Rating: 
Summary: A Painted House
Review: This book has unfortunately become the standard for which to base all of Grishams latest novels by. You keep looking for something interesting to happen which will propel you into an exciting adventure and it never happens. I have all of Grishams novels and I would rank this above only the Street Lawyer, only because it was the worst (short) story I have ever read. I think John Grisham should take some time off from writing to see if he has any more great novels left in him instead of pushing out sub standard novels like his last few.
Rating: 
Summary: Quite good
Review: As many have stated, this is quite different from Grisham's usual legal thrillers. I enjoyed the book very much - the character of Luke was quite well drawn, although some of the others were a little 2-dimensional. I wished he had explored more characters as deeply as the protagonist, although I suspect that would've been difficult using the boy as the POV character. I would love to see a companion piece telling a parallel story using a different character from the book, a la _Ender's_Shadow_ by Orson Scott Card.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended
Review: Well written. I believe it's one of his better novels, perhaps his best. Recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Read it for the prose
Review: This was a fast read (as most of Mr. Grisham's books are). It is also the funniest book of his I've read. This seven year old little boy is one funny little kid. Some of his thoughts make you think back to being a little kid and how your perception of life around you is naive at best. Read it for enjoyment, some reviewers seem to be looking for something deep and life altering when reading fiction. (At least that is what I perceive from a lot of reviews on Amazon.) It is an enjoyable read and made me think back to some of the silly things I did and thought as a kid, I didn't expect it to change my life. Fine job Mr. Grisham -- 4.5 stars. I look forward to the next.
Rating:
Summary: FIRST BAD GRISHAM
Review: This book reminded me of the Grapes of Wrath. It was told through the eyes of a seven-year-old. I kept waiting for something intriquing, some twist something like Grisham's books always have. It was so boring that it was hard to finish. I hope the next book is more interesting than whether a house is painted or not.
Rating:
Summary: A Moving Tale of a young boy's metamorphisis into adulthood
Review: When I bought this book, I didn't know what to expect. A seemingly peaceful story set on a farm, by John Grisham?!? Surely, Grisham would revert to action at some point, considering that his previous novels, mostly legal thrillers, had been so successful. However, upon completing this novel, I felt that the great strokes of characterization easily made up for the lack of heart-pumping action. I felt that the characters were three dimensional and I felt a strong sense of empathy with the problems that they were facing. Luke Chandler, the seven year old protagonist of A Painted House, truely grew during the story from a child to a young adult who had been thrust into several difficult decisions. He was forced to choose between his emerging sense of morality and his love for his family at several points. All in all, I felt that the characterization was the best attribute of this novel. However, one should not conclude that A Painted House is boring, as that is simply not the case. I felt a strong desire to continue pushing through the novel, even though it did have a few slow moments. For me, there were plenty of poignant moments which easily made up for having to trod through those few slow points. While A Painted House in my opinion is a fine effort from one of the best popular authors in recent years, in my opinion it does not quite live up to A Time to Kill, which is one of the finest novels I have ever read. It is, however, highly recommended!!
Rating:
Summary: Another great one from my favorite author
Review: When I heard that John Grisham's newest book did not have a lawyer in it, I felt that he had betrayed his millions of readers. However, as soon as I began reading A Painted House, I was hooked and realized that he had written another great one -and perhaps his best one yet. Luke, who reminded me of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, has an uncanny ability to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and sees and hears things no seven-year-old boy should be privy to. However, just like Scout, he can handle any situation with the love and assistance of his family in rural Arkansas. The reader will empathize with the Mexicans and the hill people who migrate to the area to pick cotton under adverse conditions just as they empathized with the Okies in Grapes Of Wrath and will join Luke in befriending some of them in spite of the attitude of others in the family and the area. John Grisham has proven that he is a one of the greatest writers of our time, and A Painted House is probably destined to become a classic.
Rating:
Summary: Give me the old Grisham back!
Review: I am not impressed. I have all of John Grisham's books, but this one will not be in my library. Give me the old Grisham back! The one star I give it is because of who wrote it, not beacause of the book's content.
Rating:
Summary: The best yet
Review: Lawyers don't just tie someone down in litigation, but as John Grisham proved with his latter legal thrillers, they can also tie an author into knots. Grisham freed himself when he wrote A Painted House, and there is no doubt it ranks as his best tome. In no other novel are his characters as rich as Luke and Eli Chandler are, full of down home wit and fire. The story plays out in a series of unfortunate events and reaches a predetermined end, which is the envitable halt to the harvet season. The predictability hurts the overall plot and completely eliminates any sort of true climatic moment. With a few storylines unresolved, it almost begs for a sequel. Nevertheless, the book shines by the detailed writing, which in Grisham's case is from the heart. The book is semi-autobiographical. He proves that his typewriter isn't just a novel factory but a place where his mettle as a skilled writer shines through. It makes you hope that Grisham would cut the lawyers loose more often.
Rating:
Summary: A refreshing change - Don't expect just another lawyer tale
Review: I have just finished reading A Painted House. While I have read and enjoyed Mr. Grisham's other novels, in my opinion this is the best work he has done. The quality of the writing goes beyond popular fiction, to what I believe is qualified of the designation "literature." Seldom have I read a more sensitive coming of age story, and I have read voraciously and eclectically all my (fairly long) life. The story has the ring of truth. The reader senses Grisham's familiarity and sympathy with the protagonist and surrounding characters. I have also known people such as the Chandlers and their neighbors. I recognize them. Some of them are related to me. Little Luke Chandler and his family are real, and the reader becomes deeply involved with them. No, this is not another "thriller," in the vein of Mr. Grisham's previous works. This is a departure, the sign of a true literary talent. What doesn't evolve usually dies. Mr. Grisham's writing is living and evolving to another plane. Another in a long string of legal dramas might be fun to read, but too much repitition of the same fare, and one becomes sated. This new novel may not stimulate some of the readers of his earlier "thrillers," but may earn him an entirely new audience and literary recognition to which many writers of popular fiction could never aspire. I hope there will be more like A Painted House in the future.
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