Book review: “To Kill a Mockingbird ” by Harper Lee
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:39 amJean Louise (Scout), a 8 year old, and Jem, a 12 year old, are children of Atticus – a lawyer in a small town in Alabama. The story is told from the point of view of Scout, which in itself is quite unusual. I guess it’s not at all simple to “get into the shoes” of a 8 year old girl, and the author does it brilliantly (actually, I just discovered, after reading the book, that the author is a female, which probably makes it a little easier).
“To kill a Mockingbird” is a beautiful story with a lot to learn from, so it’s not surprising that it’s one of the required books in literature classes, even in school. The book deals with racism, class, growing up of children and the complex interactions between children and adults during adolescence. But most of all, I think, it tries to touch upon what’s right and what’s wrong, and it does so in a very unusual manner. The reader lears about values and “life” as if he’s a child learning it, from inside Scout. It’s difficult to describe but reading this book gives a very unique feeling of a child learning about the truths of life, in an accelerated pace.
While the other topics the books spends time on are not new in books, the theme of growing children and how children perceive the world is quite novel for me. It was very interesting to look into Scout’s and Jem’s thoughts. Maybe it’s just me, but either these two are extremely bright children, or I’m just way down-estimating children’s abilities (my wife once told me so, hmm….) I think I even learned something about how to treat my own children, once they’ll come to existence and reach that age.
All in all, I profoundly enjoyed this book. It is highly recommended.
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November 7th, 2006 at 15:42
I just want to point out that Scout is six when the book begins. She’s a year younger than Dill.
February 28th, 2008 at 06:12
To Kill a Mockingbird was one of my favorite books a student… it is definitely required reading.
April 26th, 2008 at 23:49
To Kill a Mockingbird is the best book ever. I read for my English project and it gave the book even more depth having to look everything up.
April 26th, 2008 at 23:52
I would die if i didn’t have my own copy of this book to read occasionally
January 6th, 2009 at 20:39
Thanks for the review! It’s made me want to read this book all over again.
I remember reading it as part of my O’level exam when I was 16!! That was over 20 years ago, but I remember it did have a profound effect on me!
karen
February 24th, 2009 at 10:42
Narrative voice always plays an important role in any novel. It determines the tone and offers the viewpoint to the readers. in To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee chose the voice of young Scout Finch who is five at the beginning of the book and eight by the end. Looking at things from a child’s perspective is always compelling. There are various ways to read the nuances of the descriptions and the irony of the tone. Shmoop- literature study guide is a good resource to get some new ideas about narrative and other literary devices. Scout’s narration is more factual. She rarely adds her own personal inputs into the events she reports and the scenes always come across as immediate and in the present. For a reader, this offers an opportunity to reach one’s own conclusions, much like a jury passing a verdict. Your involvement in the story then becomes all the more real and personal, accounting for much of the impact the book has on its readers.