I had read this book in high school, I think in 9th
grade but remembered nothing except the name “Boo Radley” and for some reason I
thought Boo Radley was black. Then
at some point in between high school and now I bought the 40th
anniversary edition of the book at Borders. I guess I really liked the cover art and the roughed up
edges of the pages. I also bought
it because I figured this is supposed to be the book that’s in everybody’s
personal library. I also intended
on reading it again.
Well finally, here in September of 2011 I re-read To Kill A
Mockingbird for no other reason than I joined a book club and this is this months pick. I matters well have
been reading it for the first time because I swear I remembered nothing of the
story and was completely shocked by the stories events.
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On the back of my particular copy of the book at the top
reads, “Voted Best Novel Of The Century By Librarians Across The Country
(Library Journal)” but in reading the first hundred pages of the book I really
couldn’t fathom why this was voted the best of the century? So of all the books published from
1900-1999 this was the best???
The story is told by a little girl named Scout Finch. And she tells the story of the events
that happened in her and her family’s life that lead up to her brother Jem getting
his elbow broken. It’s a coming of
age novel of Scout and Jem growing up in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. The story focuses on the curiosities of
the people of Maycomb (especially the Radley’s) and the
culture of that town. Many topics
subtly come to light in this story: the importance of school vs a home education, the
differences of men and women, the ways of children and how they view the world
and the adults that don’t understand them, learning that being a lady (or a woman)
is more than meets the eye, family lineage and expectations, and the
differences and social class divides between people of different socioeconomic
statuses. But most prominent in
the story is the topic of race and racism. The main event on which the plot turns is that Scout’s
father, Atticus Finch is defending a black man in court for the rape of a white
girl. As you can imagine in the
deep south in the 1930’s this will cause quite a stir in the town and
consequences for the Finch family and it does giving the reader a glimpse into
another world.
Upon finishing the book I am still not convinced that this
is the best book of the 20th century nor why it is one of Oprah’s
favorite books, however I do see why it is a popular book especially for
teachers of English. And I would
certainly not oppose to my own children being exposed to this book and at a
young age too, I’m thinking between the ages of 12-15 would be a good time to
introduce this book to them. Not
only is this book full of good discussion topics for young people, it is also
chop full of excellent vocabulary words such as assuage, umbrage, and
vapid. It is a story of moral
lessons and doing the right thing.
It is also a story of childish adventure and at times could be quite
funny. I did find myself chuckle
out loud at a few parts. So
perhaps what makes this an attractive book to readers is that it tackles a
large portion of life and adult topics in an innocent and quite family friendly
way; perhaps this is why librarians like it so much, it’ll make most patrons
happy. But for me although it had
some interesting parts, and although I could appreciate the story and the
innocent humor our little narrator Scout brought to the story, and although
there were many surprises for me in the plot… it just isn’t my favorite, not
even on the list of top 10 for me.
But regardless of the fact that the book didn’t do it for
me, I will still have to recommend it.
Better to be one of the people who can say you’ve read this number one
classic than to be the one to bow your head in shame and have to explain why
you still haven’t read To Kill A Mockingbird yet. But besides that it is a well-written book with vivid, alive
characters, and a plot that comes full circle and tackles the topics of life.
But what do you think?
Is this one of your favorite books? And if so what makes it sparkle for you?
Happy Reading :)
~FindItGirl
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