Painted House by John Grisham (2001)

I've never read anything by Grisham, but this was given to me by Sniedze, because it was about migrant workers and cotton growers in the South. I liked it, especially since it was written from the view point of seven year old Luke Chandler. His family owns a cotton farm, and they have to hire hill people and Mexicans to help pick the cotton crop in the couple months. The story is rich with details of farm life, small town life, the different groups, listening to baseball games, etc. I can't even image what it would be like to spend long hot days out in the fields picking cotton, where every hand is important, even the work of a seven year old. The "painted house" comes from one of the hill boys, who's health prevents him from working out in the field, but he starts painting Luke's house. When it seems everything is falling apart, painting the house becomes something important and hopeful.

I finished reading this book while on vacation on Sanibel Island in Florida, and the day I finished it, I took a walk and met a local woman who showed me her garden and gave me a pod and ball of wild cotton. Strange...