A Painted House

Rating:
Summary: One of Grisham's best
Review: If you like Grisham novels or just a darn good story, this is a book for you.

The book is completely different to Grisham's other legal novels, there isn't a single lawyer in the story. The story revolves around a rural family in post WWII USA, a fascinating time period.

The central character is that of Luke, a supposably 7 year old boy living on the farm with his parents and grandparents. They grow cotton on the farm to support themselves, and the book is set just before the cotton is about to be harvested.
The story basically involves Luke learning more about life through the harvest and meeting the hired farmhands, and through this, he gradually learns more and more things he has to keep secret.

At first, I doubted whether or not the novel was any good, some of Grisham's more recent works haven't been terrific, but this book pulls you in for two reasons, it's a first person novel, and you want to learn more about the world Luke lives in.

I found the characters excellent, my personal favourite was Luke's 'Pappy'(grandfather), the tough old man of the farm, but eveyone else is pretty good. The flaw in the characters comes from Luke, who is supposably only 7 years old, yet his thought processes and general knowledge are that of a teenager. I think either one of two things has occured here, either Grisham is trying to show the kid is VERY intelligent, or his characterisation is a bit off, I am inclined towards the latter.

The major downside to the book though is the ending, which doesn't resolve some of the biggest issues in the book, such as whether or not Luke's uncle comes back from Korea, or what exactly happens to the Latcher family.

Grisham has been doing this a lot in his books lately, 'The Street Lawyer' was the worst case of it, but this book is no exception. Unless he starts finishng his books properly, Grisham is going to lose readers, which would be a terrible shame.

Overall though, this is an excellent book, a must for any Grisham fan, simply because it is an great story, and the first of Grisham's novels without a laywer in sight, which will probably be a future trend. I also feel this book will probably be made into a movie sometime soon, I think it would work well on the big screen.

Rating:
Summary: Grisham seems to have re-discovered his talent for writing
Review: I picked up this book with a lot of skepticism, having found Grisham's last several books to be too formulaic and missing the 'spark' of A Time to Kill, The Firm and The Pelican Brief. But I was pleasantly surprised!

It seems that the genre shift from legal thriller to novel was just the thing that John Grisham needed to get back his voice. A great book (although definitely NOT the typical John Grisham fare)-- I'd definitely recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: oops he did it again!!
Review: Grisham did it again, this time going outside of the legal loop. I was skeptical to read this book given the fact that I love all of Grisham's "legal thrillers" and thought what could he possibly know outside of this realm? EVERYTHING! Brillantly descriptive, this story reads like a Steinbeck Classic only in Arkansas. This is a story about a young boy, Luke Chandler, and his farming family. Murder, adventure, secrets bring Luke and all of the characters in this book alive! Grisham, you definitely need to write a sequel to this one!

Rating:
Summary: A Painted House by John Grisham
Review: This book was not as good as Grisham's legal thrillers, but I would still reccomend it because it is a great book. You won't be able to stop turning the pages!!

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful American novel
Review: This is not Grisham as you are used to his work. No lawyers. No courtrooms. Just a terrific American story full of fascinating characters and a plot surrounding a dark secret. The narrator is a child, but this is not a childish book. The narrator tells you what happened from his point of view and it works. Sit back and relax. This is a really good read.

Rating:
Summary: A Half Painted House
Review: As with "Skipping Christmas", I was once again left wanting a little more from my favorite author. Grisham does his usual great job of developing characters in short order, but I couldn't help but yell "Noooooooo" a few times at the turns the story took. They just didn't fit. I did, however, thoroughly enjoy Grisham's recollection of childhood that compared the all important outside world (the Cardinals) to the mundane (the farm) as seen through most 7 year olds.

Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Review: Different from the courtroom and the Caymans but a typically fantastic Grisham, nonetheless! Super characters, great story - what can one say? If you like Grisham (except Skipping Christmas), then you won't be disappointed in A Painted House.

Rating:
Summary: Save your money - But if you must, buy it used
Review: Remember in school trying to turn a two sentence topic into 500 words? Mr. Grisham did effectively the same thing - stretched five pages into 388. Whereas his previous works were exciting, this book tossed in one murder (which easily could have been omitted since the author didn't go anywhere with it) and a pregnancy which didn't contribute much to the storyline. First Grisham book where I actually went to bed with one chapter to go.

Rating:
Summary: Grisham needs to stick to the courts
Review: Take it from me- A Painted House is not for those Grisham fans whose favorite sypnosis for one of the aforementioned author's books is something along the lines of "a young, rookie lawyer battles a corporate giant." A Painted House is set in rural Arkansas- far away from any whispers of the courtroom or lawyers of any kind- rookie or otherwise. While my initial reaction to this supposedly new and improved John Grisham was that of suspicion if not, forgive me, disbelief. After all- who writes the greatest court stories but, you guessed it- John Grisham!!! Why mess with perfection?? I say, if it's not broke, don't fix it!! Anyway, this novel is certainly not on the same level of excellence as the rest of the Grisham fare. With weak dialogue, unconvincing situations, and a main character who is just a bit over-perceptive for a seven-year-old, I'm about ready to yell "Uncle" so that Grisham can get back to what he's good at- young rookie lawyers and corporate giants all set in the homey city of Memphis, Tenn. So John Grisham, if you're out there and you listen to your fans...(slap) SNAP OUT OF IT!!!

Rating:
Summary: Not up to Par
Review: Overall I do not think this book is up to par with Grisham's other works. The picture picture he painted of the hard working era is excellent., However, at times he seemed to drag on with minute details that were not completely necessary.

It is common to leave storylines open so a sequel can be written. However, I doubt this story will feed another book. Having said that, I think there were two story lines left open that should have been brought to a conclusion.

As a Father, I would love to meet a 7 year old that was a mature and responsible as Luke. I can just imagine what my house would have looked like if my son had painted it when he was 7.