Paul Humphreys rambles on....

Paul Humphreys rambles on....
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Friday December 01, 2006

A Painted House - my first read of a John Grisham book

So delving into my wife's collection of literature the next author she suggested was John Grisham . This book is unlike his others which feature stories relating to lawyers/legal folks I have been told. The story is dated in 1952 in Arkansas on a cotton farm. The narrator is a young boy Luke Chandler who is seven years old. He lives in the farmhouse with his parents and grandparents Pappy and Gran. His uncle Ricky is in Korea fighting the war over there. At this time of the year September Pappy is on the lookout for Hill People/Mexicans to help bring the harvest of cotton in but the family include Luke are also expected to do their bit too. Luke himself is crazy about Baseball and has every intention of playing for his favourite team the Cardinals whos games they listen to on the radio in the evening. Too much more detail about the story would ruin it for potential readers but Pappy gets his helpers both Hill People/Mexicans and there is some unfortunate problems with individuals from both camps that means Luke grows up a lot faster than he would have done by exposure to murder, violence and a baby born illegitimately at another farm not far from his own. The story is enchanting the details and humor in it are excellent and I had trouble putting it down.

( Dec 01 2006, 12:00:02 AM PST ) Permalink

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