To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) Reviews

• A true classic

  
  By A2F3M93RRLFQNJ on 2007-04-07
  There used to be a time that the word "classic" meant something. Nowadays, it seems to only mean "more than ten years old"; quality doesn't come into the equation at all. Take, for example, the cable channel American Movie Classics, which typically features movies that are forgettable regardless of age. I prefer the classic definition of "classic", one that means something that is not only really good but withstands the test of time.
  
  Put another way, look at the Da Vinci Code. A decent book and a phenomenal best-seller, but will people still be reading it decades from now? Only time will tell. Time, however, has already told on Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, and it is clearly, by any use of the word, a classic. Although forty-seven years old, it is still as good as ever.
  
  Set in the town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird tells the tale of the Finch family: widower father Atticus, young son Jem and younger daughter (and narrator) Scout. Atticus, an attorney, has been appointed to represent Tom Robinson, accused of raping a 19-year-old girl named Mayall Ewell. Since Tom is black and Mayall is white, guilt is assumed by most of the town and the trial a mere formality. The truth plays little part.
  
  Maycomb is a stratified society. There are the "respectable" people, who - with or without money - are considered the aristocrats of the community. The Finches fit into this category. There are the poorer white people, from the poor-yet-proud Cunninghams to the "trashy" Ewells. At the bottom are the blacks. Though Atticus refuses to participate in this classism (and tries to lead his children to do the same), he is pragmatic enough to acknowledge its existence.
  
  This novel may have the trial of Tom Robinson as its centerpiece, but there is plenty more going on as we take a tour of an impoverished town in the Deep South. With this book, Lee has written one of the Great American Novels. And while some great authors are not easily readable (for example, Faulkner), Harper Lee holds the reader from the beginning to end.
  
  Has there been any author who has written something so great in his or her only effort? Yes, there are authors like Margaret Mitchell who wrote Gone With the Wind (which has a far more romantic version of the Old South), but her career was cut short by an early death; Lee is still around and still has no other books published. The one book she wrote, however, is considered one of the greatest novels ever written. It is a true classic.
  
  
  

• Tightly written with a message for everyone

  
  By A20EEWWSFMZ1PN on 2006-06-11
  Harper Lee was encouraged to write some of her childhood memories. What in the beginning seems like the story of three childhood friends in depression era Macomb, Alabama, turns out to be packed with insights to the makeup of human kind.
  
  This story is intriguing on many levels from the history of the area to the stereotyping of people. Most of all every turn was a surprise as told in the first person from the view of Scout Finch. And instead of telling the story in a six year old vocabulary she uses an exceptionally large repertoire to describe the people and events. This story is not as slow passed as one may guess from first glance as every remark and every action will be needed for a future action.
  
  A major controversial part of the story is the trial of Tom Robinson. Hoverer this is just a catalyst to help Scout understand the nature of people including her father Atticus and you will find that as important as it is it is just a part of the story with other major characters such as Arthur "Boo" Radley.
  
  Even thought it appears that Scout is the recipient of the insights, I believe we the reader is the real recipient.
  
  I can truly say that this book has changed my outlook in life.
  
  To Kill a Mockingbird (Collector's Edition)
  
  

• Pulitzer Prize Winner

  
  By ALA2PGOSIBWIV on 2007-12-22
  When did ISBN's come into use? The 1962 Popluar Library paperback edition (price: 60 cents) that I own has a Library of Congress card catalogue number. I also have the fortieth anniversary edition.
  I grew up about forty miles from Miss Lee's hometown. I graduated from Miss Lee's alma mater, the University of Alabama. I have climbed to the top of the clock tower of the courthouse made famous in this book.
  
  I grew up a couple of decades after Scout, a couple of dozen miles down the road, in another small Alabama town. I read To Kill a Mockingbird as a child, and reread it every year or so. My paperback copy is held together with Scotch tape. My anniversary edition is a treasure I do not lend out.
  
  As a child who lived pretty much the same childhood as Scout and Jem, I identified heavily with them, and like most who have read and loved this American Classic, I have longed for a father like Atticus.
  
  It is no exaggeration to state that this novel, more than any other, influenced my thinking, and shaped my life. I am a writer, you see. It is certainly no surprise to me that readers tell me they see similarities between my first novel and the one that told the story of my own childhood better than I ever could, the one that certainly influenced both my desire to write and the topics I choose to write about.
  
  Whenever I think that I might write a memoir of growing up in Alabama, I read this book again, and know that I don't need to. Miss Lee told my own story, those long, dusty summers filled with friends and playing outdoors, the neighborhoods where everyone knew all the children and generally, what they were doing, the lurid rumors and legends constructed of gossip and cautionary tales, secret pacts and promises, moss-covered trees hanging over slow muddy rivers, the far-off rumblings of trouble and upsets as the civil rights movement marched inexorably closer to us, and the quiet in which it finally came to face us. I remember the silence in which they marched, and I remember reading To Kill a Mockingbird again, lying on my bed, windows open to non-existent breezes, wondering. Was Tom Robinson real? Did that really happen? What is happening now? Can I stop it? Can I do something? With all the restless yearning inside me, at ten years old, I reached for something, reading that book, lying on my back, staring at the ceiling, trying to see clearly what was coming.
  
  When I read this book, I remember Scout, the little girl who fought against change, who didn't quite understand the changes that happened despite her best efforts, and I see the girl that I was, straining to see, to understand. I wanted Scout to be my best friend, and you know what? She was. I have always liked books better than people. Some books are better friends than many people I know. Some books have helped me more, sustained me, taught me, kept me entertained, and led me closer to the person I want to be, than any person ever could. Like Scout, I am too stubborn to be told what to do and what to think. But books, that's something else.
  
  To Kill a Mockingbird will remain a treasured, dear old friend.
  
  

• Could'nt put it down - wife feels neglected!

  
  By A3KR3IJX10LMRI on 2006-11-27
  Excellent read! Strong characters with a teasing story left me wanting more and more so I read it in one sitting over the thanksgiving break. The book was easy to fold back, the print was not harsh on my stigmatism and the feel of the book was great. The story was fascinating, engrossing, and I was totally captivated by the unfolding drama. The narrating character, scout, unveiled the hipocricy of americans in their attitudes towards people of a different color, different economic status, different religion, and people with disabilities. She allowed her reader, through literature, to see the human nature of many people to pass judgement on others without judging themselves first. A deep descriptin of social life in Alabama during the Great Depression and New Deal.
  
  

• A Perennial Favorite

  
  By AN8C7BGR98HLN on 2007-08-29
  With deadly insight into the core of prejudice and character motivation, Harper Lee wrote "To Kill a Mockingbird, which today is available in numerous editions and languages. 1935 is the setting of a story of a court appointed attorney, his family, their neighbors, and the world in which they live.
  This outstanding classic is what fine writing is all about and has been the inspiration for many young people to take up writing as their vocation. Read by all ages and used as text material in countless classrooms; it is best of middle 20th century American writing.
  If you've never read it, get it and do so. If you have read it, do so again for the second, third, or. . .time. Scout, Jem, Dill, Boo Radley, Atticus, and the Ladies group have the perennial freshness of a summer rain.
  This one tops them all. The Lexington, KY newspaper ran a page of Top Ten Book Favorite by people for all walks of life, every Sunday this summer. "To Kill a Mockingbird" was the one book that made the majority of lists.
  Nash Black, author of "Qualifying Laps" and "Sins of the Fathers."
  
  
• To Kill a Mockingbird
  By A2KKHTO1QV56EX on 2008-03-06
  This is a powerful exploration of race, law, and growing up in the South. Some have taken issue with certain aspects of this novel (like the saintliness of Atticus Finch and innocent nature of Tom Robinson), but it accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do: illuminate the nature of race and childhood at a dangerous and interesting intersection of American history
  
  
• Simply Essential Reading Vividly Encapsulates Depression-Era Racial Hatred in the Deep South
  By A13E0ARAXI6KJW on 2008-04-16
  Some books so fluidly transcend the stories they contain that the characters and setting almost become incidental to the universal themes they express without contrivance. Such a book exists in Harper Lee's masterful 1960 novel, one of the most revered pieces of fiction this country has ever produced. Set in rural, Depression-era Alabama, it is a classic coming-of-age story about a precocious nine-year old tomboy named Scout. What she experiences is palpable in the virulent racism surrounding the persecution of Tom Robinson, a black man unjustly accused of raping Mayella, the abused white daughter of an unrepentant bigot, Bob Ewell. Representing Tom in court is Atticus Finch, Scout's father and the moral compass of the story.
  
  The plot moves toward a deepening exploration of the intractable conflict between tolerance and ignorance and how the pre-existing environment of hatred and mistrust makes innocent people guilty by pure circumstance. Scout embodies these themes within her own journey toward womanhood and her questions of what society expects of her. Through the travails of Tom and the town's outcast, Boo Radley, and primarily through her father's example, Scout recognizes how innate goodness can exist even in the direst circumstances. Likely because the story is semi-autobiographical, Lee is able to vividly capture the rural south and the pervasive mindset during the Depression with spellbinding accuracy. Yet for all that, the book's lasting legacy has more to do with Lee's particular lierary gift in bringing a genuine universality to her themes.
  
  Other characters weave in and out of the story - including Dill, Scout's wannabe boyfriend and the Truman Capote doppelganger - and each plays a key role in shaping the novel's core conflicts. I have to say that the author's particular literary strengths come to the fore in her empathetic depictions of the evolving relationships between these characters, for example, Scout and her father Atticus, Scout and her brother Jem, the children and Boo. Nothing seems extraneous in the story Lee tells, no small feat for a 336-page novel. She brings intense emotion to her prose, especially in describing the uncontrollable fury created by racial hatred and false accusations, for instance, in the lynch mob scene before the trial and in the vengeful attack on the children. The timing of the book's original 1960 publication turned out to be prescient, as the Civil Rights movement was just becoming national in scope thanks to the efforts of Martin Luther King and his brethren. Even if you have seen the masterful 1962 film, you owe it to yourself to read Lee's literary masterwork and sadly the only novel she ever wrote.
  
  
• The Classic
  By A83UULO578AW on 2007-07-11
  Quite simply, one of the five greatest American novels ever written. What a lesson for both children and adults, especially in this day and age.
  
  
• After All These Years, It Gets Better and Better...
  By A26BVUB2YJMGB7 on 2007-08-09
  Like fine wine, it gets better and better...
  
  It had been more than 40 years since last visiting Atticus, Scout, Jem, Tom Robinson and Boo Radney. I had forgotten how much I loved them, how real they were, and how much they moved me...
  
  Having grown up in times like those described in the book, though not in situations as dramatic, Harper Lee and her characters helped me once again put my own life and times in perspective.
  
  An American classic? It's more than that--it's a human classic. We are not likely to see another like this in our lifetime.
  
  If you've read it before, it's most likely time to read it again...you will appreciate it even more and admire Harper Lee's ability to communicate matters of the heart even more....like fine wine, it gets better and better...
  
  
• A Classic
  By A3GD6AAJOFF839 on 2007-09-03
  You can't go wrong buying a classic. This is a great book that has held up well over time.
  
  
• more than a classic
  By A2T4I3S1PMQOLZ on 2007-10-15
  "To Kill a Mockingbird" is more than a classic, it is heartbreakingly beautiful. Like a previous reviewer, it had been 40 years since my first reading in the sixties. While it was affecting then, it was even more so now. Perhaps maturity enables us to appreciate a great work of art in a way that callow youth cannot.
  
  If you have read it before, read it again. If you have never read it, do so without delay. I promise you an emotional experience that will never leave you.
  
  
  
  
• HARPER LEE'S MASTERPIECE
  By A18IK6YI6T3RK2 on 2008-01-09
  A great deal is made about the fact that Ms. Lee only wrote this one book, but when you write a classic how do you follow it? Plus it has always added to her mystique, also she saw up close and personal how In Cold Blood destroyed Truman Capote. She just went back to the small town she grew up in and has live a long and seemingly peaceful life. The word classic is thrown around alot these days, but if the case of this book it fits. Her writing style propels the book and the content resonates off the page. It's really a story of a decent man defending a decent man, and in the process teaching his children what being a role model is all about. As you read the text, you get the feeling Ms. Lee knows these people quite well, even she admits one of the characters is lose take on her childhood friend Truman. I recommend this book to anyone who loves to read, it's a must read for the centuries.
  
  
• Truly a Masterpiece
  By A3R33KMESG0XGQ on 2008-05-02
  There is a reason that this book is extremely popular, and now that I've finally had a chance to read it, I know why: I consider it to be one of the most well-written books I ever stumbled upon.
  Lee's writing is so precise and sharp that it makes me wonder exactly how long it took her to come up with the first idea of the story, and then finally to have turned in the final draft for publishing. A story with characters like this could take years to write.
  For those who have never had the privilege of reading this masterpiece, do not overestimate this book by its mass popularity; unlike the countless books out there that are popular, no matter how bad they really are, Lee's book continues to thrive in both classrooms and bookstores alike because of the universal lessons it has to teach.
  It can be enjoyed by both the young and the old, but I suggest that you wait till you're older to read it, as the mind may not be able to fully appreciate it until it is well seasoned.
  
  
• Everyone's Favorite . . .
  By A1B1ERGGIV47SB on 2008-08-16
  I honestly have no idea how many times I have read this book. I read it first as an assignment in the eighth grade; most recently, at the age of 41, I read it aloud to three of my children. As with the more recent readings that I recall, I choked up a bit at the end as Scout is experiencing the tragedy and love that surrounds her in the form of her conservatively eccentric father, her mythically reclusive neighbor, and the whole Depression-era, post-Reconstruction sugary gothic Alabama town of her home.
  There seems so little to add in reviewing this book. I will say that even as I read it I ponder the strength of its charm. What is it that is so powerful? Scout is herself quite endearing, although even a casual reading should tell the reader that the first-person voice that is speaking is not the voice of the eight-year old Scout; Harper Lee somehow conveys a tone that retains the childlike innocence of Scout (the child), but the story told is mature and the vocabulary is college-educated. So is this Scout (or Jean Louise Finch) as an adult? I don't think so, as there is very little biographical/autobiographical information provided beyond the timeline of the story (e.g, did Scout grow up and marry?; what happened to Scout's mother?; does everyone live happily ever after?).
  I read once that Harper Lee considered this to be a simple love story, or something like that. I've wondered who she was thinking about: Atticus and his kids, or Boo Radley and the kids, or some other pairing. I guess it is all of the above. It's a simple story of relatively normal children with an independently thinking father who all live in the politely racist South of the 1930's. The circumstances that confront this family (racism of the lowest order and ugly poverty and dysfunction from the underbelly of society) are really not abnormal until the violent climax. Blood is shed; much blood. But it is all presented with a humanity and Southern nostalgia that draw us into a world - as ugly as it is - that makes us wish we were there, and that we could have changed a few things.
  Highly recommended, if you haven't read it yet.
  
  
• Awesome
  By A2EKHN6DT7UWX6 on 2008-10-13
  I skipped reading this in high school, but I have recently decided to go back and read all of the books I should have already read. This was awesome. I don't think I would have fully understood it ten years ago. Truly eye-opening.
  
  
• THE PERFECT BOOK
  By ANWNGM6FFHTF1 on 2006-07-27
  I FOUND THIS BOOK TO BE ONE OF THE GREATEST BOOKS OF ALL TIMES MY HUSBAND CHIEF JAMES MAPLES PLAYED THE SHERIFF IN THE PLAY FOR THIRTY SOME PERFORMANCES AND I WENT TO ONE OR TWO PRACTICES AND I MUST SAY IT WAS ALL WORTH THE WHILE. I HOPE someday MY BOOK WILL DO AS WELL AS YOURS MY BOOK IS ALABAMA POETRY, THE WORDS OF MUSIC SO kEEP up THE GOOD WORK.
  
  
• love it
  By A265Y7RRWQILIF on 2007-02-22
  I read this book years ago in my highschool freshmon Literature class. it was amazing then and the values held are still held todya. This is one of thoes books that you keep forever becuase it will stay with you that long.
  
  
• sorry I took so long
  By A1W23EDRRR00L9 on 2007-10-07
  It took me to long to finally read this book. In my school I don't know when I was growing up we never read this book. Instead I selected it for our book club.
  I enjoyed reading this book finally. I used to hear this was a good read.
  Growing up story, with the father at the center helping the children have good moral values. How it is hard for Scout to see her brother grow before her eyes, and they are no longer at the same level. There is a rape trial which is said when you do research on Harper Lee, that there was a real trial. That alot the book is based on true events.
  I would reccommend this book to be read alone and then discussed with others.
  
  
• to kill a mocking bird
  By A3SYHBXEIDIHOS on 2008-05-16
  A good book but not as good as the movie. The exact ending as to how the attacker was killed left too much doubt as to who actually was the killer--I don't think this was a good way to end the book. If Boo actually was the killer it should have been clearer to the reader instead of making the reader play a guessing game.
  
  
• In Jim Crow Times
  By AGEIT17HENDIS on 2008-05-27
  This is a review of the movie version of this book which, except for a little confusion about who killed whom at the end (Boo or not), is fairly faithful to the spirit of the book. The main points apply here as well.
  
  
  This film is an excellent black and white adaptation of Harper Lee's book of the same name. The acting, particularly by Gregory Peck (and a cameo by a young Robert Duval as Boo Radley), brings out all the pathos, bathos and grit of small town Southern life in the 1930's. The story itself is an unusual combination, narrated by Peck's film daughter (and presumably Lee herself), of a stage of the coming of age story that we are fairly familiar with and the question of race and sex in the Deep South (and not only there) with which we were (at the time of the film's debut in 1962) only vaguely familiar. That dramatic tension, muted as it was by the cinematic and social conventions of the time, nevertheless made a strong statement about the underlying tensions of this society at a time when the Southern black civil rights struggle movement was coming in focus in the national consciousness.
  
  The name Atticus Finch (Peck's role) as the liberal (for that southern locale) lawyer committed to the rule of law had a certain currency in the 1960's as a symbol for those southern whites who saw that Jim Crow had to go. Here Finch is the appointed lawyer for a black man accused of raping a white women of low origin- the classic `white trash' depicted in many a film and novel. Finch earnestly, no, passionately in his understated manner, attempts to defend this man, a brave act in itself under the circumstances.
  
  Needless to say an all white jury of that black man's `peers' nevertheless convicts him out of hand. In the end the black man tries to escape and is killed in the process. In an earlier scenario Finch is pressed into guard duty at the jailhouse in order to head off a posse of `white trash' elements who are bend on doing `justice' their way- hanging him from a lynching tree. On a mere false accusation of a white woman this black man is doomed whichever way he turns. Sound familiar?
  
  The other part of the story concerns the reactions by Finch's motherless son and tomboyish daughter to the realities of social life, Southern style. That part is in some ways, particularly when the children watch the trial from the "Negro" balcony section of the courtroom, the least successful of the film. What is entirely believable and gives some relief from the travesty that is unfolding are the pranks, pitfalls and antics of the kids. The tensions between brother and sister, the protective role of the older brother, the attempt by the sister to assert her own identity, the sense of adventure and mystery of what lies beyond the immediate household that is the hallmark of youth all get a work out here. But in the end it is the quiet dignity of solid old Atticus and the bewildered dignity of a doomed black man that hold this whole thing together. Bravo Peck. Kudos to Harper Lee.
  
  

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