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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
Back in the early 90's I read most of Grisham's books as soon as they were released. I was in high school then and had plenty of time on my hands during the summer and on school breaks. I have been trying to catch up, which is an almost impossible feat since I'm in the same predicament with a number of authors and series, but I keep plugging away.
This book was very different from any of his other books that I have read. It did not involve a lawyer or some epic case that needed to be solved. Instead, we are taken to a small cotton farm in Arkansas. The story is told from the viewpoint of Luke Chandler, a seven-year-old boy who lives with his parents and grandparents. He dreams of one day playing baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals and moving far away from the farm, where he spends long hours picking cotton six days a week. Sunday is a day for rest and worship.
Luke's sheltered lifestyle takes a real turn in the summer of 1952 when he witnesses not one, but two murders. As the number of secrets compound throughout the story, it almost becomes too much for him to bear. He begins acting differently and the adults get suspicious, but he knows he needs to keep quiet to protect himself and his family.
This wasn't my favorite Grisham book, but I did enjoy the story. He did a great job of taking us back to a time and place most readers have little experience with. There was plenty of drama, gossip, and scandal to keep the pages turning, but it wasn't the fast paced read I am used to from Grisham.
This book was very different from any of his other books that I have read. It did not involve a lawyer or some epic case that needed to be solved. Instead, we are taken to a small cotton farm in Arkansas. The story is told from the viewpoint of Luke Chandler, a seven-year-old boy who lives with his parents and grandparents. He dreams of one day playing baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals and moving far away from the farm, where he spends long hours picking cotton six days a week. Sunday is a day for rest and worship.
Luke's sheltered lifestyle takes a real turn in the summer of 1952 when he witnesses not one, but two murders. As the number of secrets compound throughout the story, it almost becomes too much for him to bear. He begins acting differently and the adults get suspicious, but he knows he needs to keep quiet to protect himself and his family.
This wasn't my favorite Grisham book, but I did enjoy the story. He did a great job of taking us back to a time and place most readers have little experience with. There was plenty of drama, gossip, and scandal to keep the pages turning, but it wasn't the fast paced read I am used to from Grisham.
I was kind of liking this, but not so much as an audio book. Will try again in print.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This reads like a classic, but didn't have a satisfying ending or a life takeaway that I was looking for. It's pretty slow and while I was interested some of the time, the lack of payoff was frustrating.
In A Painted House, seven-year-old Luke Chandler narrates the struggles of his family as cotton farmers in 1952 Arkansas. Over a single harvest season, Luke witnesses class divides, secrets, violence, and his own loss of innocence as the harsh realities of adult life unfold around him. The novel explores themes of family, poverty, and the conflicts between rural traditions and personal ambitions.
A well-told story from the point of view of a seven year old boy. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! There was no thrilling action, suspense or life-changing message, but I felt totally immersed in a culture that is completely foreign to me. Grisham just has a way of telling a very engrossing story.
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m not a fan of Grisham’s legal thrillers, but this book is not that. It’s a simple story told by a seven year-old boy who lives with his extended family on a cotton farm in Arkansas. The book doesn’t work too hard to have a point or any special meaning. It accepts what it is: a well-told, simple story that doesn’t have anything to prove. It pulled me into another time and place and into small town and family drama, love, and heartbreak. Oh, and there’s a secret murder. I guess Grisham can’t shake the “thriller” part of his writing off completely.
I had forgotten about reading this one, until it became a recent donation to my Little Free Library Shed. I am now bringing my review to Goodreads.
Let me just say that this is not a legal thriller for which Grisham is typically known for – it is more a coming-of-age story.
I read that Grisham had originally serialized this in a different format in his magazine, The Oxford American, in a semi-autobiographical way, in which he shared about his growing up below the Mason-Dixon line.
Now, as a novel, it is set in 1952 Arkansas, narrated by 7-year-old Luke Chandler, the only child to a family of cotton farmers. The plot introduces us to a cast of eccentric characters including his father, grandfather, a hillbilly clan and migrant workers who work the farm.
We get a sense of the labor and weather of working a farm. And part of the weather includes the floods and tornadoes.
Grisham is trying very hard to keep readers from getting bored.
The plot also throws in an illegitimate birth, an interracial affair, and a couple of murders.
Grisham isn’t afraid to tell a story.
There is a folksy tone that is somewhat endearing. As readers we can’t help but feel hopeful for the future. That everyone will survive and do well. Especially little Luke Chandler.
Let me just say that this is not a legal thriller for which Grisham is typically known for – it is more a coming-of-age story.
I read that Grisham had originally serialized this in a different format in his magazine, The Oxford American, in a semi-autobiographical way, in which he shared about his growing up below the Mason-Dixon line.
Now, as a novel, it is set in 1952 Arkansas, narrated by 7-year-old Luke Chandler, the only child to a family of cotton farmers. The plot introduces us to a cast of eccentric characters including his father, grandfather, a hillbilly clan and migrant workers who work the farm.
We get a sense of the labor and weather of working a farm. And part of the weather includes the floods and tornadoes.
Grisham is trying very hard to keep readers from getting bored.
The plot also throws in an illegitimate birth, an interracial affair, and a couple of murders.
Grisham isn’t afraid to tell a story.
There is a folksy tone that is somewhat endearing. As readers we can’t help but feel hopeful for the future. That everyone will survive and do well. Especially little Luke Chandler.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Finished reading: November 26th 2024
“I was tired of secrets, tired of seeing things I was not supposed to see.”
WARNING: it's another unpopular opinion!!
I confess that the only reason I decided to read A Painted House was because I needed a book set in Arkansas to complete the Traveling Through The 50 US States challenge, and this setting is apparently hard to find. John Grisham's books can go both ways for me and I tend to prefer his legal thrillers, but I was still curious about this story set in 1950s rural Arkansas. Sadly, this book was most definitely not a good fit for me, and I struggled considerably to make it to the final page. Why? A lot of reasons, but one of the biggest hurdles had a lot to do with the fact that there was no real plot to speak of. This felt more like a collection of rambles about the daily life of a family of farmers, and I kept wondering if the story would actually lead us somewhere. Instead, there is a LOT of repetition of daily tasks and tiny details, and it got really tedious after a while. Especially with the pace being slower than a snail's pace... I think this is an example of a book with a very promising premise, but the execution was just lackluster. It seemed like the author had no idea where the story would actually lead, and the ending itself was just as disappointing. I also struggled considerably with the main characters; I never warmed up to them as they just didn't feel fleshed out enough, and I especially struggled with Luke. He is the voice of the story and he is supposed to be a 7-year-old boy, but he sounds much older than that. And then I'm talking at least 12, but more like 14-15 instead. I don't know why this bothered me so much, but it did. Especially since his age is repeated over and over again in the text... His interests simply don't fit a boy his age, and his reactions to the events in the book weren't credible either. Not even the uptick in violence and secrets could save this story for me, and the focus on religion only made me enjoy this story even less. I confess that I started skimreading long before the halfway mark, and I should probably just have DNFed it instead. I guess it comes as no surprise when I say that this particular John Grisham story most definitely wasn't for me. On the plus side, I did manage to finish another challenge thanks to this book... So that's something I guess.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
I really enjoyed this novel and the seven-year old narrator. I would eagerly read a second novel from this family's perspective. I'd like to know what happened next!
Back when John Grisham first started writing his legal thrillers, I read a lot of his books, but I haven't read one in a while, and I haven't read one of his non-legal thrillers. I don't know if this book is typical, but I did not enjoy it as much as the thrillers. It is a coming of age story which I usually really enjoy, but this one just didn't grab me and pull me in like some others I have read. There just wasn't much storyline, and as a result, the book dragged. I enjoyed the book well enough, but if I didn't have it for a book group, I wouldn't have been compelled to pick the book up to continue reading. During our book discussion, I realized it actually has a lot of features I enjoy in a book- a strong sense of place, a caring family, and a small community- but those just didn't pull me in as much either. A likable seven-year-old boy presents the story, but I often felt like he was talking and/or acting like a 10-12-year-old. The book did have some interesting characters in it. I know a friend of mine has liked some of his other non-thriller ones, so I'll probably give one of them a try.