By Harper Lee
I am always a bit dubious reading a classic. Is it going to live up to its name? Is the hype about it actually true? Is it going to be a worthwhile read?
The answer to every one of these for this novel is YES YES YES!!!
I am so glad I ordered this to read. It’s been on my to-do list for quite some time. One of those prestigious novels that is a complete must. Harper Lee just blew me away so much so that I have ordered its sequel Go Set A Watchman. It should be arriving today. I’m very excited!
I also managed to read this in a day. You read right. I said a day! I couldn’t put it down. I was never bored and that to me is the mark of a great novel. You should never want to put a book down and it should leave you thinking about it for days after. This classic didn’t disappoint.
The novel is set in the 1930’s in the Deep South of America, hit only a few years before by the Great Depression. A small town of Maycomb is its base where everyone knows everybody. Harper Lee writes through the eyes of Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch, and we get to envisage the town as it really would have been back in the ’30’s. The story begins when Scout is 6 and continues over a couple of years. Harper Lee keeps the narrative very fluid and at no point does the storyline feel disjointed with time changes. No mean feat by all means. We are taken on Scout’s many adventures with her brother Jeremy (Jem for short) and a neighbour’s visiting nephew, Dill. Scout and Jem’s father is the famous Atticus Finch, a lawyer and a much respected member of the community in Maycomb. We see how Scout and Jem interact with society which is incredibly important. The naivety that comes from a child is what makes this novel so spectacular. It wouldn’t have had the same lasting impression through the eyes of an adult. Scout questions everything in a way that an adult just wouldn’t do. Her interaction with adults helps the reader to see the narrow mindedness of society in the 1930’s and the difficulties different communities had with change and indeed, with each other.
Knowing what I do about the novel I thought it was going to be more court based, as the blurb hints at, but instead we didn’t go into a court until at least half way through the book. Harper Lee uses the first half of the novel to really focus on the ties between people and societies opinion towards each other, be you rich, poor, black or white. Importantly Scout’s adventures make us inquisitive about who Boo Radley is; this is shown later in the novel. I never ruin a novel with spoilers and I won’t start now. You will have to read it to find out his importance.
When the story finally gets to the trial of Tom Robinson we discover that Atticus was told he had to take the case on, even though it is definitely clear that he is willing to fight tooth and nail to clear Tom of the charges. It is brilliant to see the trial take place through the eyes of Scout and we also feel the frustration that all the young ones go through during this event. I spent many moments praying for Tom to be cleared, and at times Harper Lee’s words brought tears to my eyes. Be prepared for lot of use of the ‘N’ word throughout the novel, just a warning. It was a bit shocking but in this day and age when it is such a taboo word that is expected. Racial prejudice was indeed a day to day occurrence then but it is brilliant to see if through the eyes of a child who seems utterly bewildered by the adults actions and thoughts. Just as we are now.
Packed full of themes such as morals and racism its crazy how a book written over 50 years still has relevance today. There is a strong message about following a gut instinct of right and wrong and how sometimes this can be different to what the law states, especially in the 1930’s. Even the title, ‘To Kill A Mockingbird‘ is an allegory for this message and is used poetically towards the end of the novel.
A throughly enjoyable novel, fantastic prose and illuminating characters, I can’t wait to read the next one and it has spurred me on to read more classics as their messages are important and shouldn’t be missed out by my generation.
Give it a go Booklovers. I promise you won’t be disappointed x
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