To Kill A Mockingbird: 60th Anniversary Edition

by Harper Lee

'Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'

Atticus Finch gives this advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of this classic novel - a black man charged with attacking a white girl. Through the eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Lee explores the issues of race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s with compassion and humour. She also creates one of the great heroes of literature in their father, whose lone struggle for justice pricks the conscience of a town steeped in prejudice and hypocrisy.

• ISBN10: 0434020486
• ISBN13: 9780434020485
• Publish Date: 24 June 2010 (first published 11 July 1960)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Cornerstone
• Imprint: William Heinemann Ltd
• Edition: Special edition
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[kiracanread]

To Kill a Mockingbird is an incredibly poignant story that had me feeling so many emotions in such a short amount of times. The characters are so lovable and I'm so glad I got to read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy of the 60th anniversary copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Steph L]

This was read for Banned Book Month as part of Buzzfeed Pageturners. I loved this book, and I can't believe how much I adored it. I loved the characters, story, and the setting. This is probably the quickest I've ever read a book. My favorite character was Scout and I loved the ending of the book!!!!

[MurderByDeath]

Yes, I've finally read it.  I'd managed to not read TKAM for decades because there was never a copy at hand and frankly, I was never interested enough to make any effort to acquire one.  Until, as some of you know, I was at a library book sale last year and made an impulsive grab of a copy for $1, which turned out to be one of those 1-in-1000 freak instances of a first edition sliding under the radar.  It's a well loved first edition, but even so, it's worth considerably more than $1.   Now, I have a rule: I don't keep books in my library I don't intend to read.  So, when I told my husband about my unbelievably lucky find his response was SELL IT.  SELL IT NOW!  But I didn't want to sell it, which meant I had to read it.  And here we are.    I'm not going to waste anybody's time by trying to review To Kill a Mockingbird on the coattails of the millions of others who've read and reviewed it over the years.  I will just say this:  it was good.  Of course it was good.  But after all the hype surrounding this book I was surprised by the following:  it's a much slower-paced book than I expected; years go by in this book.  The brief bursts of humor: Scout's dry delivery made me chuckle a few times.  And finally, this book isn't just about one plot; there are two stories running parallel, and though they intertwine at the end, they are distinct.  There were a few other things - not really surprises, just very salient points and choices Lee makes that I found interesting and filed away for future conversations with friends.   I enjoyed this book enormously and I'm glad I read it.  Do I think it's one of the be-all-end-all books I've ever read?  No, sorry.  But I can't think of any reason on Earth I'd ever actively steer anyone away from reading it.  I can't think of anyone or any circumstance which I'd be saying "eh, maybe this one wouldn't be for you".  I think it's for everyone and since we've yet to learn the lessons it teaches, it's a book that should be read again and again.   This book applies to so. many. cards. for the Kill Your Darlings game, and I have no idea yet what I'll use it for.  

[Bianca]

Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.

[thepunktheory]

Book vs. Movie:
Let me begin with the book. It was impossible to put down. I think i read it in two days and was completely captured. What I appreciate a lot about Harper Lee's novel is how many layers the story has. As I mentioned before a racial issue is addressed but also the question of gender. Scout acts more like a boy but is pressed into being a typical girl by her surroundings. Another interesting point is the caste system their hometown seems to consist of. Beside all those important subplots we simply have a kid growing up, struggling to understand the world.
One might think that the book gets confusing with all those different plot-strings but believe me, it all fits perfectly together. What I really appreciate is how differentiated the kids see the world. They are not portrayed as stupid or naïve. The want to get to know the world, understand more than you would think and put a lot of thought into many matters. For me the book contained many points that gave me food for fought.
I don't say this often, but To Kill A Mockingbird is a book everybody should read. It simply contains points everyone should think about at least once in their life.
The movie adaptation followed in 1962, two years after the book was published. As I mentioned before, this film is considered to be among the best. First of all, I noticed that it is in a way quite different from the book. Due to the different way a telling the story and the length of the film most subplots were dropped. So the adaptation focuses almost completely on the trial thing. Despite the fact that I missed a bunch of things, the movie is impressive. Especially Gregory Peck got under my skin. His performance as Atticus was simple intense.
Basically the whole thing is very atmospheric being underlined by the fact that the film is in black/white.

Summing up I can clearly say that both book and movie are amazing. The only thing one could criticise are the subplots that could not be included into to film (for very logical reasons). So go and watch the movie but make sure to read the book afterwards to get the full impression!

[Kim Deister]

To Kill a Mockingbird This is a book that I have read and reread several times. My mother, who recently passed away, taught this book for years as a high school English teacher and it was her favorite novel. So when the publishers sponsored a read-along of the novel, I took part with a close friend who was also a former student of my mother's.
 
There is no question that this novel is the epitome of the "Great American Novel," beloved by so many. The social issues contained within its pages are important. They were important during the time of the novel's story, and they are important today. Yet, while I appreciate all of the things about this novel that have given it the prominence it has within American literature, it has never been one of my favorites.
 
In part, this is because of the characters. One one hand, I enjoy that the characters, although many are rather disagreeable, are representative of people we all know. They were developed as real people, flaws and all. But on the other hand, I feel like many of the characters are rather flat. Calpurnia was the black maid who accepts that her race dictates her place in life. Tom is the innocent black man accused of wrongdoing. Jem is the boy caught between childhood and adulthood. Scout is the precocious little girl. Boo is the mysterious eccentric who turns out to be kindly. Attitcus is the good father who fights for justice. There are the prerequisite racists. All of these are surface characterizations and there just didn't seem to much depth beyond fitting the characters into almost archetypal roles. But this is a matter of personal taste, I think. I simply enjoy more character-driven stories.
 
My Recommendation
 
My issues aside, this is still a piece that should be read by everyone! I gave it 3.5 mugs.

I remember reading this in school and it it such a classic and I recommend that people read this book at least once.

After reading this book for the third time, I have to admit that To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most amazing classical books that I have ever read.

The novel is told through the eyes of a young child named Scout as she narrates the events that led up to her brother Jem breaking his arm. Scout's point of view allows us to understand the prejudice and racism that surrounds the small town of Maycomb as her father Atticus defends a black man, Tom Robinson, in court who is accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell.

Atticus is a morally grounded character and the best fictional dad ever, who disciplines his children in the best way possible and advises them about most of the messages and themes in the novel.

I felt every single emotion that needed to be felt: childhood games, nostalgia, dread, disbelief, disillusionment, anticipation, anger and maybe a few tears...

To Kill a Mockingbird is life altering. It shows the horrors of racism and prejudice, the good that exists in a world of hate and most important that one needs to consider things from other peoples points of view. This book is beautiful and unforgettable!

[clq]

I liked To Kill a Mockingbird as much as I hoped I would, which was a bit of a relief, considering the fact that American classics have tended to not quite live up to my expectations.
There is a very effectual simplicity to the story, which I think goes a long way in making it as powerful as it is. It is told in a straightforward manner, and little (yet, just enough) is left unsaid when it comes to the issues it takes on. The characters are relatable when they need to be, likable when they need to be, and villains when they need to be. It's a remarkably easy read for what it gives back, and I mean that in a very good way.

We get to follow Scout, the young girl through whose eyes we follow the story, gradually gain an understanding of the world around her. She learns about the ugliness, injustice, and inequality around her, but she also witnesses the goodness and honesty of the people who are trying their best to make up for it. While this is all experienced first-hand by Scout, the reader goes through the same journey. The way in which the events of the story are all laid out in such a wall-paced, at times damning, manner doesn't leave the reader with much freedom to interpret them. The reader is confronted with obvious, inexcusable, injustice. It is up to the reader to decide how to feel about it, but there is no escaping the fact that the injustice is there.

Unfortunately the moral of the story is still all too relevant. It is likely that the reader will be like the many people in the book who see the obvious injustice, but leave the thankless job of acting upon it to others. Hopefully there will also be people like Atticus, who dare to speak up, and force us to confront the inconvenient injustices that have become too comfortable for the rest of us to live with. These people will get little or no credit when the rest of us begrudgingly change our ways, but in the end we all know that we need them.

[ellieroth]

Publicado originalmente: El Extraño Gato del Cuento

Lo curioso de esta lectura es que me pase un gran tiempo buscando "To Kill a Mockingjay", la influencia del Presidente me está haciendo mal, y no ayudó nada todos los fanarts ¬¬ No sé si soy la única pero le tengo un tremendo terror a los clásicos, supongo que tiene que ver con que a mí me pidieron leer clásicos en el colegio y no era ese el momento adecuado para mí leerlo. Además que cuando a mí me obligan a hacer algo que no quiero, ese algo no tiene buen futuro en mi aprecio xD

No me arrepiento no haberlo leído antes porque creo que si lo hubiera hecho muchos años atrás no hubiera podido apreciar este libro como lo hice ahora. Es de esos libros de los cuales necesitas experiencia para poder identificarte o conmoverte con los personajes. Estoy casi segura que si me hubieras dado este libro en la secundaria lo hubiera odiado a muerte, porque así era yo, bastante fastidiosa. Ahora que estoy más grande (en realidad mayor, porque no crecí nada), la ternura y inocencia de este libro me ha dejado encantada.

Gracias a la perfecta narración de Scout, no recuerdo nunca haber querido tanto tener la necesidad de abrazar hasta ahogar a alguien, los personajes secundarios y principales son extremadamente adorables. Hace un tiempo cuando en el página de facebook hicieron un comentario sobre el libro "Querido Atticus", no lo había entendido porque en ese momento no había leído Matar a un Ruiseñor, ahora sí y sí, el personaje de Atticus es del tipo por el que temes en todo el libro, sobre todo nosotros que ya nos estamos acostumbrando a que los escritores sean sanguinarios.

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