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Summary: Stuck in the Middle of Grisham's Lawyerly Novels
Review: My favorite Grisham and its without the lawyer. A novel without a proper conclusion but really thought -provoking.
Seeing with the eyes of a 5-year-old is sure a pleasant read. His conflicts in life and the way he sees them made me wonder 'Can I survive with these conflicts?' But the answer came really fast. I can because kids don't think like this little hero.
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Summary: Read this before you enter in your credit card #
Review: John Grisham gets off track with this seller. His usual legal thrillers are put to the side while this book is in the spotlight. The scene is a rural Arkansas cotton field in the 1950's. Our narrator is a young boy Luke, seven years of age. He 'loses his innocence' in this book as he witnesses murder, child birth, and arguements. This tale will catch your eye in the beginning, but beware- the middle is a sleeper. Towards the end you just want to read it to get it over with. But, if you like stories about the past, this is a book for you.
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Summary: A Different Grisham Than Normal
Review: I am always a bit leery and concerned when an author I like attempts something radically different than the previous works. Usually the book is a disaster, the author learns a lesson and gets it out of his or her system, and goes back to what made the author worth reading in the first place. I expected the usual situation in this novel and expected to have to work my way through, reading glasses firmly in place and nose to the grindstone, to finish it. I simply dreaded this book and I could not have been more wrong. It simply wasn't the case. The man best known for setting off the continuing wave of lawyer style mysteries and thrillers with his second novel, The Firm, creates a powerfully moving human story. This novel is written in a completely different style and is a remarkable change of pace from his other works. The characters are rich and developed from the beginning and as the story evolves, nuances and shading are added, changing each character in subtle, yet powerful ways. The story revolves around the small world of Luke Chandler, age seven, who lives on a cotton farm in Southern Arkansas with his parents and grandparents. The family rents 80 acres and on a good year, barely breaks better than even. The depression came and never left. The year is 1952, late fall, the cotton is ready to be picked, and his uncle is off fighting the war in Korea. Luke does not want to farm and instead, wants to play ball for his beloved St. Louis Cardinals. His mother hates the farming life and is determined that Luke will go to college. His father would prefer him to farm, but is willing to go with what Luke's mother wants. His grandparents are equally divided as well, with his grandfather aware that a way of life is passing by. They have rented the acreage for generations and never made enough to buy it outright. Without enough hands to pick the cotton, the Chandlers must rely on the good graces of migrant farm workers. The Chandlers, like other farm families in the area, go through a yearly ritual of hiring workers as they begin to trickle into town. The farm is deep in debt, cotton prices are down, and the cost of labor is going up. But, the cotton has to be picked and everything else becomes secondary to the harvest. The harvest becomes the dominant theme of the work. A full harvest of a good crop allows them a few extra luxuries while a poor harvest or no harvest means they slide further in debt and face losing the little they rent and own. The first ones hired are a family down from the Ozarks who have complex problems of their own. The Spruills are a family of seven. There are four boys and a young lady, ten years older than Luke, and he is instantly attracted to her. She is also attracted to him in a big sister sort of way, but Luke reads too much into it. The Chandlers also hire a group of Mexicans from a large pool that is trucked into town every year. Unfortunately for Luke, his friend Juan isn't with the group this year, and he is forced to deal with that fact and make new friends. Against the backdrop of the unrelenting heat and the backbreaking effort to pick cotton, cultures and personalities quickly clash in deceit, treachery and murder. For Luke Chandler, this harvest will be like no other and will change his life forever. His priorities will change massively as he realizes what is truly important. This is a pleasant change from the usual Grisham fare of deceitful lawyers, back stabbing judges, and corporate greed. The characters are more diverse, driven by other factors than the worship of a dollar. Grisham shows a breath of characters and writing style not shown in his previous works and I hope this was not a one-time thing. While I thoroughly enjoyed The Firm, and to a lesser extent some of his more recent works, this one was a refreshing breath of air and very enjoyable.
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Summary: Not my favorite grisham book
Review: It was okay, certainly nothing I will read again. I kept waiting on it to pick-up about 1/2 through, but it never did!
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Summary: Change of pace for Grisham
Review: This is more of the style of Salman Rushdie then the usual Grisham. It is not a legal-thriller or a page turner. It is however a good story for a long train ride or a plane flight.
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Summary: John Grisham Displays His Versatility as a Writer
Review: John Grisham shows his versatility as a writer in the story of a seven-year-old boy who is privy to adult secrets. The conflict Luke Chandler faces is the grist of Grisham's novel. Unlike the courtroom dramas that trademark earlier books, A PAINTED HOUSE takes place in rural Arkansas in 1952, where the setting is a family's cotton farm. An only child, Luke is introduced to two migrant groups, the hill people and the Mexicans. His childhood is turned upside down when they interact with the Chandler family. The outsiders arrive in Black Oak to work in the cotton harvest for Luke's father and grandfather, who struggle to pay their bills. The hill people come from the mountains in the northern part of the state and are considered hillbillies. The low-class Spruills pitch a tent and set their camp in the Chandler front yard --- an unforgivable act, according to Luke. By contrast, the Mexicans live in the barn. One of them, Cowboy, terrifies Luke when he shows off a switchblade and the intent to use it if necessary. Conflict erupts when Hank Spruill, a hulking giant of a young man, bullies the Mexicans. Hank antagonizes everyone he meets in the small town of Black Oak. Luke witnesses one brutal thrashing that Hank gives a local boy. The consequences of that encounter remain a dark secret the boy is forced to keep. Grisham develops a suspenseful story, characteristic of his earlier books. A PAINTED HOUSE is a tale of social ambiguities inherent in small communities. On the one side, Luke's family is financially superior to the visiting clans. But he is made to feel inferior when the malicious Hank points out that the Chandlers' clapboard house is a gray, unpainted wood. Hank boasts that the Spruill residence in Eureka Springs is painted white. Luke's love for baseball consumes him. He longs to play one day for the St. Louis Cardinals, his ticket out of the farming community. He saves his meager wages from picking cotton to buy a Cardinals jacket. However, Luke makes a choice based on friendship that will complicate his dream. Grisham's words allow the reader to become one with his characters and their surroundings. Ordinary lives become complex with tiny twists of plot. His characters come alive on the page. One cares about the outcome of each side story in the entire piece. A PAINTED HOUSE is set apart from ordinary coming-of-age stories by Grisham's artful use of sensory details. One can hear a hissing, coiled snake, feel the chill blast of a tornado's fury and smell the stench of water-soaked cotton balls. His use of minor characters, both onscreen and off-screen, is masterful. Reference to the absent Ricky Chandler is an insight into the Korean War and its effects on a rural society. Grisham uses detail to transport his audience into a quiet community of our recent American past. And a bucket of paint becomes a symbol for new beginnings. --- Reviewed by Judy Gigstad
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Summary: John Grisham at his finest
Review: This is my absolute favorite John Grisham novel. Reading this book took me back to the time when my mother was growing up (she also spent her childhood picking cotton with her family). Although the ending kind of leaves you hanging, it's a very good story that keeps you interested right up to the very end.
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Summary: Secrets, Secrets, secrets
Review: A Painted House is mainly about a young boy raised in the country on a farm. He has to pick cotton, but despises it. They have hill people and Mexicans living on their farm. Luke sees and does things that he has to keep secret. He's a very curious little boy who gets into mischief. It's a humorous book that keeps the reader entertained and wondering.
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Summary: Touching tale of hard-luck and secrets
Review: Inspired by his own childhood in rural Arkansas, this touching tale of fiction is set in 1952 where many folks like the three generations of Chandlers portrayed here, rent their land and their never-before-painted house. We see the world through the eyes of 7-year-old Luke Chandler, whose youth and innocent views are honest and refreshing. "Pappy said that Otis was very levelheaded - tobacco juice ran out of both corners of his mouth." Two families, one Mexican, the other "hill people," have been hired to help harvest the Chandler's 80 acres of cotton. Being such good Baptists, the Chandlers have always treated their help better than most. Harvest time makes for long, grueling days and is a time of endless worry. The women worry about the mistreatment of the workers by other, while the men worry about the rainy season and their beloved St. Louis Cardinals. "I was certain there was a reason the Cardinals lost the pennant, but I couldn't understand why God was behind it. Why would God allow two teams from New York to play in the World Series? It completely baffled me." For a boy of only 7, Luke certainly had worries of his own. Some he shared with his family, like worrying about Uncle Ricky fighting in Korea, and the 15-year-old neighbor about to give birth to an illegitimate child; certainly the town scandal. But as tensions build with the Mexicans and "hill people," Luke witnesses more than any child should, keeping many secrets, some wonderful, others horrible. Among the Spruill family from the hills, there's a 17-year-old girl named Tally who watches over her little brother Trot who's "not right." She becomes a friend to Luke and he's really taken by her. Tally's older brother, Hank, a bully to stay clear of, has already beaten a local kid to death. The Mexicans are hard workers, as well, but also enjoy playing baseball, the local obsession. Just beware of the one who wields a knife. "In a world where everyone either farmed or traded with farmers, a wet season in mid-October was quite depressing." As the season begins to change, the Chandlers worry more about surviving a possible flood, losing their entire crop, and also surviving the tragedies the summer has brought. Secrets, murder and nature itself will certainly change the lives of the Chandlers and our young narrator, Luke. Such a good story with the love and treasure of a hard-working family, along with the worries, secrets and tragedies that make such a story so enjoyable. Luke it a great character as is his grandfather, Pappy. The bond they have is unbreakable. Bravo.
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Summary: WOW !!!
Review: John Grisham needs no praise. We all know his work. Yet this novel is something of an completely different order from previous work. What The Great Gatsby is for the WWI era and the twenties, this novel is for WWII & Korean war and the fifties. Grisham brilliantly paints the transformation of American society.In our daily intercourse we have forgotten the familial and civic ties of small family farms and a life with minimal possessions. The nickel coke, the dime matinee, the evening baseball game on the radio were the treats of life. A can of tomatoes may have cost only a dime, but it was worth canning them at home as well as other vegetables. A dime meant something. How many people depended on gardens to live? How many wore feedsack dresses? When was the last time any of us patched an innertube? When was credit something between customer and shipkeeper, carefully entered in a big black ledger book? The world has greatly changed and this novel records what was once there, but like all great novels in its assertion of the particular it becomes universal. People had very little. Perhaps a change of clothes, two pairs of shoes. No closets full, no electronic marvels, no refrigerators and freezers and nearby supermarkets to fill them. Rural America, in Arkansas or Pennsylvania, Ohio or Missisippi was a way of life, now gone, and what we are today is a result of that change both for better and worse.
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