John Grisham - A Painted House

Pros: It takes you back to the 50's
Cons: Where is the mystery, action, thrill?

A few days ago my husband and I crawled into bed and I decided I would start my new John Grisham book, A Painted House, before falling asleep. I am a John Grisham fan and I always rush out and buy his books as soon as they come out, it is sort of an...

Pros: Some nice descriptive passages about a 1950's childhood
Cons: 400 pages of compound sentences, many of them exactly the same length

A Painted House is not a typical John Grisham legal thriller. Instead, it is the story, based loosely on his childhood in rural Arkansas, of struggling delta cotton farmers, told from the perspective of seven year-old Luke Chandler.

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Pros: Rich setting and characters...
Cons: ...although the plot is a bit formulaic.

After writing multiple legal thrillers that translated better to the big screen with big stars (Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington, Julia Roberts), John Grisham took his aw-shucks attitude to A Painted House. Channeling John Steinbeck's The Grapes ...

Pros: Writing from the old school classic style, warm characters, great plot
Cons: Tremendous departure for Grisham which some might not like. Plot is predictable.

John Grisham, noted for his suspense novels involving lawyers, has brushed aside his previous masterpieces to present a charming and enjoyable story of life in 1952 Arkansas. The book features the story of the Chandler family from the point of view of...

Pros: The characters are interesting (though, two-dimensional) and the plot-episodes are intriguing.
Cons: The writing is bland as a plateful of grits.

You won’t find any lawyers or courtrooms in John Grisham’s newest novel, A Painted House. No sireebob, this is a horse (or, house) of a different color.

It seems the attorney-turned-publishing commodity has reached the point in...

Pros: It is a John Grisham novel; funny in some parts
Cons: the ending leaves you wanting to know more

I have been a John Grisham fan since 1989 when his hit A Time To Kill was released. Grisham was a master of courtroom drama. For some reason, probably due to publisher deadlines, I haven’t been as thrilled with Grisham’s latest works. This...

Pros: Grisham does a superb job capturing the life and time of the setting.
Cons: So many questions go unanswered...

I was never one to get my expectations too high when it came to books; in fact, I couldn't tell you how many failing test grades I got in high school simply because "I didn't read the book." I'd love to go back and change that, but then again, who...

Pros: Gorgeous writing, a slow, smooth style, and a host of conflicts large and small.
Cons: Those who dwell in other, less favored parts of the country might not be appreciative.

Well, who knows how long this will last
Now we've come so far, so fast
But somewhere back there in the dust
That same small town in each of us
I need to remember this
So baby give me just one kiss
Let me take a long...

Pros: The story has a down-home feel to it that should be found endearing to anyone.
Cons: Grisham continues to show a general lack of character development.

In what has become the seemingly in vogue style, legal-thriller extraordinaire John Grisham has laid aside his briefs and torts and gotten in touch with his inner child.

Following in the steps of David Baldacci's move from Washington D.C. to...

Pros: Okay story told through the eyes of a child
Cons: The reader is left wondering about many unfinished issues

When A Painted House first came out in 2000 (I think that was the year), I went out and bought it because it's a John Grisham novel and I'm a John Grisham fan. However, the book did not get read until three years later and now three months after ...

Pros: A great change of pace - not so technically overwhelming
Cons: It was over too soon

"A Painted House" is the newest book by my favorite author, John Grisham. As soon as his books hit the stands, I have to buy them. Even if I am in the middle of reading another book, that book gets set aside so I can read his newest work of art.
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Pros: Breadth of character development and story telling not seen in his other works.
Cons: For some, the fact that it is different is a negative.

I am always a bit leery and concerned when an author I like attempts something radically different than the previous works. Usually the book is a disaster, the author learns a lesson and gets it out of his or her system, and goes back to what made...

Pros: A beautifully written story that has the ability to go straight to your heart.
Cons: None

I am and always have been a city-girl. We were raised in a mid-sized city surrounded by the Pallouse country, where wheat farmers lived. I remember how beautiful a field of spring wheat looked along the side of the state highway when driving eastward...

Pros: Um, interesting premise...
Cons: Little character development, little plot development, entire storyline is lacking!

To say that John Grisham detoured from his normal writing style with A PAINTED HOUSE is an understatement. Not only did he not write a legal thriller, he wrote a book that, in my opinion, was a waste of paper! A PAINTED HOUSE revolves around farm ...

Pros: Deeply detailed landscape that transports you back to 1952
Cons: None for me, but some might be misled because it is a Grisham novel

Yes, I know. This isn’t your typical Grisham novel. As a matter of fact, its not your typical anybody novel. But then again, that’s what the rear cover blurb is for. If you went into this book thinking The Firm, or The Pelican Brief, then it’s not...