To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic. Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior - to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into forty languages, this regional story by a young Alabama woman claims universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature.

• Publish Date: 1960 (first published 11 July 1960)
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Pearson Education Limited
• Imprint: Heinemann
• Edition: First UK Edition
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 296
• Language: English

Reviews

[Ace]

So started reading it in November but unfortunately had to return it to the library. Got my hands on it again but this time in talking book a couple of weeks ago and finally finished it today. I have to say I absolutely loved it and I'm glad I read it since I had originally thought that I wouldn't like it as it isn't really the type of history novel that I would go for. Def worth it in the end!

[Amber]

With To Kill a Mockingbird, I did what I usually do when I want to read a novel: I did no research at all. I find that going into books without knowing anything about them beforehand is the best way for me to do things. I am able to keep my expectations fairly low, and it also means that I am able to be surprised. I didn’t know what the plot was, and I had only ever heard of one character - Atticus Finch, who I thought was the main protagonist before I started reading, because everyone spoke about him so much.

Full review on Books of Amber

[boghunden]

Utroligt. 22 år skulle det tage mig, før end jeg fik taget mig sammen til at læse denne klassiker af Harper Lee. Jeg har selvfølgelig hørt om den før, men har altid tænkt, at det der med bøger om racisme, det var ikke lige noget for mig. Derfor blev jeg også overrasket over, hvordan emnet er beskrevet i bogen. Det virker på ingen måde som en løftet pegefinger, men er egentlig bare en beretning set med en lille piges øjne.
De første mange sider skete der ikke så meget rent handlingsmæssigt, men jeg sad som tryllebundet og læste. Sproget var helt igennem fantastisk. Nuanceret, farvet og beskrivende på en sådan måde, at tingene blev levende for øjnene af mig. Da jeg kom godt ind i bogen, begyndte den egentlige fortælling at udfolde sig for fødderne af mig. Der er lagt vægt på rigtig mange ting og det gør, at racismen ikke overskygger det hele. Der er også plads til kærlighed, fortvivlelse, naivitet, undren og rigtig meget andet. Desværre må jeg også konstatere, at bogen jo stadig er relevant i forhold til racismen.
Karaktererne i bogen er dybe og realistiske et langt stykke hen ad vejen. Der er det uvidende, men nysgerrige barn, den lidt klogere storebror, helte-far, den mærkværdige nabo osv. Karakterer vi vel alle er stødt på enten før eller siden.
Alt i alt et helt fantastisk velskrevet stykke litteratur, som alle med respekt for sig selv bør læse.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Our reading group re-read/read this for the BOM in October to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of this wonderful, beautifully written thought provoking novel. This is one of those books you should read before you die. Harper Lee's insight into the 1930's and this small southern town was incredible.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

The book has been described as a southern gothic novel which gave the book a certain appeal to me and was one of the main reasons I decided to read this book. What I found left me a little disappointed. To begin with, I found the book didn’t start to get interesting till chapter 11. I know the back story was needed, it was a different time, but I didn’t much care for the childhood of Jean Louise, Jem or even Boo. To me it felt like it dragged on and could have used some cutting down, but some people like to hear about life in the 1930’s. When I did eventually get to chapter 11, I did start to enjoy the book a lot more and finally at chapter 17 we started to get into the real story of To Kill A Mockingbird; The Court Case.

Atticus was the only truly enjoyable character for me. He was a wise and fair man, though he never wanted to take Tom Robinson case he did his upmost to make sure he was treated fairly and got the best representation possible. Atticus was the shining light throughout this book; he was a scholar and gentlemen through thick and thin. Once the court case was over and Atticus no longer had to deal with Tim Robinson the book again went back to its original slow pace and eventually fizzled out.

The book wasn’t all bad, it was well written and tackled some important topics, including racial injustice, class and even sexuality. I can see why this is a classic book and I think Harper Lee did a fantastic job at shedding light on some important social issues, the story just felt to slow for my liking, but I can understand why so many people enjoy this book.

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

To Kill A Mockingbird is a coming of age story, but the focus is not on raging hormones. Harper Lee's novel deals with prejudice of race and finical standing, rape and the battle of good against evil, showcasing that life is not always fair or as black and white as it appears to be.

In To Kill A Mockingbird the reader steps into the skin of six year old Scout Finch, living in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. Through Scout and her brother Jem we see the world how ever unfair, through the innocent eyes of a child who slowly grows up and comes to an understanding of her surroundings.

The incident begins with their reclusive neighbor, with the children not being able to leave well enough alone and summer after summer try to get Boo to come out and play. To be honest, the really instigator on this mission with Dill, a precocious little boy who is the master of tall tales. I should also mention that Dill was based on Harper Lee's childhood friend Truman Capote.

Summer ends and School begins, with Scout having difficulty adjusting. Her idea of problem solving is using her fists rather than words, with regular telling-tos by her older (by four years) and wiser brother Jem and rational father Atticus.

Her father is also a lawyer and defends Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white women. With their father being named as a disgrace ice begins to fall in the children's snow globe of a world changing their perspective on everything they thought they once knew. There's no need to reveal the verdict of Mayella Ewell's case, it was 1936 , it was open and shut from the beginning.

No matter how many times it is read To Kill A Mockingbird leaves a strong impact taking more and more away after each reread. Either wishing Atticus Finch was your father or having a better understand of the metaphor in To Kill A Mockingbird "It's a sin to kill a mockingbird. Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy." This is true on so many levels, a main example of this is the treatment of Boo Radley and Tom Robinson.

I think I will close by reminiscing of the first time I read To Kill A Mockingbird, it was labeled as required reading in ninth grade and remember my teacher saying it was her favorite book. At the tender age of fourteen most of the symbolism went over my head and didn't pick it up again until senior year of high school. Then I had an aha moment, so this is what Mrs. Fields was talking about.

[Eve1972]

Don't know why I waited so long to read this one, LOVED it! Looking forward to watching the movie now. :)

[jeannamichel]

Okay, so these are one of those books I had to read for school. The beginning was sort of boring- it was hard to get through. The end was fasinating as it went through a court case that seemed to get really heated.
I'd say it's a must read. You shouldn't be graduating high school if you haven't read this book.
A friendly reminder: Scout is a girl- something that wasn't very clear to me until chapter three.
I love the metaphor for the title: it was absolutly brillant!
I wished it showed more of Dill and Scout's relationship. But you can't have everything.

[angelarenea9]

I truly hated this book. It, in my opinion was one of the worst books of all times. I hate when books really aren't that good and they somehow make it to 'classics' level just because of how old and pompous they are. I would never recommend this book, and I wish I had never had to read it. It's just not that good.

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

I think every child in the American school system has read this book. English teachers love it for its metaphors, and even the roughest students tolerate it for its charm. I last read this book in my tenth grade English Honors class, sitting at a table with two friends. Our teacher encouraged us to draw pictures of the things that stood out to us, and in that way, the book was made more accesible to us. I vividly remember my friends and I doodling Scout in her ham suit, and Dill with his duck-fluff hair (we were horrified that this failed to come through in the movie version).

What is there to say about To Kill a Mockingbird that hasn't been said before? Being a classic, it has been torn about by people whose opinions feel so much more valid than mine. It's historical importance has been touched upon time and again as Atticus' position as the lawyer of a "colored man" puts him in the position of an ethical dilemma, one in which he makes all the right decisions imaginable. In fact, Atticus himself has been revered through time as one of the greatest literary characters in history.

What caught my attention in the reading of the book, though, was not the character of Atticus - it was the character of Boo Radley. Boo was Scout's adventure, a mystery, an urban legend in his own way. Perhaps his mysterious demeanor is what makes him so attractive to the inquisitive reader. Certainly everybody has their own opinions about Boo, whereas in the case of the trial, the story in black-and-white.

I think that everyone has their own story about To Kill a Mockingbird. Even in the technology era, the story has been embedded into our society. There are too many important themes, memorable characters, and unraveled mysteries in the story for us to ever let it be forgotten.