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Summary: Harper Lee meets Hemingway
Review: Don't read this book if you're looking for a fast-paced, well-plotted, edgy, sardonic look at the American legal system. This is Grisham's breakaway book -- the legal thriller is a genre he had been growing out of, if the past few books are any indication (The Brethren, which I rather enjoyed, seemed to be a kind of last-gasp effort to honour expectations)-- and he doesn't do too badly. But it takes a really sympathetic reader to comprehend that; one starts a Grisham with certain expectations, but this one doesn't quite live up to them. It's difficult to say what the reception to the book would have been had it been a completely unknown author writing, but Grisham carries a lot of baggage. As the story of seven-year-old Luke's initiation into the big, bad adult world, the book moves at a languid pace, rich in description and -- alas, unavoidably -- mundaneness. Perhaps the most gripping part of the novel are the scenes following Hank's murder. Grisham captures the trauma of the child admirably. Go ahead and read the book, but don't expect The Firm or The Client.
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Summary: a new angle for john grisham
Review: Not a lawyer in this book!! It was nice to read a story about life in a small town in Arkansas back in the 50's. Life was simpler then. I felt like I was reading about the Waltons, which I grew up watching and loved every episode. Good old holsum down home reading!!!! Shelley
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Summary: Beginning of Greatness
Review: I too have read all of Grisham's books and love his legal thriller. However, I feel that this is the first of many books that will distinguish Grisham in the serious literary critic's eye. First, "A Painted House" is full of rich detail as many have stated. The reader is transported back to 1952 and we detest cotton picking as much as Luke does. Grisham uses symbolism and themes better in this book than in his other books and the "painted" theme is woven throughout the book. Second, Grisham has great characters whom we grow to care about. Grisham has often decried people comparing him to Faulkner; however, this work reminds me of Faulkner: the tragic women and the impact their choices make on the family, the "failed" South, and the ineffective men. Despite being narrated by a young boy, this is a woman's novel. You can tell the influence women have had in Grisham's life. The strong characters are the women (Luke's mom, Pearl, Gran, and the townfolk) and how they civilize a man's world. It is a novel about women's choices both for themselves and their families. The end of this novel does leave the reader with a sense of "what happened to..." but for Luke's mother, her prayers are answered and her son has escaped. "A Painted House" is a powerful look at the changes in our country and our culture after WWII and even demonstrate the baseline changes that led to the cultural changes of the 60s. This book is about so much more than a 7-year old's perspective of life on a cotton farm. It is that reason that Grisham will write more books like this and will grow to be considered a great author, by both the public and critics alike.
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Summary: Captivating Book
Review: I have listened to the audio tape of this book, and it is likely the best story and narration I have every heard. Thanks to the wonderful writing and David Lansbury's superb narration (do they give Oscars for audio book reading?), I feel everything that the main character is describing, can envision the surroundings, and hang on every word. It is a beautifully-written story, with gentle, real characters. The earlier reviewer of this book sounds as if he needs action to hold his interest. This story provides much more to the reader than action ever could.
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Summary: A great story by a great storyteller!
Review: I live in Jonesboro, Arkansas, a city that figures prominently in the plot of this book. Having grown up within a few miles of the setting of this book, I can say that Mr. Grisham tells a wonderful story that paints not only a house, but also paints an accurate picture of growing up in a simple Southern culture that is fading into history. "A Painted House" is more than just a story of a farm family struggling to get by...it's the story of a culture where a young boy is forced to deal with the pressures of keeping secrets and telling lies. Personal secrets build on family secrets...lies are told to cover secrets...and the young narrator finds himself caught between his desire to protect his family, and the fear of hell fire. Readers accustomed to the action, suspense and drama of Grisham's previous works might not enjoy this one as much, but I found it to be a great story, and a great word picture of the culture I know well.
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Summary: i'm from eureka springs
Review: I loved this book. It is too bad that everyone has the tendency to compare it to Grisham's other works when its apples and oranges. Having a rural, 50's, backgroud yourself helps you relate. Maybe that's the reason some didn't care for it.
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Summary: A PAINTED HOUSE - Sheltering lost innocence
Review: Farming the Arkansas cotton fields by hand in 1952 is a loosing proposition for the three generations of Chandlers who barely get by while living in an unpainted house with outdoor sanitation. Fun is listening to the radio (Harry Carey and the St. Louis Cardinals), or gossiping in town with the locals on a Saturday afternoon. Despite below poverty living conditions, life is not all that bad for the main character, seven-year-old Luke Chandler, whose excitement for life is measured by his raw first-time experiences with growing up. Through his innocent eyes we get excited about a fist fight or watching a river flood its banks. Or marvel at listening to a baby being born. Or dream with Luke about playing baseball for the Cardinals. Everything, good or bad, is new and exciting to the seven-year-old. But when the realty of life's consequences begin to sink in, Luke begins to harden into an adult. A bunch of literary metaphors are used to paint this message, all successful and clever. A PAINTED HOUSE is a great work of American fiction. This is not the fast pace of a John Grisham legal thriller. However, it is the rawness of the characters and the visceral storyline that compensates for the novel's slower pace. But, in the end, it is the seven-year-old that really holds our attention as we are reminded of our own youth and a time when we saw everything as being new and exciting for the first time.
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Summary: Worst yet
Review: I've enjoyed all Grisham books except The Street Lawyer so far, but this one is a sleeping pill. Only one word discribes it best. Boring!
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Summary: Fiction like they use to write them
Review: A great fictional story!!! Not the usual Grisham legal thriller, but one could still feel the Grisham writing style. Anyone who is a true Avid reader has to appreciate "A Painted House". Grisham wrote in a slightly different syle and it still was a homerun. Grisham showed character in a poor Kansas boys life trials. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to read a book that's hard to put down.
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Summary: Great writting....
Review: OK... so it is not his norm... but this is a great book. Grisham does an amazing job capturing the story entirely from a seven year old's point of view. You are captured not by a edge-of-your-seat plot but by the everyday life of a boy. He is surrounded by the stresses of war and farming and yet is carried away by baseball and young 'puppy-love'. Well worth reading!!
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