A Painted House

In case you haven't heard, there's nary a lawyer or a court battle in Grisham's latest--the story of 7-year-old Luke Chandler's life on an Arkansas cotton farm during the Korean War. David Lansbury's narration complements the story perfectly. His soft Southern voice ably captures Grisham's loving evocation of time and place, as well as the growing tension that simmers between the itinerant Mexican farm workers and the locals. Lansbury projects the nostalgia of Grisham's tale without succumbing to sentimentality. When the situation explodes into a brutal murder, his voice echoes the momentum of the story. His ability to elicit Luke's emotions and concerns captures a summer seared into the youngster's--and the listener's--memories. D.J.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

June 4, 2001
Grisham fans will not despair as they discover that this finely wrought tale includes no lawyers. Instead, the author presents an evocation of the life of a young boy growing up on a Southern farm in hard times during the fall 1952 cotton-picking season. Lansbury, an actor of stage and screens, both big and small, brings a sweet innocence to the voice of narrator, Luke Chandler. Luke, a curious, even nosy seven-year-old, witnesses a series of events that range from the dramatic to the profoundly disturbing—including a birth, a flood and a couple of killings. Lansbury gives each character his or her own distinctive voice: low and gruff for Luke's grandfather, Pappy; tough and huffy for troublesome Hank, one of the "hill people" the Chandlers hire to help pick the cotton; soft and gentle for Luke's mother. The range of voices helps listeners as he enacts dialogue; but when switching between dialogue and his narration as Luke, Lansbury's performance is far less smooth. Still, Lansbury's is an effective reading of a provocative novel that will please and surprise Grisham's many fans. Simultaneous release with the Doubleday hardcover (Forecasts, Jan. 22).