Rating: 
Summary: GOOD BOOK BUT...
Review: I really enjoyed this book. However, I think John Grisham should stick with what he does best - legal thrillers. "The Painted House" would be a great book for another writer, but just so-so for Grisham. I can't wait to read whatever he comes up with next.
Rating:
Summary: Quite a departure from the obvious!
Review: Well, I must say, John Grisham certainly did a 180 in this book. I've been used to nothing but law dramas over the years from him, but this one really was different. It reminded me of "To Kill A Mockingbird" in one way, but with Mexicans being the prejudiced enemy here. Also, it must be overwhelming to a seven year old, like the narrator here, to witnesses the events that occur and then not be able to share them. I won't give away the story to those who haven't read it, but it will excite you.I recommend this book to anyone that likes a good story. It does slow down at times, with little action, but the story will keep you interested nonetheless. Buy it today! Read it today!
Rating: 
Summary: Reliving my childhood ...
Review: As someone who has actually been to Hardy and Jonesboro, Arkansas, picked cotton, laid awake nights praying for a breeze listening to Harry Caray and the Cardinals, this book was like a window to my life as a child. I highly recommend this book as a picture of life in simpler times.
Rating: 
Summary: A most illogical book
Review: Perhaps I should use the word dumb instead of illogical.How can a 7 year old say all that he said in the first person?This little boy comes up with descriptions of tradition, makes profound analysis of Baptist theology, goes deep into intricacies of sexual relationships.Full of cliches too, a Mexican with a knife, hillbillies living violently and a general lack of civilised behavior.Perhaps baseball lovers would like the book to read about Stan the man.I consider this book one of those thrashy ones the writers come up with while imitating William Faukner and other great southern writers.And to think that this writer wrote so many lawyer books which reguired very logical thinking!A terrible disappointment.
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Summary: Keep up the Good Work Mr. Grisham
Review: Really enjoyed the book..was wary of Grisham going out to new to a semi-autobiographical topic. I enjoyed and/or despised the charecters. They were well developed. As a baseball fan, I was reminded of the joy and imagination of listening to my heroes on radio, prior to every game being on the tube. Slower paced but very enjoyable
Rating:
Summary: Not a Single Lawyer, Dead or Alive
Review: John Grisham is noted for his hard-hitting, suspense-filled novels about lawyers. A Painted House is a significant departure. There is not a single lawyer in the book. Instead, we spend several weeks in late summer and early fall of 1952 with seven-year-old Luke Chandler on the family cotton farm in rural Arkansas. It is time to pick the cotton on eighty acres of rented land. The crop looks good and prices are high. If the crop can be picked and marketed before something goes wrong, maybe the family can make it another year without going deeper in debt. We go with Luke and his grandfather in the old truck to find "hill people" to pick the crop, and to employ Mexican workers from the labor contractor. We watch through this seven-year-old's eyes the tension between these two groups, and feel the tension within the family as compromises are made in order to keep the labor to bring in the crop. Everything revolves around bringing in the crop. After a long day in the fields, handpicking the cotton, we relax with the family on the front porch of their unpainted house, listening to Harry Caray give the play-by-play for the St. Louis Cardinals, playing in Sportsmans Park in St. Louis. Thank goodness the cotton looks good, because the Cards are mired in third place, behind the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. The shame of it all-losing to two New York teams. Grisham's prose is almost poetry in many parts of this book. There is some suspense, but we are not gathered into a plot, but rather into a time and place when life is much simpler, and much, much harder. Maybe the fact that I was twelve in the summer of 1952, and only one generation off of a south Georgia farm makes this book resonate to me. Maybe, too, it is because I actually saw the Cards play in Sportsman's Park in St. Louis that summer.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: I haven't read all of Grisham's work, but this book was beautiful. It is very captivating and paints a picture of life in rual Arkansas through the eyes of a 7 year old, without making the story childish to read. The only problem was I couldn't put it down!
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Summary: Southern Critic
Review: Mr. Grisham, stay in the field and out of the courtroom for a while! I've enjoyed the legal novels in the past, but this book was a great change of genre. From a southerner's point of view, your treatment of the characters was very realistic. KEEP IT UP.
Rating:
Summary: Grisham is definitely one of the best, this proves it.
Review: In my opinion, Grisham's last three books have been below average. The Street Lawyer was a horrendous liberal rant. The Testament was a punchless ode to missionaries. The Brethren had an exciting plot without good characters. I don't know why those books suffered, but this book is incredible. I don't know why it turned out so well. Maybe he spent more time on it or had more of a passion for the story, but I this book is certainly one of his bests. At first glance, the plot summary on the book jacket seems very boring. And maybe in a way the story is boring. There are no super bad guys or heroic good guys or grand lawyerly schemes. Instead, this book tells a simple story about the process of being cotton farmers, and relies on incredible characterization to be highly entertaining. Three generations of Chandlers live on a cotton farm. It would seem on the surface they live a simple life and are a lower class family struggling to make ends meet. But through the eyes of the seven-year old narrator (whose words don't sound like a seven year old but whose world-view does), we see how complex their lives are. We also learn about the strict class structure and are introduced to families who have it worse off that the Chandlers. The Spruils, hill people who help harvest the crop, and the Mexicans, who migrate to work in the fields, both offer interesting perspectives and unique characters. Then there are the lowest form of people. The Latchers, sharecroppers who live in a shack in the creek bed. Another interesting aspect of this book was the church life of the characters. Luke Chandler, the narrator, gives the church's opinion on almost everything that happens. This adds just another layer of realism to the small-town life in 1952 when all cotton farmers did was work all week then go to church on Sunday. Many characters in this book interact and Grisham makes you care about all of them. There are murders, sexual discovery, secrets, loss, sacrifice and revenge, all seen through the eyes of a seven year old. This book is funny and interesting. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully written book
Review: This book is different from any other Grisham book I have ever read. This book has much more depth to it than his other novels. It is rich in culture and makes you feel as though you are right there with LUke. The symbolism flows freely, along with spurts of action and intrigue. A great book that not only is a great novel just for entertainment, but also for connecting on a deeper level. I recommend this to everyone.
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