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To Kill a Mockingbird Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: Race and Class in the Deep South
Comment: It is perhaps appropriate that this was the first book I read after the election of America's first black President. My real reason for re-reading it, however, was for the purposes of comparison with Faulkner's "Intruder in the Dust", which deals with a similar theme. Indeed, I recently came across an allegation that Harper Lee's novel was essentially a plagiarism of Faulkner's.

The book is set in Maycomb County, Alabama, during the depression era of the 1930s. It is a first-person narrative told through the eyes of Jean Louise Finch who, for some reason, goes by the nickname Scout. Although she is only a child at the time of the events described, the narrative voice is that of the adult Jean Louise looking back at her childhood from some point in the future. The action of "Intruder in the Dust" is set over a few days and tells the story of one single incident, the murder of Vinson Gowrie; "To Kill a Mockingbird" is set over a period of about two years and essentially tells the story of Jean Louise's childhood between the ages of six and eight, although it concentrates on one crucial incident. The main characters, apart from Jean Louise herself, are her brother Jem and their friend Dill (another unexplained nickname; his real name is Charles).

Jean Louise and Jem are the children of Atticus Finch, a widowed lawyer. The book's central incident is the trial of a black man, Tom Robinson, for the alleged rape of a white woman, Mayella Ewell; Atticus is Robinson's defence attorney. Like Faulkner, Lee uses a classic thriller plot- the fight to prove the innocence of a man wrongly accused- to explore racism in America's Deep South. Although Robinson is clearly innocent of the charge, the all-white jury nevertheless vote to convict him, largely because to admit that a white woman, even one as sluttish as Mayella, was capable of making false accusations would force them to abandon their cherished ideas about the purity of Southern womanhood.

Harper Lee's concerns are wider than just the race issue. The book also has a lot to say about attitudes to social class among the white community, contrasting affluent middle-class families like the Finches with the likes of the Ewells, who can quite literally be classified as poor white trash. The family live in a shack next to the town's rubbish dump, where Mayella's father Bob earns his living as a scavenger. A favourite saying of the liberal, tolerant Atticus, who believes that most people, when you get to know them, are essentially kind, is that you should never judge a man until you have stood in his shoes and walked around in them. (At times the tone seemed quite preachy, as though Harper Lee were writing an extended sermon on tolerance).

Atticus applies this principle of non-judgementalism not only to racial issues but also to various acquaintances whom his children dislike or disapprove of for one reason or another. He applies it to Boo Radley, a simple-minded and reclusive, but inwardly kindly, neighbour, to the cantankerous old Mrs Dubose and to the Cunninghams, another poor white family but one who have retained a greater dignity and self-respect than the Ewells. The title of the book refers to a saying of Atticus that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because they never do any harm, but it is a phrase which also refers to his philosophy of life. At various times several characters in the book- Robinson, Boo Radley, the children- can be seen as "mockingbirds", harmless creatures in need of protection.

One problem with the book is that Lee never really explores the tension between Atticus's liberal philosophy of life, and the problem of human evil as exemplified in the book by Bob Ewell, who is neither misjudged nor misunderstood but just plain wicked. Not only does he give perjured evidence in the hope of getting an innocent man sent to the gallows, and encourages his daughter to do the same, he also makes a vicious and cowardly attack on Atticus's children. Trying to stand in such a man's shoes would not, I feel, be a very productive exercise.

My other criticism of the book would be that it explores the question of racism from an exclusively white perspective, albeit a liberal one. For a number of reasons I think that "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a better book than "Intruder in the Dust", the most important being that Harper Lee's prose style is much more fluent and readable than Faulkner's often impenetrable sentences. Nevertheless, Faulkner creates, in Lucas Beauchamp, a black character who is much more well-rounded than any of those in Lee's book. Tom Robinson is little more than a plot device; the most prominent black character is Calpurnia, the Finch family's maid, who is that common literary stereotype, the faithful black servant. The book would have been better if Lee had given us a black perspective on the events she describes.

Those criticisms apart, I found this an excellent book, with a number vividly drawn characters, especially the spirited, loveable young Jean Louise and her father, who was memorably played by Gregory Peck in the brilliant film adaptation. Despite the limitations of his world view Atticus is an admirable character, who shows, in his defence of Robinson, not only great moral courage but also great physical courage as well. The immense improvement which has taken place in race relations in America since 1960 is owed, in part, to men like Atticus Finch, and also to women like Harper Lee who were prepared to confront the endemic racist attitudes of their society.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: There is a reason this book will be read for centuries and centuries...
Comment: ... mainly because it is such a good story and so well written. Come to think of it, not much of this book is really about the rape and crime. It is about childhood, growing up and growing prejudice. It is about not only racism but also feminism. Scout, the main character, has such a lovely personality and I really started to like her. It was almost like I knew her and parts of me fell in love with Jem, her brother. I found parts of the slang a bit hard to read and it took a good 100 pages before the story had me that intrigued that I couldn't put it down. Sometimes you read a book and you really do realize why some books last with us and literature forever and why some don't. This book deals with human joy and suffering, ideals and rebels, crime and punishment and of course of race and sad part of the history of the south.

Even though this book was so good (or maybe because this book was so good) I thought it was very tough to get through. I read five pages then I had to just take a breather. But after 100pages I really found it hard to put the book down. I do think, however, that it will benefit from a second reading. Therefore it will not be long until I follow the adventures of Scout and Jem once again.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Excelent Book!
Comment: I've always heard really good things about the book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The first time I tried to read it I had to put it down because I got really confused at the beginning. However, I tried it again later on and I realized what a good book I had put down. For me it was still a little confusing at the beginning because the setting and characters were being introduced. It was also kind of boring, and that's another reason I didn't continue it the first time. You have to keep reading though because it gets much better. The story is about a brother and sister, Jem and Scout (Jean Louise Finch), growing up in a small town with their dad, Atticus. Throughout the book, they experience a number of exciting adventures. At the beginning, the story focuses on a neighbor down the street who appears to be very strange and never comes out of his house. In other words, he's a recluse. Jem and Scout, along with another friend Dill, are very curious as to why this is. They do some exploring and investigating that might just have you biting your nails. As the book moves on, it only makes you want to read more. Atticus is a lawyer and is involved with a very important case that keeps you on the edge of your seat. It's really interesting and gives you a chance to make predictions to yourself on who should win the case. In a way, it gets you into the book and creates suspense that makes it exciting. Towards the end, there is an unusual twist that involves a Halloween party, a ham costume, and a walk through a very dark field at night. This book is extremely well written and shows the innocence of childhood. I recommend it to anyone who likes classics and is in the mood for a very good read.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Tequila Mockingbird
Comment: Funny thing when my daughter requested this book she kept saying Tequila Mockingbird. Other than that, we received this on time and everything was great, it looks brand new and it was here when she needed it. Actually a week before.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great!!Love this book
Comment: it was all great the shipping was fast the price was just right loved it

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