The hill people and the Mexicans arrived on the same day. It was a Wednesday, early in September 1952. The Cardinals were five games behind the Dodgers with three weeks to go, and the season looked hopeless. The cotton, however, was waist-high to my father, over my head, and he and my grandfather could be heard before supper whispering words that were seldom heard. It could be a “good crop.”Thus … crop.”
Thus begins the new novel from John Grisham, a story inspired by his own childhood in rural Arkansas. The narrator is a farm boy named Luke Chandler, age seven, who lives in the cotton fields with his parents and grandparents in a little house that’s never been painted. The Chandlers farm eighty acres that they rent, not own, and when the cotton is ready they hire a truckload of Mexicans and a family from the Ozarks to help harvest it.
For six weeks they pick cotton, battling the heat, the rain, the fatigue, and, sometimes, each other. As the weeks pass Luke sees and hears things no seven-year-old could possibly be prepared for, and finds himself keeping secrets that not only threaten the crop but will change the lives of the Chandlers forever.
A Painted House is a moving story of one boy’s journey from innocence to experience.
BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from John Grisham’s The Litigators.
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A Painted House is not the typical John Grisham book, that said I loved the story and couldn’t put it down. It wasn’t until I’d finished the book that I learned portions of the story were based on Grisham’s upbringing in Arkansas. There is a good deal of intrigue as seen through the eyes of young Luke Chandler regarding the hired help the family has employed to assist with the cotton harvest on their 80-acre, rented farm. All Luke wants to do is grow up and play professional baseball, but life, as we know, has a habit of getting in the way. An excellent read.
John Grisham writes stories about lawyers and criminals. That’s what he is famous for. I was surprised when I read this delightful story of a seven year old boy named Luke and his family. His parents are poor cotton farmers. They use migrant laborers to reap their harvest. A family named Spruill is selected to help the Mexican workers.
Murder ensues and Luke has to grow up quickly. The book carries you through their small community which will seem familiar to readers who grew up in a small farming town. You’re introduced to hard working poor folks who have never painted their faded well worn house. Luke discovers a few sections where someone had started to paint years ago. Using his money, he pays for the paint to finish the job.
To Kill a Mockingbird has some very tense stories and moments. So does this story. Grisham did a great job and I recommend this book to you if you like mysteries and families that somehow hang together.
A different genre for this author so may not appeal to legal thriller fans. Told through the eyes of a seven year old, filled with the seeming adult hopelessness and the poverty of cotton farming. It is warm at moments, at times filled with the angst of simple people trying to eke out a living. Characters are well developed and for those of use close to the author’s age, reminiscent of a time when children were not privy to adult situations but certainly had their own fears and passions. Loved it!
The characters in this book make it one of John Grisham’s best… a nice deviation from the long line of lawyer books.
I could not put it down. Wasn’t a fan of his thrillers till I found this one
Not a lawyer in sight! Great story line
One of the best!!!!
This is not his usual style of writing, however still a lovely feel good stoeygood story
This book was really awesome, I will read again, not the typical Grisham.
This was different then John Grishams othet books. But I enjoyed it.
My favorite John Grisham book.
So different for John Grisham with the setting on a cotton farm. Excellent
One of my favorites.
One of my all-time favorites!
A wonderful story about a family of cotton pickers over one season
This gives a good picture of a place and a time. I like learning. The family dynamics are honest and complicated. Good story!
Love Grisham books and this did not disappoint
Based on Grisham’s own childhood, this story of how the growing of cotton affects people’s lives feels as familiar to me as the fields across the turnrow from my grandparens’ farm. An engaging and realistic view of coming of age in the rural south of Mississippi, made stunning by Grisham’s fine writing.
Grisham is just a natural story teller. Love his work.
I like this book more than any of Grisham’s courtroom dramas.