A Painted House: Summary and book reviews of A Painted House by John Grisham, plus links to an excerpt from A Painted House and a biography of John Grisham.

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 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.

Media Reviews

Barnes & Noble - Beth Amos ... at turns, heartwarming and heartbreaking. The tension is subtle but constant, with undercurrents that build toward a crescendo of explosive emotion. Parts of the story are grim, and the struggles often seem endless. But at the heart of it all is the essence of the human spirit and the story of one family's ability to love and survive in the face of overwhelming adversity.   Amazon.com - James Marcus Grisham has delivered a quieter, more contemplative story, set in rural Arkansas in 1952 .......A Painted House suggests that he's perfectly capable of telling an involving story with nary a subpoena in sight.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated of 5 by Nessie
Racial Book
I did not like this book at all. The get so racial for "The Mexicans" instead the author could have said the people from out of the country instead of saying Mexicans also I think that Ricky should have came out in the book like he...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Judy Adkins
The Painted House
Just discovered author John Grisham . In reading most books, I always reach some parts of "boredom"and skip so many pages. With "The Painted house",found myself totally engrossed !! Love the serious, the funny,...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Mike
Where's Ricky
I usually read Stephen King, Dean Koontz and John Saul, however, my wife picked this book up at a tag sale and I decided after reading the jacket to give it try. I was truly impressed with this book. It was a terrific story seen through the eyes...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Jacqui Paulson
Not what I expected
I recently read this book and I have to say it was not what I expected. I had this image of John Grisham in my head and this book blew it away. This moving story was not what I expected to come from the pen of the man that I saw as a best-selling...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Jonathan
A Painted House
At this present moment, there are 97 reviews for "A Painted House" by John Grisham. If you have read all 97 reviews, like I just did, then basically what I have to say will be the same. I am not an avid reader on a day to day basis. But,during...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Ashley H.
A Painted House
John Grisham's novel A Painted House is very unlike any of his other works and in that sense makes it a unique and interesting book. This book is narrated by seven year old Luke Chandler. Luke lives on a cotton farm and during cotton picking...   Read More

...96 More Reader Reviews

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Books with similar themes

• Novels
  
• USA 
  
• South 
  
• Ark. La. Ok. 
  
• 1940s & '50s 
  
• Adult Books From A Child's Perspective