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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
Before this one, I hadn't read a John Grisham book since The Firm or something back in high school. I guess this 1950's story of an Arkansas cotton farm family, which contains not a single lawyer, isn't a typical Grisham legal thriller, and I thought that was just fine.
(spoiler warning)
It didn't blow my socks off; I thought the characters other than little Luke, the 7-year old narrator, were a bit flat and the conflicts were predictable and, in the end, anticlimactic (both killers disappear, Luke's uncle doesn't return from the Korean war). That's not to say it isn't an enjoyable, simple read.
My favorite part was when a cousin and his new "Yankee" wife (from Michigan), who is deathly afraid of snakes, come to visit the farm. Luke does not like her, and when she goes to use the outhouse he tells her not to come out because a "shitsnake" is right outside! Ha ha ha. The family scene afterward when they confront Luke, hiding smiles, and then have to punish him, is pretty funny, too.
(spoiler warning)
It didn't blow my socks off; I thought the characters other than little Luke, the 7-year old narrator, were a bit flat and the conflicts were predictable and, in the end, anticlimactic (both killers disappear, Luke's uncle doesn't return from the Korean war). That's not to say it isn't an enjoyable, simple read.
My favorite part was when a cousin and his new "Yankee" wife (from Michigan), who is deathly afraid of snakes, come to visit the farm. Luke does not like her, and when she goes to use the outhouse he tells her not to come out because a "shitsnake" is right outside! Ha ha ha. The family scene afterward when they confront Luke, hiding smiles, and then have to punish him, is pretty funny, too.
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
I think this might be the first book by Grisham that I have read and I really enjoyed it. I have heard it is unlike many of his other books. The descriptions of the childhood of a young boy growing up on a farm really made me nostalgic for a different time. Just proof that not every story requires a nail-biting plot, and that sometimes just a simple life still has its share of secrets and excitement. A very pleasant read, indeed.
I have a special place in my heart for novels centered around farming. My grandfather is a farmer and I've heard stories over the years about good crops, hardships from living poor with 9 siblings, and the life of a small town farmer. This book did not disappoint. John Grisham based this book on his life growing up in Arkansas.
Story about classic American farm family trying their best to make it through the harvest season. Enjoyed the description of the simpleness of their lifestyle and the dreams of a young boy.
This is really Grisham's best book. All the others are fun reads, thrillers I guess, but this stands tall above the rest. The main character is a 9 year old boy growing up on a cotton farm in the South. His family hires on farm help every year to pick the cotton and the descriptions and dialogues between the different farm families and hired help is just fascinating. I started this book on the plane ride from Ohare airport to Phoenix and then finished it the following day.
What a book! A coming of age story that gave me all the same butterflies To Kill Mockingbird did. John Grisham is a wonderful story teller.
To say that the pace of this book is slow would be an understatement. About halfway through I started hoping, PRAYING for SOMETHING to happen that seemed to have any sort of real meaning at all. And I guess by the end something did, but by then I didn't even really care anymore because it just took SO DAMN LONG to get there. I mean, I'm all for being patient as long as there's a payout, but there was nothing but your standard coming-of-age material, except for a seven-year-old. And really, that's what bothered me the most -- that the main character was seven. Much of what he thought and felt (the creek scene with Tally, people? was anyone else disturbed by this?) just did not ring true for me, particularly since I have a seven-year-old boy and can't imagine him thinking or feeling the things this boy did. Except for the anger over the Spruills camping on home plate. That felt authentically seven.
It was nice to see Grisham out of the legal realm, but I definitely think that area is more of a calling for him.
It was nice to see Grisham out of the legal realm, but I definitely think that area is more of a calling for him.
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
