Funsters book club (2 Viewers)

[movan]

Not my normal type of read .. so looking forward to something different.

Was struggling with the John Grisham .. felt like a heavy John Steinbeck .. but just reached where the 'crime' has happened .. don't want to spoil it for others ... and I am getting hooked.

 

[Jenben]

Thanks for that, have now bought it for December book club read.

 

[movan]

Just ordered the December one.

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[Dizzy Izzy]

December book downloaded.

 

[movan]

Just ordered the December one.

daughter phoned late last night .. book not ordered .. £1 is only for Kindle ...otherwise nrly £10 ...

Will phone library to see if they can get it in for me for end of November.

 

[Portland]

I have finished the Grisham Painted house, It was much better second time around, I will wait for the discussion to start. Can I take it that Rosa's Gold is next on the a gender??

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[Jandek]

I'd like to join too please . Will start with the December book as not enough time for the November one as got another one on the go .

 

[CWH]

It now being December, who's going first on the review of "A Painted House"?
(not me, I went first on the last one )

 

[Indy259]

Ordered December one from library.

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[movan]

Still waiting for Rosa's Gold from the library. It's taking forever.

 

[movan]

Ok. Downsides first .. REALLY wanted to like November book because I enjoy CWH's posts and I know she enjoyed it ... but sorry, Carol... I really struggled with it. I found the writing style of John Grisham as I always do .. heavy going... if it hadn't been book club choice I wouldn't have read till the end.

Every so often the plot looked as though it was about to excite me but then it fell flat ... but then, isn't that the way with real life? I am reminded of that song 'Is that all there is?' I accept, therefore, that is probably a flaw in my expectations.

Pluses: I learned something from the book. Knew nothing about cotton picking and found myself willing the rain clouds to blow away.. always find it uplifting and inspiring to read about the strength of human characters in times of struggles to survive. Thought that was done quite well.

The times when we looked at situations through the eyes of a child were well written. So often we read plots wherein children act and make decisions as though fully developed adults ... this was pretty good... (anyone interested in brilliant eyes of a child aspect try Boy in Striped Pajamas .. million times better than the film).

Have started you off .. will add more to the discussion when others join in.

(Glad I read it .. loving the book club).

 

[archie2000]

A Painted House. Memorable for its monotony. I read this book years ago as I am a fan of Grisham. On finishing the the book my initial though was, he must be testing the loyalty of his followers and I felt foolish for reading it to the end.

I was going to read it again as it was Novembers chosen book, I know our opinions and reading tastes change over the years so I was willing to have another look at it. I unfortunately couldn't find a cheap copy and £3.99 for the Kindle was too much.

I look forward to reading the opinions of others, if they are positive reviews I will give the book another try sometime in the future.

I have Rosa's Gold on my Kindle

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[archie2000]

I couldn't finish my message , because Joy's message was coming through (everything freezes).

Reading your review Joy I am pleased I didn't spend £3.99. I don't think my opinion would have changed.

Looking forward to reading Rosa's Gold.

Anne

 

[CWH]

Oh dear, so sorry you too, I hoped everybody would enjoy this book!

I agree it's not exciting to the reader in the way that an action book might be; and Anne yes it probably does have a degree of monotony - but I think that's perhaps sort of the point. Life has its ups and downs and then moves on. I'm surprised you find Grisham's style heavy going Joy, as I enjoy it, but that's another aspect of what a book club's about - getting to understand other readers' points of view.

I'll add to this when my hands have thawed out a bit.....

 

[Jenben]

Painted House , quite enjoyed it as a very different John Grisham book , I understand it has a biographical side to it.

Have read some John Steinbeck America cannery row stuff and this felt like the same era. it felt a lot older than the 1950s in terms of the description of the poverty , what did others think?

Left me with some questions ?
Why did Lukes mother marry his father as the life made her so unhappy ?
Do you think she got pregnant the 2nd time to force Lukes dad to quit the farm ?
I got no sense of how Lukes grandparents could survive without all the family there ? It felt awful to think they would just leave the farm and head off given general family loyalty.
Interesting portrayal of the role of the Church which I think is still very prevalent in this central parts of the US.

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[movan]

I worried about Luke's grandparents too. No way they survive on their own.

 

[Allan & Loren]

Ok, a painted house! Not my usual read and I did find it very slow to start with and had no idea where it was headed. Got to the first murdef and thought it was going to get going but it just didn't seem to unfortunately.

I did enjoy the insight into the cotton picking and, like Joy, I was willing the weather to hold out so they could pick more as I really felt the frustration and worry.

I can imagine that this was exactly how these communities existed. A very simple life, very poor, very difficult and hard work. The church played a significant part in their lives and on the surface they were god fearing and basically good, honest folk and yet on the other having babies out of wedlock, murders happening and being covered up for the greater good, etc.

It was not an ending I expected and I would have liked to have had more background into what the mother was thinking and feeling as she obviously had been planning the escape to a better life for her family and I just felt like it was dropped in, out of context.

In a strange way I quite enjoyed it and if it wasn't for the book club I probably wouldn't have finished it!

 

[Hils and Glenns]

Not reading the comments yet as I haven't quite finished the book, but I'm enjoying it. I didn't think I would because I don't usually read American fiction. I love a book where nothing much happens. Seriously.

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[CWH]

When I first read “A Painted House” a few years ago, I thought it was just about on a par with “To Kill A Mockingbird” which I consider to be the best book I’ve ever read. So I’m disappointed that some other Funsters don’t rate it...

On my first reading, I thought the main character was Luke; this time, I felt that the main character was the location, both time and place (with Luke in the main supporting role) which provides the framework for the story.

Far from there being ‘no story’, I think it’s the unfolding of this single month in Luke’s life, September 1952. Does he actually grow up through this time? – I’m not sure that he does. He certainly has some extreme experiences but throughout, he suggests that others (parents, uncle, grand-parents) “will know what to do”. Luke’s own actions are motivated by fear – of violence, of his parents’ anger, of his own shame. He sees violence but soon forgets the intense emotion created by each episode and his interest quickly goes back to childish things. He is burdened from all sides with unwelcome secrets, but finds he is able to keep them – probably because of his fear intermingled with his innocence and his love for, and trust in, his familiar adults.

I think the monotony that Anne @archie2000 and others have perceived is meant to reflect the exhausting tedium of the lives of the cotton farmers in rural Arkansas; but here, for Luke, this monotony is punctuated by significant events, some of which only he is aware. Personally I find it an effective device that serves to keep bringing the story back to base, without escalating into something which a child couldn’t sustain.

I got lost in the baseball descriptions, but baseball provides the only constant and shared excitement in Luke’s life, as well as his only reference to the future. The cotton farming explanations I could understand – I think it was described quite well, whereas there was an assumption that the reader would know baseball.

Joy @movan highlights the author’s ability to describe events from a child’s point of view. The unbridled curiosity of childhood pervades the whole book. But are seven-year-old boys THIS curious about ‘the female’? - I’m sure Grisham knows better than me!

I “remembered” reading about Ricky’s homecoming, so I went through the whole book anticipating that – and I was wrong!

The end is a beginning. I find at the end of the book that I really CARE that Gran and Pappy are being abandoned; I feel their loneliness as I feel that of my own father. And I really hope for them that Ricky comes back to stay – and for Ricky, that he stays because he wants to farm and not because he feels it’s his duty to support his parents. I feel sure that Luke and his parents will thrive, but that they’ll never come back to the farm; they’ll be swallowed up in the much more competitive,yet routine, world of trying to achieve The American Dream.

At the end of this latest reading do I still think “A Painted House“ is as good as “To Kill A Mockingbird“? – well no, it no longer has quite the same status in my mind, but I think it remains on my Best Ten list.

 

[Allan & Loren]

I'd completely overlooked the curiosity of Luke for the females and I'm not sure I agree that a 7 yr old would think of a woman in that way. Certainly the 7 yr old boys I've known, my son, his friends, my nephews, etc have been far more interested in sports to even notice a woman the way we were meant to believe that Luke did.

 

[Jenben]

Do you think John Grisham could have written another book about the eloping couple ( the cowboy and the girl) ? I felt there was another book in their relationship.

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[movan]

Do you think John Grisham could have written another book about the eloping couple ( the cowboy and the girl) ? I felt there was another book in their relationship.

Yes. I thought he might have worked the plot so that he had a follow-on novel to hand.

Popping to library today for December book ... IF it has come in.

 

[irnbru]

Haven't read all the thread but by the length of @CWH post. I'm sure there must be an author on the horizon

 

[Allan & Loren]

Haven't read all the thread but by the length of @CWH post. I'm sure there must be an author on the horizon

Definitely an Author hidden in there somewhere.

You joining our book club Sandra? The more opinions the better.

I know we've only just started December but anyone fancy reading this in January?
It's on kindle for 99p today. Eeny Meeny by MJ Arlidge. A serial killer thriller. Amazon product ASIN B00GK8RV3A

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[Hils and Glenns]

Well I've finished it. It wasn't the best book I've ever read but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Its the first book I've read by John Grisham. I don't think I'll be rushing to read another one. I think his portrail of the women characters in the book was quite good. I can sometimes find it irritating when male authors get that wrong. He didn't overdo it.
I think the whole story was just a snapshot of cotton pickers lives at the time. There wasn't really a plot or a theme. And it left a lot of loose ends. Not all of them satisfactory. I had the feeling all the way through that Ricky wouldn't make it. Also what about the Latchers in the barn? Gran was quite resourceful so I think the grandparents would be ok for a while. Maybe they should join forces with the Latchers and do joint farming. But as a child with no control over what happens Luke would just move on and never get to know all the outcomes of the loose ends.
I have mixed feelings about seeing the story through the eyes of a 7 year old boy. I could identify with the confusion and curiosity a child has about the adult world, and it kind of worked except all the time I was thinking is this the sort of language a poorly educated 7 year old would use? Of course it isn't but i'm not sure the book could have been written with the vocabulary of a 7 year old.
The ending was a bit abrupt too.

 

[Portland]

I found the book more interesting on the second read ( I suppose the first was just something to relax and pass the time habit) What I could do, was to compare the background of the characters to the people of my own experience through life which is in the time period of the book. Life was a struggle for many people but they all had their own prides and prejudice's, the local term for this is called Pot Bank (pottery factory) mentality. Basically this means everyone should be at the same low level as them (who ever they are?) another term could be envy! I had friends who lived in damp lice / silverfish/cockroach infected homes with gas lighting no hot water so I guess they had reason to be envious. However most came to school scrubbed clean and some had free milk and dinners (pity they had to queue separately and have a white ticket which marked them as being in need. We kids however just accepted this as normal and just got on with life
By the way if you have ever been kicked by someone wearing Clogs!! let me tell you it hurts.

 

[movan]

I'm going to get confused about which books are in the club.. how are we choosing them? We should really have a list at the beginning of the thread of members, and as new ones join they can be added to the BOTTOM of the list and perhaps then take it in turns choosing over and over? That way we would have true diversity of tastes .. yes, even Barbara Cartland if that be the choice.. But I don't know how to do that .. Any suggestions @Jim?

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[Hils and Glenns]

Hi. I'm confused about what the next book is. Has a decision been made?

 

[Portland]

The Lady at our Library van says Rosa's Gold is not available. any cheap alternatives? Don't ave a Kindle!! DON'T want one either.

 

[Jim]

Hi book lovers. I only have phone access right now. So can't be certain but Im sure the book club is a regular forum so I'd suggest you start a thread per book. If you can't do that please shout and I'll sort it so you can

Hi. I'm confused about what the next book is. Has a decision been made?

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