a painted house by john grisham

the summary (Goodreads):

Until that September of 1952, Luke Chandler had never kept a secret or told a single lie. But in the long, hot summer of his seventh year, two groups of migrant workers — and two very dangerous men — came through the Arkansas Delta to work the Chandler cotton farm. And suddenly mysteries are flooding Luke’s world.

A brutal murder leaves the town seething in gossip and suspicion. A beautiful young woman ignites forbidden passions. A fatherless baby is born ... and someone has begun furtively painting the bare clapboards of the Chandler farmhouse, slowly, painstakingly, bathing the run-down structure in gleaming white. And as young Luke watches the world around him, he unravels secrets that could shatter lives — and change his family and his town forever....

my thought on this:

This is totally unlike other stories by Grisham..I knew it will be different as i bought this book in a car boot sale a few months ago and i wasn't surprise.I love his books, you name it, the pelican Brief, the client, the Partner, a time to kill and etc.they were awesome, but this book is just another different perspective of Grisham. I read a a lot of reviews or comments from a lot of people about this book, some like it, and some don't..Our expectations on books might differs form each other right?

But as for myself, I absolutely like it..the storyline, I have to admit that it was very simple, as it was told by a seven years old boy from his mind..This book had a lazy start, but it picked up pretty quickly. It isn't a legal thriller like most Grisham books, but instead a story of a cotton-farming family in 1950's Arkansas. The characters and story were well developed, and the ending left me wanting to read more books about this family..

I especially loved the main character..Luke Chandler is a precocious, wholly lovable young narrator whose voice rings authentic and true..it doesn't have the characters were more real and really engaging to me..for the first time, i really appreciate his easy-to-read, well-paced, w/o getting mixed up by side issues and details along the way..and also, I have never read a book where the author is able to capture how a child mind works better than this book..

You probably will think it's a little weird/boring/whatever you might feel at first but when you finish it you will find out that it is actually a good read with a suprising twist towards the end of the book.. =)

p/s: I know there was a movie based on this book, but never have the opportunity to wacth it =(

my rating: 4/5