To Kill a Mockingbird

Title: To Kill a Mockingbird
Author: Harper Lee
Summary (provided by amazon.com): Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman. Though her story explores big themes, Harper Lee chooses to tell it through the eyes of a child. The result is a tough and tender novel of race, class, justice, and the pain of growing up.

Oh. Wow.

That was really all I could say once setting this book down. A few minutes after that, I picked up the book once again and reread the ending until I had memorized the words by heart.

It’s pretty obvious why To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic (despite the terribly slow beginning that always makes me want to throw the book at a wall). This novel has a collection of life lessons jam-packed into the contents between it’s cover, all written beautifully, simply, and through the eyes of a child.

I think choosing a child to narrate such a serious story was intriguing, and I kept pondering it as I was reading. What’s impressive is how skillfully Harper Lee pulls it off. And when one thinks about it, the choice makes sense: Scout Finch is too young to be tainted by the racism of her town, but old enough to begin empathizing with the people she meets. While Scout Finch doesn’t always understand the situations she witnesses, Harper Lee writes the book in such a way that the reader is never lost. Maybe I’m just a weirdo, but sometimes it felt like I was almost keeping secrets from Scout, who was blinded by the naivety of youth.

This is one of those “must read” books. Sewn into short paragraphs were such moving passages that I’ve already perused the novel several times, always going back to my favorite parts and thinking about the depth of Harper Lee’s messages. Sometimes I feel like I’ve interpreted too much from this novel, but there’s almost never a “wrong” interpretation of a tale.

This book should be mandatory reading for all people. Out of the hundreds--if not thousands--of books that I’ve read, this one remains on my top 10 list.

My favorite passage:

“Naw, Jem, I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.”

Jem turned around and punched his pillow. When he settled back his face was cloudy. He was going into one of his declines, and I grew wary. His brows came together; his mouth became a thick line. He was silent for a while.

“If there's just one kind of folks, why can't they get along with each other? If they're all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other? Scout, I think I'm beginning to understand something. I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time. It's because he wants to stay inside.” (Ch 23)