A Painted House By John Grisham

John Grisham was a regular man before his books became bestsellers. “Grisham went to study accounting at the Mississippi State University, then he went to study law at the University of Mississippi...” “He attended law school at the University of Mississippi, where he received his law degree in 1981” (Harris). After witnessing a rape victim’s case Grisham got influenced by it to write his first book A Time To Kill. “I seriously doubt I would ever have written the first story had I not been a lawyer. I never dreamed of being a writer. I wrote only after witnessing a trial” (“Biography”). Years later wrote A Painted House which is about a 7-year-old boy named Luke Chandler who lives in Black Oak, Arkansas. In this book, there are murders, babies, and natural disasters that change the life of a little boy. John Grisham’s life influenced his novel A Painted House by describing the professional baseball career he wanted growing up, how growing up in the 1950’s was like, and coming of age.

“Aren’t you going to be a farmer? No ma’am. A baseball player ” (Grisham). This conversation happens at the beginning of the book between Luke and a store owner Pearl. When reading about Grisham’s life it said that when he was growing up, he wanted to get into baseball but realized it wasn’t his path. “ Initially thinking of a pro baseball career and working a variety of jobs before college, Grisham went on to study accounting at Mississippi State University and then law at the University of Mississippi, graduating in 1981 ” (A&E Network