A Painted House： A Painted House is a novel by American author John Grisham, published on February 6, 2001. Seven-year-old Luke Chandler is witness to many atrocities in the fall of 1952 as his struggling family of cotton farmers works hard to earn enough to pay their debts. The novel portrays the experiences that bring this child from a world of innocence into one of reality. An interesting novel that portrays the life of a Southern farmer very well, A Painted House has found much acclaim within the literary community.