Quotes from A Painted House

John Grisham ·  384 pages

Rating: (67K votes)


“I was tired of secrets, tired of seeing things I was not supposed to see. And so I just cried.”
― John Grisham, quote from A Painted House


“I looked at her and tried to speak, but all I could think about was how shocked she'd be if I said what I was thinking.”
― John Grisham, quote from A Painted House


“Once again I had asked an innocent question, and because of it, I was banished from the conversation.”
― John Grisham, quote from A Painted House


“Ricky had taught me a few cuss words. I usually practiced them in the woods by the river, then prayed for forgiveness as soon as I was done.”
― John Grisham, quote from A Painted House


“Once again, I was reminded that Tally was the prettiest girl I'd ever met, and when she smiled at me my mind went blank. Once you've seen a pretty girl naked, you feel a certain attachment to her.”
― John Grisham, quote from A Painted House



“I was on the verge of tears, so I turned and ran past the trailer and along the field road until I was safely out of their sight. Then I ducked into the cotton and waited for friendly voices. I sat on the hot ground, surrounded by stalks four feet tall, and I cried, something I really hated to do.”
― John Grisham, quote from A Painted House


“The sky had cleared, and now the sun was overhead, already baking the wet ground so that you could see the humidity drifting lazily above the cotton stalks.”
― John Grisham, quote from A Painted House


“Once you've seen a pretty girl naked, you feel a certain attachment to her.”
― John Grisham, quote from A Painted House


“I was hurting, too. How could she have done such a terrible thing? She was my friend. She treated me like a confidant, and she protected me like a big sister. I loved Tally, and now she had run off with a vicious killer.”
― John Grisham, quote from A Painted House


“How often would I have the chance to see a pretty girl bathing? I could recall no specific prohibition from the church or the Scriptures, though I knew it was wrong. But maybe it wasn't terribly sinful.”
― John Grisham, quote from A Painted House



“I wished i were seven feet tall. I'd hop up there and attack ol' Samson while the crowd went wild. I'd whip him good, send him flying, and become the biggest hero in Black Oak. But, for now, I could only boo him.”
― John Grisham, quote from A Painted House


“In little pockets of conversation, old men were telling stories of ancient floods. Women were talking of about how much rain there'd been in other towns -- Paragould, Lepanto, and Manila.”
― John Grisham, quote from A Painted House


“I had never seen a woman's breasts before, and I doubted if any seven-year-old boy in Craighead County had. Maybe some kid had stumbled upon his mother, but I was certain no boy my age had never had this view.”
― John Grisham, quote from A Painted House


About the author

John Grisham
Born place: in Jonesboro, Arkansas, The United States
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“But before that day it felt like at least I had an ally on this boat. Now I have nothing. Well, I have a fat baby sea monster. But Bao doesn't tell jokes, and somehow I need that.

I hate how I need that.”
― Emily Skrutskie, quote from The Abyss Surrounds Us


“Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Hamlet: An Authoritative Text, Intellectual Backgrounds, Extracts from the Sources, Essays in Criticism (Norton Critical Edition)


“it occurs to me that this is what it means to be a feminist. Not a humanist or an equalist or whatever. But a feminist. It’s not a bad word. After today it might be my favorite word. Because really all it is is girls supporting each other and wanting to be treated like human beings in a world that’s always finding ways to tell them they’re not.”
― Jennifer Mathieu, quote from Moxie


“In our lives, we don’t always get what we deserve or what we want. But how we deal with those misfortunes mold our character. As with this second book, time will leap-frog again into the future for book three, where the ramifications of the decisions made here will play out.”
― Jeff Wheeler, quote from The Thief's Daughter


“Something is lacking. As one of the seven billion human beings, I believe everyone has the responsibility to develop a happier world. We need, ultimately, to have a greater concern for others’ well-being. In other words, kindness or compassion, which is lacking now. We must pay more attention to our inner values. We must look inside.” He”
― Dalai Lama XIV, quote from The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World


Interesting books

Clockers
(7.7K)
Clockers
by Richard Price
Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them
(8.2K)
Reading Like a Write...
by Francine Prose
Strange Candy
(15.4K)
Strange Candy
by Laurell K. Hamilton
Oral History
(3.3K)
Oral History
by Lee Smith
Victory Over the Darkness
(5.4K)
Victory Over the Dar...
by Neil T. Anderson
Life is So Good
(4.5K)

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.