A Painted House cover art

A Painted House

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

 The hill people and the Mexicans arrived on the same day. It was a Wednesday, early in September 1952. The Cardinals were five games behind the Dodgers with three weeks to go, and the season looked hopeless. The cotton, however, was waist-high to my father, over my head, and he and my grandfather could be heard before supper whispering words that were seldom heard. It could be a "good crop."

Thus begins the new novel from John Grisham, a story inspired by his own childhood in rural Arkansas. The narrator is a farm boy named Luke Chandler, age seven, who lives in the cotton fields with his parents and grandparents in a little house that's never been painted. The Chandlers farm eighty acres that they rent, not own, and when the cotton is ready they hire a truckload of Mexicans and a family from the Ozarks to help harvest it.

For six weeks they pick cotton, battling the heat, the rain, the fatigue, and, sometimes, each other. As the weeks pass Luke sees and hears things no seven-year-old could possibly be prepared for, and finds himself keeping secrets that not only threaten the crop but will change the lives of the Chandlers forever.

A Painted House is a moving story of one boy's journey from innocence to experience.

(P)2001 Random House, LLC©2001 Belfry Holdings, Inc Coming of Age Crime Thrillers Fiction Genre Fiction Small Town & Rural Thriller & Suspense
All stars
Most relevant
All through the eyes of a small boy and the secrets he had to keep. Brilliant. My first Grisham novel. Will I like the others? They look different. Took a while to adjust to the narrator. All in all he did a good job though. Highly recommended.

Beautiful book. A peek at 1950 s farming life USA

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
John Grisham has a fine ability and talent when it comes to writing but this simple tale of “A Painted House” is Grisham at his best. A beautifully crafted story about life on a cotton farm, and the long and arduous harvest, David Lansbury provides narration that helps to bring to life each of the many characters, a charming story that will transport you to another time and remind you of how our fore fathers toiled on the land.
Superbly presented.

This will become a Classic!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I read this book a few years back and absolutely loved it. I was worried the imagery and characters would seem different when read by someone else.
I needn't have worried, this is a rich and warm performance of one of my favourite John Grisham stories....absolutely brilliant!

Superb story, brilliant performance!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A beautiful book, painting a vivid picture of a way of life in 1950s Arkansas. There is a murder, but this is a very un-Grisham book.

Perfect

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Such a random topic, not my usual but just so well written that it just draws you in. A master at work

Beautiful book; so well written

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews