A Painted House - John Grisham > Reviews > Another great one by Grisham

Author's product rating:   

Would you listen to it again?	Yes
Story	Outstanding
Characters	Outstanding
Listenability	Once you start it, you won't be able to switch it off!
How does it compare to audio works by the same author?	Very good

Advantages:	Very interesting and riveting
Disadvantages:	Understanding some of the "hill" language

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Unlike most of the books by John Grisham which contain legal and complex writings, this books takes you back to a time when things were simpler, yet more difficult. The year is l952.

This is the story of Luke, a young seven year old boy who lives with his parents and grandparents on a small cotton farm in rural Arkansas.
His uncle, only a few years older than he, is away in Korea fighting in the war.The family are sharecroppers who are honest and hard-working. The story begins when it is time to harvest the cotton. Young Luke goes to town with his father and grandfather to recruit “pickers” for the cotton.

Like many families in this rural area, harvesting depends on the help of the “hill People” from the Ozarks and immigrants from Mexico who come to live on the cotton farm while they work.

This is a time when farms were still rural, without telephones and televisions. When weekly trips into town were the highlight of the week. Families relied upon their homegrown gardens and livestock to help them survive. Their belief in God and their southern attitudes helped them to share with others when they had little themselves.

The “HILL PEOPLE” who come to their farm to help with the harvest consists of a young retarded boy, a sister, two brothers and an older brother who is a bully and a ruffian. LUKE’s interaction with this family if one of awe and fear although the girl, befriends him.

Also joining this group of workers are l0 men from Mexico who stick to themselves, occasionally interacting with the others, and living in the barn.

The “HILL PEOPLE”, are considered to be less than the sharecroppers, but this family lives in a painted house, and Luke’s family does not.
The young retarded boy, who is also not very strong and cannot work in the fields picking cotton, learns that this farmhouse has not been painted in 50 years, and recruiting the help of his sister, he buys paint and begins painting in secret when everyone else is busy working in the fields.

As is true of farming, the harvest is not always good, and bad weather keeps the crop from being completely picked. Heavy rains drive the “Hill People” back home, but not before the girl runs off with one of the immigrants, and the bully is secretly killed.

Luke continues through this all while waiting to hear from his uncle in Korea, and dreaming of playing baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals.

The illigitimate birth of a baby, to one of the poorest families in the area turns out to be the son of Luke’s uncle. People eventually bond,where once there was hate and ignorance.

When weather turns so foul and hopes are so low, the task of completing the painting of the house becomes one of Luke’s goals. This is accomplished in the end by a mutual effort.

Life for the farm people are rough and stories do not always have a happy ending, but Luke and his parents eventually set out for the north in hopes of a better life, leaving his grandparents and newly found relatives behind.

CAST OF CHARACTERS:

Luke’ Family:
Luke
Mom
Dad
Gran
Pappy
Ricky

The Hill People
Mr. & Mrs. Spruill
Hank, the bully
Tally, the young teenage girl
Trot, the young retarded boy
Bo and Dale

The Latcher’s
Libby, the young girl who had the illigitimate baby
Mr. & Mrs. Latcher
Several young children

OTHER BOOKS BY JOHN GRISHAM
A Time to Kill
The Firm
The Pelican Bried
The Client
The Chamber
The Rainmaker
The Runaway Jury
The Partner
The Street Lawyer
The Testament
The Brethern