A painted house

Author: John Grisham

I have listened to the audio book version available at audible.com, narrated by Peter Marinker.

Description from Amazon: This novel is a story inspired from John Grisham's own childhood in Arkansas. The narrator is a farm boy named Luke Chandler, age seven, who lives in the cotton fields with his family in a little house that's never been painted. The Chandlers farm 80 acres, 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, battle the heat, the rain, the fatigue, and sometimes, each other. And, as the weeks pass, Luke sees and hears things no seven-year-old could possibly be prepared for.

My opinion:

Before I get to the details, I have to admit: this is my first Grisham novel. Sure I know his name, I have seen The Firm and The Pelican Brief. And the Runaway Jury, of course. But this was the first time I met him, I mean virtually, through his novel. He is a talented writer.

And before I get to the point, I have to make it clear: this book is not a thriller. At least not that fast paced one with dead bodies on every twentieth page.

So what do I think about Grisham's A Painted House? It is a very good book. Why? First, the characters are vibrant, alive, very well drawn. They are three dimensional, they have their hope, love and anger. Second, it is well written. The dialogues perfectly fit to the characters, everyone speaks in his/her own manners. The narration gives life to the story, and colours it.

The book has several layers. One is the life on an Arkansas farm in the fifties, that I found interesting (being European). Life without TV set and internet, silent evenings; the only entertainment is listening to the radio when the Cardinals plays. Life with harsh weather and hard work, always worrying about the crop.

The second layer is the small society, having its own slow lifestyle. In the town everyone knows everybody, and small events stir the still water of the provincial peace. And big things happen in this crop picking season, big enough to turn life upside down.

The third layer is that we see everything through the eye of the little Luke, seven years old boy. He sees and hears stuff he shouldn't. He is like other boy, always hanging around the adults, eavesdropping their conversations.

I liked the deep meaning of painting the house, which was never painted before. And I also liked the ending: leaving the old life behind in the hope of a better new one.

My rating: five stars. I know that the narration of Peter Marinker enhances the experience, so this rating goes for the audiobook in whole.

Writing Fiction for All You're Worth

Full title: Writing Fiction for All You're Worth: Strategies and Techniques for Taking Your Fiction to the Next Level

Author: James Scott Bell - he is also blogging at Kill Zone.

Description: WRITING FICTION FOR ALL YOUR WORTH contains the best of James Scott Bell's articles and blog posts on writing, easily searchable under these headings: The Writing World, The Writing Life, and The Writing Craft. You'll learn about the 6 critical success factors for bestselling fiction, how to write un-put-downable action scenes, and how to capture the interest of an agent. The keys to a dynamic opening page are revealed, and just as important, what NOT to do in the opening. There's plenty of inside information on what agents and editors say they're looking for and detailed instructions on how to write a stress free query. You'll learn what to put on your LAST page, when to use italics, how to write with courage. And a whole lot more.

My opinion:

First I found a little uncomfortable that the book is a series of earlier blog posts. (They may have been edited, may not, I didn't check it out.) But later I forgot about it because of the great content.

Usually I find a writing book worth the money if I learn something valuable from it. Well, I learned a lot of good stuff from Mr Bell. A few examples:

• I started to plan my writing time, and to stick to a weekly quota. I do it for a few weeks only, but in this way I managed to finish two short story drafts.


• I discovered that the first page of my first novel (still in the making) is not that bad.


• I will use the Bridge story structure in my second novel (once the first one will be finished).

I could continue the list, but I let you to discover the book. I really enjoyed the advices about the craft, and I liked the way James Scott Bell encouraged me to use them, build them into my writing practice, and benefit from them. Being a writer is a life of continuous learning, and the book pokes you to make efforts to grow and develop. Actually I made notes for myself in my notebook, so I have the essence of it always with me. (You know the drill: you should carry a notebook all the time with you to jot down new ideas.)

Here and there I found Mr Bell ranting about baseball, that I did not understand. (Sorry, my bad, I'm not really into it.) The author used these to lead up to the point about writing, so at the end of the day these real life examples were useful (if you play / follow baseball, I mean).

Format / Typo issues: none, of course.

My rating: five stars. The book merits it. A must read.

Red Smoke Rising

Author: Rick Anthony

Description: from Amazon:

Over a hundred years have passed since the invaders came to steal the drug, since Mia's homeland was occupied. Once they understood the drug's secrets, the Nor army was unstoppable, superhuman. Mia's people were overwhelmed and defeated - slaves in their own lands.

In the time that has passed, Mia and the Underground have stolen the drug, along with the knowledge of how to use it to create an army of their own. Now, the time has come for the resistance army of shapeshifters, Masters and Trademasters to stand against the Nor Empire and take back their homeland... before their chance is gone forever.

My opinion:

I'm not really into fantasy, at least lately. I have read quite a few in my teens, but later I was more interested in sci-fi. So I'm not a fantasy expert, but someone who wants to discover it. Red Smoke Rising is a good start, I can tell.

Fantasy books use different sources to explain how their magic works. In this book it is the drog called ku which makes possible shifting shapes, modifying material, augmenting human capabilities (and other magic) by altering the aura.

The story is about fighting over the possession of the drug. Who owns the ku, owns the magic, therefore owns the power. The story also about rebellion against oppression and fighting for liberty. The Nor empire took over the land of Muoro, and now it is the time for the slowly developing underground rebels to strike back and expel the powerful Myrmidon soldiers.

The book is fast paced, full of action, I liked that. I also liked that I met many kind of fantasy creatures like ogres, zombies, golems, werefolfs, trolls, even a minoatur and a dragon. The author gave explanations how they came into existence, and placed them in the story well. During the first two thirds of the story it was already interesting and entertaining, and in the third one it intensified and lead to a great battle of freedom. At that point I didn't to put it down until the last page.

Concerning the characters, I would have appreciated some more build up. There were some minor things out of place, related to how they reacted in certain situations, but overall, they fulfilled their roles in the story. They were likable, even Oni, the ogre, and I could identify with them.

Format / Typo issues: just a few punctuation errors, not disturbing.

My rating: I give it four stars. I certainly suggest it for reading.