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What are readers saying about To Kill a Mockingbird?
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Piotr posted a review at 2009-04-10 08:38:39.
(Language: English)
  
Yes! Yes! Yes! Every story need Atticus. When I go back to some of the best novels I have read there always was this godly character that defines our moral standards and acts as our conscience. I just have to go back to Father Zosima (The Brother's Karamazov) or even prior Philip of (The pillars of the earth) and I know what makes a great novel. My favorite part of the book is Atticus saying: 101. "what real courage is ...when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do." or "Before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience" Lovely story.... 
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-01-04 04:53:45.
(Language: English)
A touching tale of dignity and innocence. This book tells the tale of Jem and Scout, siblings, trying to understand the world and their place in it. It deals with the prejudice of most grown-ups and their inability to change the way of things, contrasting with the practical and innocent perspective of children. Taking place over several years (their childhood) this story culminates with the trial of a black man, accused of raping a white girl, which is defended by Atticus Finch, their father. Can't thing of many people that wouldn't enjoy this warming, intelligent, amiable and well written take on racism. "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what" - Atticus Finch
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-09-19 01:55:40.
(Language: English)
What can I say that others haven't? That this is THE Great American Novel? (One of three in my own private pantheon of American Lit, along with Huckleberry Finn and The Long Goodbye.) This book hits all the spots, both sweet and sour, doesn't patronise or sweeten the pill, and yet still manages to exalt the spirit of humanity. Quite an achievement. I also only recently twigged (after watching the file Capote) that the character of the little boy who comes to stay at the neighbours and becomes friends with Scout and Jem is based on Truman Capote. Favorite scene is Scout and Jem "rescuing" Atticus at the jailhouse when a group of locals come to administer rough "justice" to Tom. And of course the final scene where Boo Radley finally makes an appearance. Chokes the tears out of me every time, even after the nth reading.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-09-04 09:59:49.
(Language: English)
To Kill a Mockingbird follows 3 years of childhood of Scout (the narrator) and Jem Finch in the 1930s. Scout and Jem lives in a small town of Maycomb, Alabama, with their father, Atticus Finch, a respected town lawyer and the moral figure in the book, and Calpurnia, their colored maid. Scout and Jem spend their summers with visiting neighbor Dill, and the three have avid fascination toward their recluse neighbor Boo Radley (the mockingbird of the story). Scout, Jem, and Dill are determined to get Boo out of the Radley house. None but one of them ever manages to see Boo.Atticus Finch as a single father plays a huge role in shaping Scout's and Jem's lives. He tries to lead his children by example saying "Before Jem looks at anyone else he looks at me, and I’ve tried to live so I can look squarely back at him" (Chapter 30). I admire Atticus' integrity, in the court, in Maycomb, and in his own household.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-07-16 05:41:56.
(Language: English)
Ok here is my veiw of the book. Let's start positively, it is a good story. There is a lot of insights and moral lessons to be seen and learned. Now this is why teens hate it: One, the teachers pick it apart and force their inturpritations of it on their students. It should be read at ones own pace. The reader needs to digest it and form their own views on the subject matter. If the administrations believe students will learn character from it then let them learn not be infected by others lessons. If we don't let them form their own opinions no new lessons will be learned. I would be more interested to find out what it meant to each student from a breif " what it meant to me" paper than to re-read dozens of answers to the same questions and see the same deffinitions to vocabulary words. If English teachers are using this as an example of great writing, Let a grammer and spell checker on a computer get a hold of it. It will tell you there are too many errors to continue. People who don't speak or hear the southern language daily will have a miserable time reading this. I found if you actually use a drawl you do better. The audio version helps a great deal. Teachers please stop forcing your veiws on the students and let's see if we can get some new original thoughts on the book.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-06-10 11:54:24.
(Language: English)
The writing is wonderfully beautiful and charming. You'll fall in love with the depth of inner beauty and innocence found in the 2 children (Jem, and especially his sister, Scout/Jean Louis). You'll find yourself rooting passionately for their father (Atticus Finch) to win his case when he chooses to defend a black man on trial for life, despite much social pressure on Finch to give up the case and veiled threats against him and his family. Watch for the part where Finch cross-examines the "victim" (a white girl who accuses the black man of rape) and during his closing speech. Both are excellent courtroom drama (the best I've come across) and they also reveal a lot of the (ugly) truth behind the case.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-11-02 09:00:07.
(Language: English)
it is an irony that particular identification comes not from deeds but races or rather color of their skin. harper lee attacks not just a nation but the entire globe with his subject. jim and scout are two siblings in maycomb city where there is a mixture of people from different races the whites and the colored ones. atticus their dad is a lawyer who has picked up a case to defend a negro against a white gal for bieng fasely accused of raping a white gal. now... what happens to the judgement, you find out by reading.... a story uncovering the darker side of human racism..
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-08-30 04:24:04.
(Language: English)
How does she do it? Lee's writing, from the perspective of a child, is so evocative of childhood that it brings unbidden personal memories to the surface. At the same time, within this writing style, so potentially limiting, she manages to convey the story's sharp-edged plot quite clearly. Though portraying the disappeared world of the American South in the 1930's, her writing is just as relevant today, as in 1960, when this book was first published. Through the simplicity of the child's eyes, class; race; and culture are stripped bare and questioned. A side note: the vernacular in this book comes alive; you can almost hear the characters speaking! (Or maybe that was because I was reading at one am, and had drunk entirely too much coffee.)
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Krishnamurthy posted a review at 2008-03-07 08:38:12.
(Language: English)
Pulitzer Prize winner published in 1960. One of those very few books I’ve read whom I could actually call “English Literature†and “novel†at the same time. Written in the first person, this book shows the world from the perspective of a small girl - Jean Lousie “Scout†Finch, and as a grown woman reflecting on her childhood. The author has acknowledged that this character is loosely based on her own childhood. After I read this book, I learned that this novel is widely taught in schools in english speaking countries; and I was surprised at the same time because I never thought I would like a book that was actually taught as literary text. This entertaining and extremely well written novel is tied to the themes of tolerance and prejudice. The character of Atticus Finch, the narrator’s father is one of the most enduring fictional images of integrity. Atticus is certainly one of my heroes in the literary world.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-04-05 07:31:04.
(Language: English)
My favourite classic novel. It is written with such simplicity and yet there is such depth of character and such beautiful symbolism that every time I read it, I take away more. I love the fact that the story is written from a child's perspective. It allows the reader to see the vicious cruelty of racism and the horrible injustices of the adult world more clearly. Poor little Dill always brings me to tears in the novel. A naive fresh-spirited child, he is repeatedly rejected by his mother and sent to live with relatives. As a result, he embellishes his own story into the life he wishes he had. His gentle innocence is shown when he runs from the courtroom sickened and crying, unable to understand why the prosecutor is so cruel to Tom Robinson. And of course there is no reason other than irrational hatred brought about by racism. I love this book more every time I read it!
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Emily posted a review at 2007-09-14 06:53:04.
(Language: English)
Harper Lee wrote only one novel. And it is probably one of the best books ever written. It's a beautiful story of the South and one incredible and emotional year, all told through the observant and innocent eyes of a little girl called Scout. This is a great book on so many levels. On one hand, it's simply about a girl and her life and her adventures, just like any other basic kid's books. But what she truly experiences goes beyond what many kids experience as she sees first-hand the effects of hardship, racism, and poverty, all from her small Southern town. The themes are strong, but never forced, only eloquently stated when they must be obvious out of necessity. The writing is quaint, charming, and utterly reminiscent of a time gone by. Harper Lee's masterpiece is touching, harsh, and altogether one of the most beautiful celebrations of humanity ever written.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-03-13 08:07:29.
(Language: English)
probably the most amazing novel i have or will ever read. Harper Lee is a great author and very brave. Scout Finch is the bomb and so are all the characters my favorite book of all time... All three finches are my heroes. Personally Scout reminds me alot of of a younger me both physically and emotianally when i was that age. And the movie was just as amazing. I even had the same haircut as Scout when I was little. It's a good feeling when you know there are some truly kind and just people in this world. That there are people like Atticus Finch who would stand up to his peers and defend an outcast even though he shouldn't because of a social code. This book is about that social code and how effects people differently.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-08-24 03:43:24.
(Language: English)
Probably the only book I ever 'dissected', attributed to doing it in upper Secondary. I greatly appreciated this book for Lit, although it began pretty boring the tension, story builds up and unfolds as the pages turn. There are different subplots (no spoilers, hehe) and in the end when you're done with the book, will realize that they all fall into place. (I'm saying subplots because I believe the central plot revolves around the trial) That these side-stories contribute to the intricate weaving of the beauty of this book.And it's always a surprise to note that this is Harper Lee's only book written, which makes the Pulitzer Prize this book won not so surprising at all. Digressing again, yes this is the same Harper in the 2005 film Capote. The book also seems to be sort of an autobiography of the author. With that said, what's not to read about this awesome novel. This isn't just something the author plucked out from her imagination, but also from her own life lenses.
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Andrea posted a review at 2007-12-23 04:12:16.
(Language: English)
I overstretched the reading of this book along too many months. The final result is: I did not really like it. Perhaps my expectations were too high. This enjoyable small novel is a bad treaty of American morals. When I think of it now, it seems to me that hypocritical movies like Forrest Gump own a big debt to this book. Set in rural Southern States, To Kill A Mockingbird is a tale of a little child struggling to grow adult in a cruel, racist and moralist human environment where fathers can well put their sons to jail for years without being prevented to at any time and negros can be blamed for just about everything. To Kill a Mockingbird is far from the grim, overstrong moralist molasses of Uncle Tom's Cabin, but is definitely untrue, like that other book, with its bad vs. good characters, its wise vs. brute, its beautiful vs. ugly, its just vs. rogue. I think this was perhaps the right novel at the right time in the right place. Eager Hollywood was ready to take the chance and squeeze the thing into an Academy Award-winning flick, which, I understand, is a masterpiece. I own the DVD and when I see it, I will probably get a different picture of the book.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-07-24 12:05:21.
(Language: English)
It's almost a SIN that they stuff this novel down your throat in HIGH SCHOOL. Most adolescents are first introduced to this book as a 'coming- of- age' story; a 'let's learn something about the South' kind of book, but...believe it or not , it exists in a multiple of different ways. First, as AMERICAN CLASSIC, second, as LITERATURE, third as MYTH, and the list goes on and on. I can't say enough about this book that hasn't been written already. There are minor, if any, tricks here; almost no magic at all. Unlike the Potter series, there are no teenaged wizards saving the day, no full scale battles to satiate an over-active mind. What we have here is, pure and simple, a GREAT story, which is layered and subtle, grandly told , BUT in a simple way. You couldn't want it any different Literature un-diluted. Atticus Finch may be one of(if not THE) best hero in American literature, but Boo Radley has MY vote for most careful, most ominous, most precious villain. (Sorry Voldemort.) I've read it twice, and my recommendation (along with 'The Catcher in the Rye') is to give it, at least, 3 reads in your Lifetime. One in highschool, when you're first introduced. One in your 30's, when the world is weighing you down and you need a little direction. And One when you're very old, just to make sure that you haven't gone completely crazy; just to prove that the 'Classics of Literature' haven't changed all that much since you were a kid. (If you're lucky you will read them all: GRAPES OF WRATH, OF MICE AND MEN, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOOS NEST, CATCH 22, THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER...) ALL the great American Literature when you're upon your Death Bed. Read them all, and be saved. Let's hope so. Steinbeck, Atwood, Ondatje, Faulkner, Fante, Bukowski, Hemingway, Orwell, Huxley...will save you...I promise... -dcb
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A Reader posted a review at 2013-03-22 03:36:18.
(Language: English)
One of my favorites
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-02-10 11:33:05.
(Language: English)
I must truly say that this is one of my favorite stories of all time. I have seen the movie more times than I can count and know I will watch it again. It has been a few years since I have taken the time to reread the book though. I am sure I might never have read it if we were modeled some of my parenting style after Gregory Peck who played Atticus Finch, scout's lawyer father. For some reason as a kid the racial tension just went right over my head. The characters of the (autistic or mute perhaps) handicapped boy and the poor uneducated white woman resonated with me upon first reading. As I aged and got more life experience I came to realize what a powerful statement about racial equality this story must have made to society at the time it came out in 1960.
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Laura posted a review at 2010-08-04 08:05:53.
(Language: English)
I haven't read this since high school and had forgotten how good this book is. Told from the perspective of Scout Finch. At the beginning of the book it's the summer before Scout is starting school. She is not like other girls, she wears overalls, plays with her brother and neighbor Dill. They want to see Boo Radley who hasn't left his house in years. Scout's father, Atticus, is assigned to defend Tom Robinson an african american man accused of raping and beating a white woman. The town wasn't upset that Atticus was Tom's lawyer, but that he was actually going to try and defend him. I liked the explanation Atticus gave Scout when he told her if he didn't take this case he wouldn't be able to tell her what to do anymore. I liked Scout a lot. I liked that she couldn't remember not reading, that she wasn't afraid to have an opinion, that she tried to hold her temper and that she was brave.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-04-02 10:14:36.
(Language: English)
Books you read may be many, but very few leave an impact so strong that the story speaks to you and stays with you forever. Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a classic example of one such book. The story is about an English lawyer who defends a "Nigger" in a case of brutal rape. But the highlight of the story is that it is seen through the eyes of two kids, the lawyer's children. The book has everything, right from subtle, innocent humour to a great storyline to an extremely touching characterization. Our modern authors might as well take a leaf out of Harper Lee's page and realize that to make your book a bestseller, you don't need an extremely confusing plot or too much of adult stuff. All you need is a heart of gold and the right words to say what you genuinely feel.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-07-05 10:20:30.
(Language: English)
I'm not sure what I'm supposed to feel about this book. Halfway into it I was waiting for the story to begin. It seemed like a bunch of small stories put together to make one big one. Finally when the story arc of Tom Robinson came about I realized where the plot was. I searched the internet a little bit trying to understand why it is heralded as an "American Classic". I'm still wondering. It does paint a great picture of the injustices of the south at that time in history, but it feels slightly unresolved to me. Even though most of the townspeople believed that Tom was innocent, he still was convicted, and the black people were still believed to be inferior in the eyes of the white people, as seen from the comments from some of the ladies from Aunt Alexandria's group. Did anyone even learn anything from the case? Like I said, it felt as though it was a series of events that just happened to these young kids, and it is basically a novel on three years of their lives.
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A Reader posted a review at 2012-07-04 04:01:58.
(Language: English)
The only book published by Harper Lee, it was an immediate hit which led to a movie with the same title. As shown through the eyes of little Scout, she watches her father defend a black man of raping a white woman. Set in the south before the civil righ movements, Scout's world falls apart as she watches her father being shunned by the neighborhood. Her only fear is of "Boo", who is portrayed as a crazy man living in the woods. By the end of the book, Scout and her brother learns that the only thing that seperates us from others is bogotry, not the truth. A must for every high school!
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-10-16 04:50:08.
(Language: English)
Scout Finch is a tomboy living in Maycomb, Alabama. Her home is a quiet town, and it couldn't possibly have seen what was coming. Her father is assigned the infamous Tom Robinson case and the town shows its true colors, while Scout is just trying to live and learn. Mrs. Harper Lee's classic has received praise unequalled in literature, and every bit of it deserved. Scout's childhood is slow-paced enough to provoke nostalgic longing with enough intrigue to hook the reader indefinitely. There's quite a bit of subtlety to pick up on beyond the simple Atticus Finch style of bluntly generalizing to provide themes and morals for a child's understanding. Among all the rules included in this romance, the underlying message is something as uncommon as inflicting harm on the mockingbirds of the world. And yet it seems just as relevant.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-04-27 11:12:35.
(Language: English)
This is definitely one of my favorite books. I just finished it and am even more impressed with it after the second reading. Despite some of the serious issues presented in the novel, it is filled with warmth and humor. Harper Lee is a master storyteller. The personalities of all the characters, Scout, Jem, Dill, Atticus, Calpurnia, the neighbors, the town folk, Cunninghams and Ewels, are well defined and really jump off the page. As I read, I could see the sights, hear the sounds, smell the fragrances and experience the seasons of depression era Maycomb, Alabamba. I think the story is made more powerful because it is seen through the eyes of an innocent child who narrates the story from an adult perspective, looking back on her childhood. I can identify with tomboy Scout and her strong relationship with her older brother, Jem, the children's adventures, their make-believe games, their fear of the unknown, such as Boo Radley. How often did my brother and I play similar games as kids, running past an old house in fear of its occupants and the stories we had built up about them in our own minds. It is not often that a book contains a character of such strong moral example as Atticus Finch. He is a loving father, a humble, decent and fair man who has the strength and determination to stand by his beliefs. The book has been challenged and banned over the years due to profanity and racial slurs and I have heard that the novels exploration of race relations and racial injustice in America is more favorably received by white audiances than African American, as we are not given as much insight into the black characters and don't see them on as personal level as the white. Harpee Lee wrote about what she knew, based on her own experiences growing up in Alabama. I think the supposed deficiencies in her novel are indicative of where our country was in race relations at the time this novel was written as well as where and when it takes place, and it may have been farcical for the author to attempt to give more insight into the lives of the black characters. I am saddened that there were no other novels written by Harper Lee as I enjoyed her writing style so much, but I am happy that To Kill a Mockingbird has survived the years and the criticisms and is still on the required reading list at my kids' high school as well as many others across America.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-05-24 09:08:23.
(Language: English)
I just started this book.. and I am just loving it!! I will start reading this book now.. I hope.. I get to love it... This book is really becoming intretsing.. still reading it though.. the beggining might be a lil bit too slowish but I am just enjoying it now gonna make my ful review later.. Nice book... the beginning of this book was quite slow for my liking.. well I realize that the story was told through a 9 years old girl so you dont expect much... but the second part was quite very intresting!! I was just watching the movie.. the actors really did a great job.. I did not finish the movie.. I will try to have a copy of it.. its almost just like the book.. the first part of the movie was slow.. but when the Tim story began I found it more intresting.. I saw the movie worn couple of Oscars.. nice one.. its in black&white though
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-05-15 10:31:01.
(Language: English)
This book is just amazing. Other than the issue on discrimination on races it teaches the meaning of life the most. I clearly notice the way Atticus brought up his kids was just amazing. Issues are discussed (or rather told) from adults point of view and kids point of view, which somehow helps readers understands these issues better. An awesome books which teaches the values that we need to have in life in a very interesting way. The beginning part of it might seems a little bit boring but as it moves on, it became more and more exciting. This novel is about life, the good things and the ugly parts that it holds.
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