To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

From the Publisher:
One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has earned many distinctions since its original publication in 1960. It won the Pulitzer Prize, has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, and been made into an enormously popular movie. Most recently, librarians across the country gave the book the highest of honors by voting it the best novel of the twentieth century.

My Comments: Yeah, yeah, yeah, but what is the book *about*? As with many classics that I never got around to reading, the back of the book and information from the publisher tells you little to nothing about the story. I don't even trust myself to do an adequate job and most of you probably know the book already. But just in case... It takes place in a small town in the 1940's. It's told from a young girl’s perspective and affords the reader with a clearer view of people their situations and stations in life. Her father is a widower, lawyer and statesman, and he has been chosen to defend a black man accused of raping a poor white woman. The black community embraces the young girl and her brother, while most of the town and their schoolmates definitely do not. There is also the mystery man who lives next door. No one has seen him in years and the siblings and their friend are determined to make contact with him and occupy themselves for many a season imagining what he is like and if he’s even still alive.

Thank goodness I was never forced to read this book in school! I never would have enjoyed it this much. I don't think I remember a single classic I was assigned to read in school, even though I always loved to read. I'm not the type of person who questions authority at every step. Maybe the teachers I had sucked the joy out of reading with the assignments that went along with it. I don't know. But I am so thankful that didn't happen with this book. And I hope I learn a lesson from it because I can't wait for my 14 year old to read it!

By far, it's my favorite book of the year. I cried no less then 4 times at the sheer poetic beauty of the characters and their experiences. Atticus was far too self depreciating as modest about his ability to parent his children. Never could you find a more compassionate, loving, brilliant man to be a father. I know I am a better person for just reading about him. It’s been a pleasure reading about Scout, Jem and Atticus, and I’ve grown in character right along with them.


Keep It or Pass It On?: I'm not letting this one leave my shelf!