A PAINTED HOUSE was written by John Grisham in 2001. The Dell Publications published it.
~O THE CHARACTERS 0~
1) Luke’s Family:
Luke
Mom
Dad
Gran
Pappy
Ricky
2) The Hill People:
Mr. & Mrs. Spruill
Hank, (the bully)
Tally, (the young teenage girl)
Trot, (the young retarded boy)
Bo and Dale
3) The Latcher’s:
Libby, (the young girl who had the illegitimate baby)
Mr. & Mrs. Latcher
Several young children
~O MY REVIEW O~
It 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 was only a few years older than Luke. When the book starts he is Korea fighting in the Korean 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 hire some people to pick the cotton.
Like many Families in this rural area the harvesting depends on the help of the Hill People, (who come from the Ozarks Mountains), and immigrants from Mexico. While they are working they all live on the cotton Farm.
This is a time when Farms were still in rural areas. They did not have telephones or televisions. The weekly trips into Town were the highlight of the week.
The 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 came to the Farm to help with the harvest were a young retarded boy, a Sister, two younger Brothers and an older Brother, ( who is a bully).
Luke’s interaction with the Hill People Family if one of awe and fear. Soon the Sister becomes his friend.
Joining this group of workers are ten men from Mexico who like to be alone and don’t want to mix with the other Pickers. They live in a Barn. They only talk to the other if they are forced to.
The Hill People are considered to be of a higher class than the Sharecroppers and they are given the PAINTED HOUSE to live in. Lukes Family is not very happy about this.
The young retarded boy is not very strong and cannot work in the fields picking cotton. He sees that this farmhouse has not been painted in fifty years. He gets his Sister to help him and even buys the paint. When everyone is working they begin to paint the House.
The Girl runs off with one of the immigrants and the bully is secretly killed.
The harvest is not always good and the bad weather keeps the crop from being completely picked. The heavy rains help the Hill People decide to go back home.
Luke dreams of playing professional baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is also very lonely and hope that his Uncle will come back from Korea soon.
They people find out that the birth of an illegitimate baby, (to one of the poorest families in the area), is the Son of Luke’s Uncle.
The People eventually begin to bond and where once there was hate and ignorance friendships are formed.
When weather turns so bad and everyone’s hopes are very low, Luke decides to finish painting the House.
Life for the Farm People is quite rough and their stories do not always have a happy ending.
Luke and his parents eventually set out for the north in hopes of a better life, leaving his grandparents and newly found relatives behind.
To find out if there are any Lawyers, or if Luke becomes a baseball player, what happens to the baby, who murdered the bully and why painting the house was so important you will have to read the book your self because I never tell the end of a story.
~O THE OTHER BOOKS THAT JOHN GRISHAM WROTE O~
A Time to Kill, The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Chamber, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, The Partner, The Street Lawyer, The Testament and The Brethren.
~O MY THOUGHTS O~
I have read all of his books and enjoyed them very much.
The ISBN # 044023722X. I bought the soft cover book for $10.00 CAD
If you haven’t read this book yet I highly recommend it to you.
©LL2002