"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.  
 
While this book is totally different than any other book he has written to date, it did not disappoint me at all. I have read some (few) reviews that didn't rate this book kindly, but I felt very differently. While I have loved every one of Grisham's books, sometimes I have felt that they were so detailed and technically mind-boggling with legal mumbo-jumbo. This one is the perfect change of pace from that.  
 
The setting is Arkansas, late summer of 1952. Luke Chandler is a 7 year old boy who is an only child, living with his parents in his paternal grandparents home on their cotton farm. They are very poor farm folk and every member of the family has to work hard to bring in the precious cotton crop; something they plan for and depend on all year long.  
 
Luke's grandfather ("Pappy" to Luke), is a spirited man who doesn't tolerate nonsense. I get a kick out of the way he insists that his old truck must not be driven over 37 mph. He worries constantly about the weather and how it will affect their crops.  
 
When it's picking time, Pappy goes to town to hire Mexicans who have arrived in a trailer, all scrunched up worse than cattle. He hires 10 of them to work the cotton fields. On the same day he also hires the Spruill family. Families who live in the Ozarks and are referred to as "The hill people" come down to be hired on to the cotton farms for the season.  
 
The story takes us through the short season and all the ups and downs this poor family goes through trying not to get rich from their labors, but just to break even so they can farm another year. This has some meaning to me because my Dad is a farmer and although times are different now than they were 50-60 years ago, we knew plenty of years where there was barely enough to scrape by and feed 5 kids. It's amazing how resourceful one can be when the situation requires it.  
 
Along with the Spruill family comes their 17 year old daughter, Tally. Luke at the age of 7 has yet to discover much about women, but is very curious about Tally. He thinks that a 10 year age difference isn't too much. Hank Spruill is the oldest Spruill boy and he is mean. He gets into fights and is even involved in the death of one the boys from another farm. The youngest Spruill member is a young boy named Trot. Trot is not 'right' as he has some physical disabilities. (This was before the days of political correctness.) Trot would play a key role in the story as to how the book got it's name.  
 
Along with the Mexicans comes a boy named Cowboy. He too is a mean person and he and Hank have their moment late in the book. Luke doesn't like Cowboy much because there is a little too much interest between Cowboy and Tally.  
 
This book has reality, humor, scandal, sorrow and sentiment. It is written through the eyes of a seven year old boy and how he views the world. While there are parts in the book that are disturbing because there is death or financial tragedy, I found the book to be light hearted and often funny. Grisham had a way of making Luke's character quite interesting; very inquisitive and hugely imaginitive was young Luke.  
 
If I had to choose something that I would have liked to be different about the book, I think, as others have mentioned, that I would have liked to know more at the end of the book, such as what happens to the family. But then, this book can't go on forever. All things considered, I think the author chose an appropriate place to end the book.  
