Book Review: A Painted House by John Grisham

A PAINTED HOUSE
by John Grisham

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....

"A Painted House" is different from the other John Grisham books I've read..

The book describes, the life of 7 year old Luke Chandler, an Arkansas farm boy growing up in the midst of the cotton fields. Luke is full of curiosity and mischief, as he witnesses life & death around him, causing him to make very adult decisions about keeping secrets. Chandler narrates the story.

The ending of the book is somewhat left hanging.. I would love to know more about Luke's life after moving to another place, away from the home & friends he grew up with.. I wonder if his uncle Ricky would show up after learning that he's got a kid.. I wonder what happened next.....

I can't say that I fell in love with the book. I've been reading a lot Grisham's courtroom dramas that i found it hard to see him writing a totally different kind of story.. In the end, this book somehow made me laugh and cry, and appreciate life..