Hi All,
Well I have been a John Grisham’s fan for along now. From ’King of Torts’ to ’The Rain maker’ , I have read it all. I picked up this book while I was going back home on train. The first impression when I saw the title was that , it had be another novel with legal intricacies, which is usual style of writing. However the back cover told a different story.
For people who expect this to be a fast and racy novel, may avoid reading it. The story unfolds in the rural background. The story is actually narrated by a young boy. His family who owns cotton field, need some helping hand, during the cotton picking season. The story is about one such season.
The story moves on slowly, with the usual worries about cotton picking season, expenses, rains etc. The boy, named Luke admires his dad and grand-father. They are a hero to him. The story mostly revolve around the following plots:-
1) Tiring cotton picking hours, and Luke’s some times , successful, innocent attempts to escape it.
2) His crush on a girl, who is much older than him, who has come from the hills, and is a farm labor at their field. His adventures and experiences, which range from first peek-a-boo, and the birth of a secret cousin.
3) Luke’s and his family love for base-ball.
4) His Outings to the town on week-ends.
5) His animosity towards ’’few’’ hill people and the mexicans.
6) His uncle Ricky who is serving some where in Vietnam for the US forces.
7) A family secret gets revealed.
The first 30 pages, are quite slow, but the story is engrossing as you continue. Set in the country side, it sure is a refreshing change. The novel truly has different shades to its story, which are revealed beautifully in ’A painted house’.