A Painted House: A Novel

by John Grisham

About the Book

For seven-year-old Luke Chandler, 1952 is proving to be a year filled with secrets. Heavily in debt and renting some of
the most flood-prone land in Arkansas, his family must do whatever it takes to bring in a good cotton crop this year. But
Luke witnesses things that could threaten his family's entire community. A forbidden love affair is brewing between two
of the Chandlers' migrant workers. Two brutal murders are committed. A fatherless baby is born. And someone has
secretly begun painting the Chandlers' dilapidated farmhouse, whose weathered clapboards make Luke's mother look
wistfully on the missed opportunities of life.
Beautifully evoking an extraordinary time and place, A Painted House has captivated millions of readers. Depicting
aspects of family, community, trust, and faith through the eyes of a charming little boy, the book makes a memorable
choice for reading groups. The questions, discussion topics, and author biography that follow are intended to enhance
your reading of John Grisham's A Painted House. We hope they will enrich your experience of this enduring novel.

Discussion Guide
1. Luke Chandler is exposed to events that many adults have never even seen. What is the effect of reading about these
circumstancesfrom a difficult childbirth to the possibility of financial ruinthrough the eyes of a seven-year-old
narrator?
2. The Chandlers cannot afford some of the hallmarks of the1950s American dream, such as a television set or a stylishlooking car. Yet other aspects of that time period, such as the Korean War, make an unmistakable impression on them.
How does the Chandler household measure up to your own memories or impressions of that era?
3. Several generations of women are presented in A Painted House, including Gran, Luke's mother, and Tally. How do

contemporary women compare to those three characters?

4. Baseball is a central theme in the novel, providing Luke with heroes, dreams, and a diversion from the exhaustion of
picking cotton. When the Arkansans challenge the Mexicans to a baseball game, however, Luke sees a darker side to
competition. In what way does this scene foreshadow the conclusion of the novel?
5. How might the novel have been different if Luke's father or mother had narrated it?
6. How does your opinion of Cowboy change throughout the novel? What do you think attracts Tally to him? How did
you react to his final showdown with Hank?
7. Discuss the role of Ricky in A Painted House. Though we never meet him directly, he does play a key part in the
progress of the plot. What is the effect of his absence, and the letter writing it inspires? In what way does his experience
differ from that of modern soldiers?
8. What keeps Pappy from giving up on farming?
9.What role do the Methodist and Baptist churches play in the Black Oak community? How well do religious teachings
serve Luke during 1952?
10. In what way is Black Oak a snapshot of the world at large?
11. Luke says that most members of his community are descended from Scotch-Irish immigrants. What are some of the
legacies of this ancestry?
12. The weather is a powerful force in A Painted House; floods, heat, hail, and tornadoes all add suspense to the novel.
What is it like for the Chandlers to live at the complete mercy of the weather? How is their situation different from that
of the cousins who perform indoor industrial work up north? What are the costs and benefits of relying on the natural
world for your livelihood?
13. At the end of the novel, Luke and his parents become migrant workers themselves, venturing off to a new part of the
country solely for employment opportunities. Twenty-first-century workers are often asked to transfer to a new part of
the globe in order to further their careers. What is the best way to make decisions between financial security and family
or cultural ties?
14. Poverty is a highly relative concept in A Painted House. Though they have no indoor plumbing and have perilously
high debts, the Chandlers nonetheless give generously to those in need. How do you define "rich" and "poor"?
15. The Chandler house itself conveys a meaningful message. What is the significance of the way in which it gets
painted? Do you believe that Pappy really does finish the job after Luke and his family leave? What is the effect of that
detail? What causes Luke to set aside his dream of ordering a Cardinals jacket and instead use his meager earnings to
buy paint?

16. In terms of plot and writing style, are any elements of John Grisham's legal thrillers evident in A Painted House?
17. Discuss your own coming-of-age story. What are your first memories of home? Who were the first people you loved?
18. A Painted House ends with tantalizing possibilities. Speculate about how Luke's life unfolds after his family leaves
the Arkansas Delta.

Author Bio
Long before his name became synonymous with the modern legal thriller, John Grisham was working 60-70 hours a
week at a small Southaven, Mississippi law practice, squeezing in time before going to the office and during courtroom
recesses to work on his hobby --- writing his first novel.
Born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a construction worker and a homemaker, John Grisham as a child
dreamed of being a professional baseball player. Realizing he didn't have the right stuff for a pro career, he shifted gears
and majored in accounting at Mississippi State University. After graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 1981, he
went on to practice law for nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation.
In 1983, he was elected to the state House of Representatives and served until 1990.
One day at the DeSoto County courthouse, Grisham overheard the harrowing testimony of a twelve-year-old rape victim
and was inspired to start a novel exploring what would have happened if the girl's father had murdered her assailants.
Getting up at 5 a.m. every day to get in several hours of writing time before heading off to work, Grisham spent three
years on A TIME TO KILL and finished it in 1987. Initially rejected by many publishers, it was eventually bought by
Wynwood Press, who gave it a modest 5,000 copy printing and published it in June 1988.
That might have put an end to Grisham's hobby. However, he had already begun his next book, and it would quickly turn
that hobby into a new full-time career --- and spark one of publishing's greatest success stories. The day after Grisham
completed A TIME TO KILL, he began work on another novel, the story of a hotshot young attorney lured to an
apparently perfect law firm that was not what it appeared. When he sold the film rights to THE FIRM to Paramount
Pictures for $600,000, Grisham suddenly became a hot property among publishers, and book rights were bought by
Doubleday. Spending 47 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, THE FIRM became the bestselling novel of
1991.
The successes of THE PELICAN BRIEF, which hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and THE
CLIENT, which debuted at number one, confirmed Grisham's reputation as the master of the legal thriller. Grisham's
success even renewed interest in A TIME TO KILL, which was republished in hardcover by Doubleday and then in
paperback by Dell. This time around, it was a bestseller.

Since first publishing A TIME TO KILL in 1988, Grisham has written one novel a year, and all of them have become
international bestsellers. There are currently over 300 million John Grisham books in print worldwide, which have been
translated into 40 languages. Nine of his novels have been turned into films, as was an original screenplay, The
Gingerbread Man. THE INNOCENT MAN (2006) marked his first foray into nonfiction, and FORD COUNTY (2009)
was his first short story collection.
Grisham lives with his wife Renee and their two children, Ty and Shea. The family splits their time between their
Victorian home on a farm in Mississippi and a plantation near Charlottesville, VA.
Grisham took time off from writing for several months in 1996 to return, after a five-year hiatus, to the courtroom. He
was honoring a commitment made before he had retired from the law to become a full-time writer: representing the
family of a railroad brakeman killed when he was pinned between two cars. Preparing his case with the same passion
and dedication as his books' protagonists, Grisham successfully argued his clients' case, earning them a jury award of
$683,500 --- the biggest verdict of his career.
When he's not writing, Grisham devotes time to charitable causes, including most recently his Rebuild The Coast Fund,
which raised 8.8 million dollars for Gulf Coast relief in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He also keeps up with his
greatest passion: baseball. The man who dreamed of being a professional baseball player now serves as the local Little
League commissioner. The six ballfields he built on his property have played host to over 350 kids on 26 Little League
teams.
Photo Credit: Billy Hunt

Critical Praise
"Some of the finest dialogue of his career ... Every detail rings clear and true, and nothing is wasted."

A Painted House: A Novel

Publication Date: February 3, 2004

by John Grisham

Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: Delta
ISBN-10: 0385337930
ISBN-13: 9780385337939