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| Cover Source: GoodReads.com |
Author: Harper Lee
Series: To Kill A Mockingbird #1
Version Reviewed: Finished, Paperback
Website: www.harperlee.com
I won this book in a giveaway.
GoodReads Synopsis:
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.Review:
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.
I hate to admit that I haven't read very many classics. My knowledge of classic books goes as far as what we were given to read in school growing up and, unfortunately, my school didn't assign us very many classics. We got to read and discover Nathaniel Hawthorne, Shakespeare, and F.Scott Fitzgerald. To Kill A Mockingbird was never even mentioned. Being a huge reader my entire life, I had heard things about this book and it has been on my list of books to read for years. I'm ashamed of my lack of knowledge about the classics so from here on out I intend to read at least two classic books a year. I'm happy that I could start this off with To Kill A Mockingbird.
This book was definitely an experience and I found it oddly comforting. Although my hometown is much different than Maycomb, I have to say that Harper Lee definitely captured the different characters you see in small town life. From the Finch's to the Ewell's and all the gossipy women in between, it was very easy to picture the town and all of it's inhabitants. Each character was perfectly described in a realistic manner and I definitely loved that about the story.
To Kill A Mockingbird is such a complex book and there are many things to work your mind over. I found myself extremely curious of Boo Radley, the most famous character from the book, and wondered constantly who he was, what was his story, and why was he such a recluse? The idea of this man was somewhat beautiful in a way.
Other than Boo, the best part of the story for me was Tom Robinson's trial. The courtroom scenes were definitely my favorite and the parts that held my attention the most. I felt so appalled at how everything went down and couldn't help but relate the Ewell's to some of the people that I knew back home. I was angry for the adults and felt horribly sorry for the children because they would never know anything better than what they were living.
I'm not a fan of books that ramble or go on and on about things that seem unimportant. I won't lie, there were a few times in this book that I found myself bored and wanting to skip ahead but I'm glad that I didn't. Overall, To Kill A Mockingbird is a great piece of literature and I really enjoyed it. I think the ending was perfect and it made me love Boo Radley even more. I plan to find the movie as soon as I possibly can so that I see it in live action.
Rating: 4 Stars.
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