Book info

• Title A Painted House
• Author John Grisham
• Year 2001
• Genre Mystery

In rural Arkansas, seven-year-old farm boy Luke Chandler lives in the cotton fields with his parents and grandparents. When the cotton is ready to be harvested, the Chandlers hire a group of Mexicans and a family from the Ozarks to help harvest it. For six weeks the group pick cotton, battling the heat, rain, fatigue, and sometimes each other. During this time, Luke sees and hears things no seven-year-old should witness. Can he keep the secrets that could threaten his family's business and change their lives forever?

Thoughts

Luke is a seven year old boy living deep in the heart of Arkansas, picking the cotton fields over the searingly hot summer. There’s the threat of rain, the family and the newcomers to deal with along with a scarily close at hand killing that Luke is witness to.

Luke’s a great little guy but sometimes you tend to forget that he’s only twelve. I kept getting confused because his Pappy is his grandfather and he didn’t really call his dad anything (sir!), just “my father” a lot. It took me ages to realise his name was Jesse!

Very slow and methodical, the story is set at it’s own pace and will not be rushed. I think I enjoyed it but then again, maybe I didn’t. It’s hard to tell and if I could make a decision, I couldn’t tell you why. I’m not such a fan of the slow pace of story, but I did like the way it flowed through the summer.

Rating: 3 / 5