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Mar 19, 2009

Δx Δp ≥ ½ ħ rated it:

Entah mengapa, diantara segudang buku Grisham, buku-bukunya yang tidak bertema hukum justru yang menjadi favorit saya-kecuali yang 'The Rainmaker' dan 'A Time To Kill'--
Seperti halnya di buku 'The Bleacher', dengan lihainya Grisham mengaduk emosi pembaca dengan kehidupan getir sang tokoh utama. berbeda dengan 'The Bleacher' dimana tokoh utamanya adalah mantan pemain baseball terkenal yang kemudian hidup 'gagal', di buku APH, tokoh tamanya adalah sang tokoh cilik yang baru berusia 7 tahun, More...

48 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 24, 2008

Bailey Jane rated it:

For being from John Grisham, this was such a great book! For a long time I've enjoyed his legal thrillers, but after a while I suspected each book would be exactly the same as the last with the only difference being the plot. Granted that's one of the reasons I liked his novels, because I could trust they would be consistently good. When this book first came out I couldn't wait to read it and I fell in love with his ability to tell a heartfelt, meaningful story having nothing to do with law. I l More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Mar 31, 2008

Stephen rated it:

I read one review stating that the title of this book should have been "Watching Paint Dry". While it's not as exciting and riveting as Grisham's other works, and it took me about six chapters to get into the story, it was still an enjoyable book.

Set in 1952 Arkansas, 7-year-old Luke Chandler is forced to grow up quickly when he becomes exposed to several adult situations. It seems as though everyone in the story has a secret to keep and they all manage to confide in Luke. More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 21, 2008

Gina rated it:

I learned that John Grisham should write more books in this genre because this is his best work....forget all those clients, partners, pelicans. One night, with a bunch of old friends in an apartment above Times Square, we tuned in to tv before turning in and The Bill Moyers Report was being aired; his guest was John Grisham. From his first responses, it was obvious that he possessed "gravitas" beyond his public persona.
Grisham grew up in Arkansas, the son of a cotton farme More...

1 comment like (8 people liked it)

Feb 06, 2009

Betsy rated it:

Found this in the lobby of a hotel in South Africa, and only read it because it was the only English book there (it was a hotel that catered to the Dutch, who LOOOVE South Africa.) The book is okay, but I probably wouldn't have stuck with it if I had other books to choose from. It's pretty long without much of a storyline.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 28, 2008

Mary rated it:

This book came to me very highly recommended. I had two friends to really really liked and just knew I would love the story too. I suppose if it had been cleaned up a bit, I probably would have liked it more. The characters were engaging enough although the plot did seem to drag a little bit and left you feeling like the auther was searching for a plot in a rambling sort of way. I had a hard time with the language and violence; I'm a wouss I guess. I also couldn't get past the feeling that More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 23, 2009

Janelle rated it:

I liked this book. There isn't any wild climatic events that you may find in other Grisham books. This is a simple novel of a simple life as told by a seven year old boy. Still, Grisham manages to capture the feelings of the times; a poor family in the south who hire workers to harvest their cotton and the drama that ensues with these "lower class" folk. I can see why a lot of Grisham fans wouldn't like this, it's a departure from his normal genre.

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 03, 2007

Amy rated it:

This was such a horrible book! It had potential - I kept thinking the story would come around but once I got 2/3 way through the book, I knew there was no room left for a story. I finished it anyway and was really disappointed. There is absolutely NO story. Nothing. We are introduced to this family and the other characters for no reason. It's almost like the author had great ideas for characters but couldn't come up with a story line.

If you've never read Grisham and this is your fir More...

3 comments like (7 people liked it)

Mar 06, 2009

Hunter added it

A Painted House by: John Grisham
Luke Chandler is a seven year old boy who lives on a cotton farm. He lives with his parents and grandparents in a somewhat small house in Black Oak, Arkansas. In 1952, Luke’s Grandpa hires two groups of people, a family of hill people from Eureka Springs and a group of Mexican workers, to help harvest the cotton crop that the Chandlers have worked so hard to raise. What the Chandlers’ have yet to realize is that two of their hired workers are dangerous a More...

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Mar 03, 2009

Brandon added it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 02, 2009

Antof9 rated it:

This is NOT your father's Grisham!

From the back cover: Until that September of 1952, Luke Chandler had never kept a secret or told a single lie. This is an interesting description that tells nothing and everything about the book :)

First, the only thing about this book that is Grisham-like is that it takes place in the South. Other than that, you'd never know who wrote this book if his name wasn't on the cover.

In some ways, it reminded me of a book I read in More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 03, 2011

Daniel rated it:

John Grisham's novel A Painted House met with mixed reviews when it was first published in 2000. Many derided his pacing, one of the work's greatest strengths. And some thought he was in over his head after fleeing the safe harbour of the legal thriller that he had come to dominate.

I really like the book. Told in the first-person through the eyes of seven-year-old Luke Chandler, A Painted House chronicles three generations of cotton farmers and their trials in Arkansas in the 1950s. More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 10, 2011

Bert rated it:

This is not your everyday John Grisham book. The protagonist is a seven year old boy named Luke Chandler, whose dream is to get off the cotton farm someday and pitch for his beloved Cardinals. Squeezed into a small, unpainted house with his parent and grandparent, and required to pick cotton for long hours of the day, on addition to garden chores, Luke accepts his life for the moment, but dreams of better places and bigger things. He lives amid tensions. There is tension, carefully controlled, b More...

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Mar 05, 2011

Amy rated it:

You know, I liked this book. It seems really current right now. The story is based partly on Grisham's childhood growing up on a cotton farm. The book touches on subjects such as co-housing, floods and natural disaster, migrant workers, diversity, and economic challenges facing farmers and their families. The story is told through the eyes of a 7-year-old boy. This was my only beef about the book. The narrator seemed more developmentally mature than 7 and seemed closer to puberty in some scene More...

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Jan 23, 2011

Alex rated it:

“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.’”

This is how John Grisham begins his latest novel, A Painted House. Notice anything diff More...

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Jan 17, 2011

Melissa rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 12, 2010

William rated it:

I bought this novel when it was new in 2001, and read a couple of chapters before the events of that year got me off my reading routine.

Anyway, I rediscovered it recently, retrieving it from the attic bookshelf to find it was not hard to get re-immersed in the narrative.

This book represents a departure for Grisham, in that it is NOT a formulaic legal "thriller."

Still, he doesn't exactly stretch himself. The book is set in the rural South of his child More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 06, 2010

Patsy rated it:

This was my first book read by John Grisham and still is one of my all time favorites!!!

I listed to the audio version of the book.

It is full of suspense, drama and humor and there is not a lawyer in site. Written from the viewpoint of 7yr old Luke who is the Chandler family's son, the book covers a season of cotton picking along with all of the details and drama the cotton farmer experiences as a result of mother nature.

The family hires a crew of Mexicans an More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 25, 2010

Mel rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Apr 27, 2009

Karryn rated it:

I've read a few Grishams. They all had about the same feel and flavor. This one is very out of the Grisham box. The word "lawyer" wasn't even in it once!

I like it when a book takes me to a place I would otherwise never go. This did well: 1950s, rural Arkansas, cotton picking season. I have a bit of a problem with the voice of the story - told from a 7-year old's experiences. I REALLY felt Luke should be more like 9 or so to make the story more believable. Granted, t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 25, 2011

Wendy rated it:

Inspired by his own childhood in rural Arkansas, this touching tale of fiction is set in 1952 where many folks like the three generations of Chandlers portrayed here, rent their land and their never-before-painted house. We see the world through the eyes of 7-year-old Luke Chandler, whose youth and innocent views are honest and refreshing. "Pappy said that Otis was very levelheaded - tobacco juice ran out of both corners of his mouth."

Two families, one Mexican, the other " More...

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May 25, 2011

Paul rated it:

I have read a lot "back then" stories over this year. To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, Cannery Row, etc. Compared to all those books, this one was not quite as good. John Grisham is my number one author if I want to read a novel on lawyers, but a novel on contemporary? Not so much. However, I feel Grisham tried hard on this book, and the story was pretty captivating. The story story is about a 7 year old boy named Luke. As a farmer, his father hires a group of Mexicans and what More...

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Dec 31, 2009

Andrea rated it:

After reading this book I felt depressed. Is it true that average people are powerless against the evil in the world? Young Chandler is only seven and experiences the world in such intensity that even an adult would tremble after what he went through. The adults in the book are too concerned with the material things of life like whether they'll get a good harvest and be able to pay the bills than with truth, justice, or mercy. They demonstrate to the child that it's better not to confront a More...

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Jul 25, 2011

David rated it:

This was a surprisingly wonderful book from John Grisham. Thus far, his legal thrillers I have read had been mostly hits, with one mediocre and one miss. All of his non-thrillers up to this point (Bleachers, Skipping Christmas) had been mediocre with one, and horrible with the other. "A Painted House" is a great semi-autobiographical book as seen from the perspective of seven-year old Luke Chandler growing up in early 1950's rural Arkansas on a cotton farm during Harvest. The book More...

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Aug 23, 2011

Elaine rated it:

Yes, that John Grisham. But in this nostalgic, coming-of-age tale set in 1952 Arkansas, there’s not a lawyer in sight. Seven-year-old Luke Chandler lives and works on a cotton farm with his parents and grandparents. They don’t own a phone, the annual Sears catalog has pride of place next to the radio and the family bible, and Luke just knows he’s going to grow up to play for his beloved St. Louis Cardinals. When cotton-picking time comes around, the Chandlers hire a group of Mexican workers and More...

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Apr 14, 2011

Amanda rated it:

I read A Painted House at the recommendation of my mom, who says it's her favorite book. About a third of the way through, I couldn't take it anymore and asked her WHY it is her favorite. She couldn't tell me and I can't see why either.

The narrator is a 7-year-old boy, Luke, on a cotton farm in Arkansas. It's all about a summer his family hires some Mexicans and a family of "hill people" (hillbillies) to help them harvest their cotton. I loved reading about how the families More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 28, 2011

Dawn rated it:

I don't normally read Grisham, he's a great writer just not my typical genre. This, however, was an awesome story. I loved the whole experience of entering the world of Luke Chandler in 1951. It was a tremendously entertaining story. Well written, with so much detail and humor, realistic voices and a simpler time that was somehow made to be full of drama and suspense. I felt this was one of the best stories I can recall written from this era and brought so fully into focus.

Luke Chandle More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 23, 2011

Ron rated it:

This book is a departure from John Grisham's traditional writing style which is why I enjoyed it so much; light, breezy, and humorous. Although, there are times when the 'gritty' feel of Grisham's pen comes through unabashed.
The main character, a yound boy named Luke Chandler, is full of youthful energy and enterprise and we follow his struggles through a 'working poor' experience. His parents bring a no-nonsense parental style to his upbringing as do his grandparents. There is never eno More...

1 comment like

Nov 28, 2010

Ravie rated it:

First things first. This is not a typical John Grisham novel. So don't expect thrills and frills from this one. It's a very simple story of the life and struggles of cotton farmers in Arkansas, as told through the eyes of a 7 year old boy, Luke, the youngest of the Chandlers living there.

Grisham fantastically captures the mood and the era of the 50's. The town life, the weekend activities and the daily chores especially have been recreated very well.

Even though the story More...

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Jan 17, 2012

nat rated it:

Sebanyak apakah rahasia yang bisa disimpan oleh seorang anak yang belum juga lulus sekolah dasar ? Seorang anak yang tumbuh di tengah keluarga yang hangat, relatif jauh dari konflik dan beban hidup ?
Apakah rahasia itu berupa mainan apa yang ia sembunyikan, anak mana yang berkelahi dengannya, atau lawan jenis mana yang ia taksir ?
Dalam buku ini, ternyata tidak hanya itu. Rahasia yang disimpan oleh Luke, besar, dan cukup membebaninya untuk usianya di tumbuh kembang yang seharusnya tak me More...

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