To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy 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.

REVIEW:

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

I have put reading this book on hold for quite some time. I know it’s a classic and a Pulitzer Prize winner and I thought was a bore. I was quickly rebuked once I opened and read the first chapter. Thank goodness for The Guy With The Book and his initiation of the Never Too Late To Kill a Mockingbird challenge that I decided to get a copy and kick myself to start reading it.

I must say I enjoyed myself reading from a child’s point of view. In addition, a few lessons from history were gained. A huge part of the book was contributed to a child’s innocence of the surrounding world. It took me a step closer to the place where slavery and racism was still very much alive.

There was a bunch of characters introduced in the first part of the book which made it a bit confusing but, I think you would agree with me when I say that each and every character became a major part of Jem and Scout’s childhood.

I am definitely reading Go Set A Watchman right after this (heading to the bookstore now to get a copy.)