American, this book hit close to home.
Review: As a third generation Mexican-American, this story hit very close to home. I didn't have to endure any of it, but my forefathers did. The stories of being treated like cattle at times and the endless, brutal work is rarely discussed anymore, we just let it be a thing of the past. Because of their efforts and relentless spirit of "wanting more," as Luke's mother wanted, today we enjoy many opportunities and a life style completely different from the days of cotton picking. Grisham's story, while at times "too real" for my taste, was very truthful and tastefully done. So then, the story kept me on the edge knowing Grisham would certainly tell a great tale.