A Painted House

Rating:
Summary: "Painstakingly Written"
Review: "A Painted House" is an out of the ordinary piece of work that Grisham has written for any inquisitive reader. He has provided a plethora of suspenseful events that would keep this novel in anyone's hands. This captivating story about the Chandler family, "sharecroppers" as they are called, takes place during the summer of 1952 in Black-Oak Arkansas. This seven-year-old boy, Luke Chandler, doesn't want to carry on the tradition of his poor cotton picking family. He has a dream of one day becoming a baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals. The Chandler's mission was to find helping hands to harvest their eighty acres. They chose a group of ten migrant Mexicans and the "Hill People", known as the Spruills. The trouble started when the Spruills decided to set up camp in the farms front yard over Luke's baseball diamond. His passion in life was to play baseball and when they decided to disrupt it, the Spruills were instantly targeted as thoughtless people. Luke's father's thought of confrontation with the hired help would be out of the question because he was concerned that they would leave before the harvest was finished. His father Jesse thought only about the crop during the harvest season because it provided for their means of living. Luke was brought up in a Baptist community where truth and honesty was the only way of life. Luke begins to find himself caught up in his own curiosity. His inquisitiveness brings him to witness several incidents in which most people wouldn't encounter in a lifetime. There is one troublemaker of the Spruill bunch, named Hank, who seems to make this story very interesting. He is a large figured bully who will not commit himself to anything or anyone. If there is an easy way out, he will find it. On one occasion, you will find him at a carnival in a winner take all bare fisted brawl. Hank comes up with an ingenious plan to outwit a con artist. The description of Hank reminds me of a young boy I knew back in my childhood. Other great events happening in this tale are the mysterious painting, a murder that takes place, a boy's first view of a naked woman, and the birth of child. Conflict has been used on several occasions throughout the story, which has kept my interest of wanting to know more about the following tale of events.

Rating:
Summary: A different Grishams
Review: This story has a very different style compared to most of Grisham's books. Its a slow moving but interesting read.

Rating:
Summary: Hated to see this one end.
Review: I almost did not read this story because I felt that it would not be able to measure up to Grisham's previous legal thrillers. However, I read this novel in about 2 days and it was one of the most captivating books I have read in quite sometime. It clearly shows that Grisham's writing style can take any subject and allow the reader to forget about the world around him. The characters in this novel become so real to you that I could clearly picture every scene like it was happening in front of me. It reminded me of a similar tale I read 10 years ago called "Boys' Life" by Robert McCammon. While the story's subject will not be what many Grisham fans are used to, I strongly encourage them to give it a try.

Rating:
Summary: The painted hosue is Boring!
Review: Despite being an absolute Grisham fan, I found the painted house extremely boring! in fact, the only reason why I completed reading it was to see if something does happen at the end - unfortunately, it does'nt!! Grisham must stick to churning out nice thrilling books like the Testament and the street lawyer, rather than try his hand in this direction! Highly recommended Not to be read!

Rating:
Summary: Not worth the effort
Review: Where oh where is the real John Grisham? This is the most disappointing,boring book I have read all year. I gave it one star only because I was able to make it to the end. If you want a magical, suspenseful, gripping book about a young boy, reach for Robert McGammon's "Boy's Life". "A Painted House" was a big disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: John Grisham's "A Painted House"
Review: To me this book reflects John Grisham's versatility as a writer. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I didn't want to put it down and I didn't want it to end. There are outcomes of events that are left to the imagination of the reader and I believe that is the way it should be; I do not believe a sequel to this book should be written because I do not think it could live up to the quality of this book. Perhaps another book along the same lines as this book would be viable.

I grew up in rural Nebraska during the depression and lived through many of the same things the main characters of this book lived through. Of course, we did not have cotton to work but we had many of the same hardships. Like the house in the book, our little house was not painted. We also moved away from the country to pursue a better life when I was seven.

Rating:
Summary: A better short story than a novel.....
Review: Having given Grisham three (unsuccessful) chances to hook me as a reader of his highly recommended potboiler legal "thrillers," (_The Firm_, _The Client_, and _The Pelican Brief_), I can't say I was keen to read this book, recommended to me by a friend. "Read it," she said, "It's not like his legal stuff." Well, she was right and she was wrong. The story itself was sweet and simple - a heartfelt tale of a young boy on a cotton farm in the South, his poor-but-honest grandparents, and his hardworking, but looking-beyond-the-horizon parents during one particular harvest season. No lawyers. OK, then. But just like the other novels I've read of his, by the time I got to the end, I felt as if I'd been walked through a very complicated maze, only to end up in a parking lot. His ancillary characters are fairly two-dimensional (grandma's the "medicine woman," the thick-necked guy is the unredeemable "bad man," and the deputy sheriff is the round, foolish, ineffectual officer of the law). The church baseball game sidebar was unnecessary, the "Ooh, it's a tornado, no wait, it's a flood" meteorological tension was forced, and if I read about Luke rueing "yet one more secret" he had to keep, one more time, I would be forced to leave the book on the bus (but it was my friend's and I had to give it back).

But still, I give the book two stars in stead of a measly one, because I think that if Grisham had focused his energy on telling a good, dense short story, without all of the unecessary sidelines, dead-ends, and detours, he'd have had a fine little gem of a tale.

Rating:
Summary: A Painted House
Review: My favorite Grisham book! It's so well written that I can see the cotton for miles and miles. I still think about the details of this book.

Rating:
Summary: Captivated by little Luke
Review: I never like thick books, let alone English thick books, as it is a foreign language to me. However, my sister, gave me the book and highly recommended it. She couldn't stop talking about the book.

I started reading the book to please her, but after the first chapter I couldn't put the book down. The little boy stole my heart and for the first time I know something about farmers live in the south of the US. Maybe, in general, I do understand the Americans a little bit better, because I realise that NYC is not America, and that most Americans in the countryside, with their own mentality.

Grisham is a real storyteller. And if it is autobiographical, I get the impression he had a happy childhood.

I can fully recommend this book, especially if you love children.

Rating:
Summary: wonderful!
Review: I loved this book! I couldnt put it down. I passed it around the family and everyone loved it. My nephew loved it so much he asked me if I thought there would be a sequel.