A Painted House by John GrishamMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I found this to be a poignant and detailed story of life on a cotton plantation in the USA in the 1950s. It is narrated by Luke Chandler, the seven year old son of a farmer in Arkansas. Times are hard and his grandfather, known as Pappy, generally rules the roost on the farm. Luke’s narrative voice does not come across as a child but more as that of an adult looking back. It took a little getting used to in the beginning couple of chapters. However, Grisham’s skill as a writer of many enjoyable novels made it work.
There is a succession of events for Luke to contend with, such as a senseless killing that he observes, a biased sheriff and a powerful storm that threatens to ruin the farm’s crop. His family are kind and generous and it seems to rub off on Luke, until a family of pickers set up their camp on his favourite area for playing baseball in front of their farmhouse. One incongruous part of the tale, for me, was when Luke develops a crush for a pretty girl in her late teens. I felt it was quite unlikely for such a young lad to have such feelings, although her reactions were possibly believable under the given circumstances.
This is another enjoyable story from a great writer; admittedly usually of contemporary legal and courtroom stories. But it works as I previously said above.
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