To Kill a Mockingbird

You're familiar with the basic story and maybe you read it long ago. You know the book is a classic and you remember seeing the movie as a child. But have you ever sat down and just appreciated this novel for the wonderful story that it truly is? This is story about racism, culture and societal expectations. But, most of all, it is a story about integrity and doing the right thing. The story is set in the South: the town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930's. A place where white people have roles and black people have rules. This is where the great Atticus Finch is raising his two children - Jeremy (Jem) and Jean Louise (Scout). Although he is a widow, he does have the help of a servant named Calpurnia who is a cherished part of the family. Atticus is a public defender and serves on the State Legislature. He is a highly-educated and thoughtful man dedicated to his town, his neighbors, his family - and justice. His motto: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." The story, however, is not told from his perspective, but from that of his daughter, Scout who is around 5 or 6 when the story begins and about 10 or so in its closing scenes. Through her eyes, we get innocence mixed with a precociousness and the wry sense of humor she has inherited from her dad. He's a lawyer and he asks a lot of questions. Sometimes he asks them when he already knows the answer and so does Scout. Atticus is always straight-forward about answering her. Jem tries his best with her, but he is also very young at the time and trying to find his way of fitting in as well. The first few pages introduce a cast of characters and are somewhat challenging to get into. Best to relax and just enjoy the ride - it will all come clear as the story unfolds. Remember you are being introduced by a small child. The action starts soon enough, as Atticus is assigned to defend a black man accused of raping a white woman. The scenes leading up to and within the courthouse during the trial are brilliant and evoke so much emotion as you "climb into another's skin and walk around in it". The writing is so vivid and the characters really come alive. Your heart wants one verdict even though your head knows it's going to be another. The town gets past the trial and life goes on; or does it? Unfortunately, not for everyone. The ending is incredible and will not leave you for a long time to come. I read this book as part of a banned book project and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I fell in love with Atticus Finch and Scout and I hope to become a better person for it! I'm glad when young people review this book and are shocked by what the world offered in 1935. That helps me understand that times are indeed changing despite still having a way to go!

It is obvious why Harper Lee’s incredible book is considered a classic. It is a masterwork and, rightfully, a Pulitzer Prize winner. This is a book to keep for your entire life and read over and over again. I had read this as a teenager and as a young adult and then seen a movie adaption. When my book club chose this for this month’s reading, I thought I knew the story well enough already and didn’t want to buy it or end up on the waiting list at the local library. I am so glad I decided to buy the Harperperennial edition on Kindle. There are many different levels for readers to enjoy this book. As a mature reader, I got much more out of the book than I did as a teenager or as a young adult. The story takes place in Macolm, a small town in Alabama, in the mid-1930s. Scout and Jem have lost their mother to illness but live with their lawyer father, Atticus Finch, and Calpurnia, their housemaid. Later Aunt Alexandra comes to live with them. She is determined to change Scout’s tomboy tendencies into those of a lady. The story is a very good depiction of the South at this time in history. All the family, town and country characters are vividly portrayed. Neighborhood gossip abounds. Racisim (although still with us) was even more rampant then. Growing up with many childhood adventures, Scout and Jem grow up more quickly when their father is appointed to defend a Negro. Tom Robinson, the young Negro (the polite term at the time), is charged with a crime he did not commit. It is his word against that of a white man, Bob Ewell, and his daughter, Mayella. She says Tom raped and beat her, when, in reality, her father had done so. Tom is convicted with no solid evidence as to his guilt. Bob Ewell is determined to get back at Atticus for suggesting at the trial that he beat his own daughter. When a very drunk Bob Ewell tries to kill Scout and Jem one dark Halloween night, they are saved by Arthur (Bo) Radley, a neighbor recluse whom they had been afraid of and made fun of as children. They learn a tough lesson about the so-called “good people” of the town and countryside. They learn tolerance and respect for those who are different. Scout and Jem learn to appreciate the moral compass of their father, who is one of the few adults who has the courage to do what is right. Harper Lee has a wonderful ability to tell a story and pull the reader into each scene. The writing flows fluidly and beautifully. Sometimes I like to hear a story, however. “To Kill a Mockingbird” is such a good story that it deserves to be listened to as well. I supplemented the Kindle with the Audible version with Sissy Spacek as the narrator. How absolutely marvelous! Sissy Spacek is just amazing as a reader. She brought the story even more alive! NOTE: If you buy the Audible version for the Harperperennial edition, Sissy Spacek reads the entire novel.

I have to confess to a certain degree of ignorance regarding many of the details of this book, primarily due to the fact that the film version has become so pervasive in my memory, as well as many of the general population, that it has overshadowed the original novel. I say this after reading the novel for the third time, the second having been 18 years ago. This reading has occurred since the recent publication of its prequel/sequel 'Go Set a Watchman' so I have had the experience of reading them back to back with a fresh comparison. The novel, like the film, has a seemingly random, anecdotal quality to much of it, weaving around the double threads of the curiosity of the children toward Arthur (Boo) Radley and the trial of Tom Robinson. Like any film adapted from a novel, the film 'To Kill a Mockingbird' had to be selective in which anecdotes to leave out and which ones to include. Fifty-five years after its original publication and 53 years after the film version, a summary of the novel seems superfluous so I will proceed on the assumption that everyone has been exposed to the novel, the film or both. Assuming that familiarity, the rest of the review will largely consist of my new perceptions of portions I had forgotten or connections I had not made until this reading. The novel takes place over a span of three years, from 1932 to 1935 and in that time Scout's brother Jem makes a transition from child to adolescent while Scout moves from first to third grade. They are not constant in their perceptions of their small-town world. There is much room to grow and so the revelations do not seem to occur as rapidly as the film version would indicate. Scout has more of an inkling of what the Robinson trial is about as a third grader than she would have had if it occurred at the beginning of the novel. The spooky imagined exploits of childhood boogeyman Boo Radley that consumes the children and their playmate Dill at the beginning has receded into mere curiosity about an extremely reclusive character. I had forgotten, for example, that Aunt Alexandra moves in with the family toward the beginning of the novel because Atticus knows that they need more adult attention than he is able to give them at this time. He probably also feels that they could benefit from a female presence in the house. According to Scout, they already have a female presence—their black housekeeper/cook Calpurnia. She keeps the household running smoothly and does her best to ensure that the children stay out of mischief. She doesn't live with them 24/7 though and she is black. She is also not a blood relation. Alexandra's presence is felt throughout the rest of the novel, although she doesn't strike me as quite as shrewish as she does in 'Go Set a Watchman,' partially because in that novel she treats the adult Jean Louise almost identically to the child Scout. Alexandra's presence in the house does bring Scout closer to Calpurnia, whom she sees as too much of a strict disciplinarian at the beginning of the novel, yet in comparison to Alexandra, she actually takes the trouble to try to understand the child's point of view. As talk of the impending trial of Tom Robinson reaches the children through the taunts of children as well as raving adults such as Mrs. Dubose, Cal's feelings on the matter are not lost on Scout. As she attempts to understand Atticus's willingness to defend a black man and not respond to the racial slurs that are tossed at him, she gets a first-hand look at the other side of the racial fence when she goes with Cal to her own church. Cal defends her decision to bring a white girl to a black church to some of the black counterparts to Mrs. Dubose and Scout respects her for her courage in going against the tide of what is expected in THAT society. Cal's pastor Reverend Sykes welcomes her and this familiarity also informs his easy reception of her, Jem and Dill to the 'colored only' balcony of the courthouse for the Robinson trial. I had also forgotten that Atticus's younger brother, Uncle Jack, appears, scolding Scout at a Christmas gathering for using unsuitable language and hitting her cousin for calling Atticus the unmentionable 'n—lover'. When Scout scolds him politely for not giving her a chance to tell her side of the story, he relents and understands why she got so upset. Another character I didn't recall is the white businessman Dolphus Raymond. He lives with a black mistress and has spawned several mulatto children. He is seen by the society of Maycomb as a scandalous, immoral eccentric. Scout understands him a bit more after she is taken out of the courthouse with Dill after Dill's crying fit over the racist treatment of the prosecuting attorney to Tom Robinson, encounters Raymond and learns that the liquid he drinks out of the container within his paper sack is not whiskey, as everyone suspects, but Coca-Cola. Scout asks him why he pretends, to which he says: "I try to give 'em a reason, you see. It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason. When I come to town, which is seldom, if I weave a little and drink out of this sack, folks can say Dolphus Raymond's in the clutches of whiskey—that's why he won't change his ways. He can't help himself, that's why he lives the way he does….It ain't honest but it's mighty helpful to folks. Secretly, Miss Finch, I'm not much of a drinker, but you see they could never, ever understand that I live like I do because that's the way I want to live." He says he confides in children because they are still young enough to understand him, because they 'cry about the simple hell people give other people without even thinking. Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they're people too." Another realization I had with this reading is that Atticus is not the sole advocate for equal treatment regardless of race. Their neighbor Miss Maudie Atkinson tells them that there are certain people we hire to do our unpleasant jobs for us and their father is one of them. She is certainly one of the more racially enlightened citizens of the town. As they find out, a white person who believes in treating black people equally must live closeted lives. They learn that Judge Taylor chose Atticus intentionally to be the defense attorney rather than the man that would ordinarily be chosen. Sheriff Heck Tate must maintain order as a lawman and yet he too knows that Tom is innocent and he is sensitive enough to the reclusive Boo to persuade Atticus to 'let the dead bury the dead'. In this town Atticus and Dolpus Raymond are the most uncloseted of the white non-racists in the town. The novel proceeds in its almost effortless, anecdotal way to reveal steadily stronger moral lessons for both Jem and Scout but particularly for Scout, culminating in the most intense encounter with Bob Ewell and the emergence of Boo Radley. It is easy to see how it earned its classic status. It presents such a clear, articulate and incontrovertible statement regarding racial equality and unequivocal respect for all living things (Jem even adopts a stance of not even crushing insects) that is universal and is why it can still move millions of readers 55 years after its publication. Its success and influence even provided a lesson in tolerance for the real-life model for Atticus, A.C. Lee.

Reflections on Harper Lee’s novels - Spoiler alert, if you have not read these books and do not want the plots spoiled, I will spoil them here. Well, I chose to read Harper Lee’s works in chronological order. I think I made the right choice. It was good to have Scout’s childish perspective and focus on a certain life-defining episode of her youth as the background for Jean Louise’s coming of age story. Harper Lee took a few pages of her first work and turned them into a compelling, fully fleshed out story of childhood innocence disturbed by subtle yet turbulent reality. The account of childhood in small town Alabama with the underlying racial and social tensions puts us there, in the middle of this placid surface, this languid recounting of summer play and childhood imaginations ruled by the somewhat abstract, quite benevolent and highly principled Atticus Finch. The Maycomb of “To Kill a Mockingbird” is a tightly controlled universe where everyone knows their place. We accept the dictums of the time. The blacks live where they live, the white trash are just that but they are not all evil, and the servants, as seen through the eyes of the child, are there to serve but also to police and mete out reprimands or sage advice as needed. There is the required crazy person that must be present in every Southern novel. And, somewhere, in the very vague background are the local politics which will intrude in the idyllic, drowsy pace of life. Of course, the idealization of Maycomb, of its inhabitants, of the unimpeachable Atticus, rest on that childish platform. If we look at it from the perspective of “Go Set A Watchman” we can see that this view of Maycomb as a place of seeming harmony, with well working social structures - this view of Atticus as a paragon of virtue and integrity - could not survive the sober scrutiny of adulthood intact. I can see why Mockingbird is such a beloved novel – in simple terms it is about doing the right thing even if you know you can’t win or change the world. This is the lesson. Atticus defends the black man accused of rape, stands up to the lynch mob, and forces his children to take insults with dignity. Wow, daddy is Gregory Peck at his best. And yet, very subtly, the image starts to blur. It is almost like you can see the palimpsest of Watchman in Mockingbird. Atticus Finch holds a seat in the Alabama State Legislature to which he is constantly reelected. Would he have the support of his constituents if he did not uphold the status quo? He is assigned the Robinson case, he did not ask for it. He goes along with his sister’s prohibition of the children going to a black church. He tolerates the racism of others. He jokes with Scout that if women served on juries, trials would never end. Ultimately, he goes along with not investigating a murder. Fast-forward, or rewind, to the Watchman universe- Jean Louise (formerly known as Scout) has graduated from college, is living in New York and comes home for her yearly visit. What do we learn right away? Her father is suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and cannot pick her up because he can’t drive to the train station. He relies on her boyfriend, an up-and-coming lawyer who has become like a son to him for day to day work. He is somewhat henpecked, somewhat tolerant of his sister’s control of the household and we soon learn that she is there because he needs her to take care of him. Then we have the town of Maycomb, where the tensions are no longer simmering, they are at the forefront of activity. The white folks are pissed off about desegregation, the black folks are openly showing their distrust, the Citizens Council is hosting the Klan, and the boyfriend is deemed trash by the social powers that be. From the moment that Hank picks her up we understand that she is seeing her hometown with different eyes - with eyes that have been cleansed of childhood cobwebs. Still, she is in denial about the one constant in her life. She thinks Atticus is in better shape than he actually is. She very slowly starts to come to grips with his frailties as she observes how his rheumatoid arthritis keeps him from doing simple things like tying his shoe laces, and also makes him dependent on others for rides to work. This coming to terms with his physical limitations is well crafted. It leads perfectly into the moment when, sitting in the same courtroom gallery where, at the age of six, she watched Atticus defend a black man because it was the right thing to do, she now watches him join forces with the height of Maycomb’s racist establishment. The stage where he became her guiding light, her moral compass, is the stage where he falls from grace. As she watches him introduce the speaker from the Klan, shake his hand, and offer him a platform to share his views, the scaffolding that has held Atticus up for the past 20 years comes tumbling down. Jean Louise’s reaction is extreme; all is lost and she no longer has her rock. Her hero plunges off the pedestal. Up until this point, the narrative is solid, if somewhat predictable. She confronts her father and falls apart. She wonders what, if anything, about her life is true. She sees Atticus as a racist and feels deceived. The confrontation is realistic. He is who he always was and he knows that she needs to come to terms with it. As Atticus, the perfect Southern gentleman, would, he is gracious and understanding while, at the same time, completely comfortable with his world view. The blacks are backwards children who should trust good white men like him to make the world a better place for them. He and his peers know what’s best. Jean Louise feels betrayed and goes on a rampage of blame. Can a visit to her childhood maid set things right? During this visit, where she is treated politely but given no trust or warmth, Jean Louise finally realizes that her childhood memories veer into the realm of fantasy. The rest of the novel is a mad dash through denial, acceptance, self-awareness and absolution. Atticus emerges once again as the paragon of parenthood. He is proud that she has become her own person and not just a follower of Atticus. Jean Louise realizes that she is still part of the system she abhors and makes peace with her role in the drama of racial relations in Maycomb. In the end, she realizes the status quo is a bad thing but, what are you going to do? This is the part of Watchman which would have benefitted from careful and thoughtful editing. It is too rushed. A scene where she visits her uncle for a session of gnashing of teeth and pointing of fingers reads like a something out of a cheap melodrama leading to the clichéd “slap this woman so she will cease her hysterics” moment. This is followed in quick succession by the scene in which Atticus is proud of his daughter for becoming her own person and she realizes he is still her hero. I am saddened by two missed opportunities in these last few chapters. This is a coming of age novel where the heroine must lose her childhood innocence, realize that her father is not perfect, separate herself from him and become her own person who must somehow reconcile her idealized parent with the real human being. In Mockingbird the ground is laid for this process to take center stage. The loving attention to Scout’s inner landscape is missing for Watchman’s Jean Louise. I personally feel that the process of seeing the feet of clay and learning how to love your imperfect parent, while setting different standards for becoming the best person you can, is an amazing and fulfilling process. It can lead to a rewarding and loving adult relationship with that very important person in your life. It paves the way for learning how to develop mature and satisfying relationships with your lover/spouse/mate. It creates a blueprint for building positive relationships with your children. I feel that Harper Lee could have written that if she had had some good guidance. Another missed opportunity is the one to explore how a person who is working through their own racism can live in a racist society. Ursula K. Le Guin explains this beautifully in her review of Watchman. For me, these are the important questions - How do you love people who are racist? Where do you draw the line? Will you live in a state of constant confrontation or will you let some things go? Is this right or moral? Where are you willing to compromise your values? Can you fit in and still hold your principles? Are you ashamed of your loved ones? Can you be a teacher and a guide without alienating them? Can you serve a higher purpose while maintaining your affiliation? When do you call it quits? How do you love the victims of racism? Can you be truly their ally without becoming their “savior”? Can you ever see them as they want to be seen or respected as they should be respected? Can they truly love you? Are we deluding ourselves when we think that our servants, nannies, maids, could love us while they left their children behind, while making the difficult choice required to put food in their mouths? Could they stop themselves from loving the innocent child who will eventually become their oppressor? This exploration could have been the lesson of this novel. I wish the original editors had asked Harper Lee to write both novels, I wish the original editors had taken the time and effort to work Watchman to its potential. I wish we had seen Harper Lee’s tremendous talent truly applied to a novel that could have taught us so much. That said, I do not regret having Watchman in my literary universe. The ideas, the passions, the archetypes, haunt me. This novel offered me some space for reflection and introspection. I can truly recommend it.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a timeless classic that masterfully combines a coming-of-age story with a deep social commentary on racism, morality, and justice. Set in the 1930s in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, the novel follows Scout Finch, a young girl, and her father, Atticus Finch, a principled lawyer who defends a black man, Tom Robinson, falsely accused of raping a white woman. One of the strongest aspects of the book is Harper Lee’s portrayal of complex, multifaceted characters. Scout, with her youthful innocence, sees the world through a lens of curiosity and confusion as she witnesses the injustices around her. Atticus, on the other hand, serves as a moral beacon, showing unwavering courage and compassion even when faced with overwhelming prejudice. The portrayal of Tom Robinson’s trial offers a heartbreaking reflection on racial inequality and the moral struggles of the era. The novel’s narrative style is another strength. Through Scout’s perspective, we see the growth of empathy and understanding, and as readers, we are invited to question the structures of society. The writing is both accessible and profound, making it approachable for a wide range of readers, while still offering deep layers for more critical analysis. The only downside is that some may find parts of the story slow, especially for younger readers unfamiliar with the historical context. However, the novel’s themes are still incredibly relevant today, making it an important and thought-provoking read. Overall, To Kill a Mockingbird is an essential book that offers profound insights into human nature and the complexities of moral courage in the face of injustice. It’s a must-read for anyone interested in exploring the enduring struggles for equality and the power of empathy.

When young Scout Finch takes center stage in To Kill a Mockingbird, readers of all ages are in for a story that’s as rich in heart as it is in meaning. Told through the sharp, curious eyes of a little girl growing up in the deep South, this classic novel invites kids (and grown-ups alike) to think big thoughts about fairness, bravery, and what it really means to do the right thing. Harper Lee’s writing is clear and clever, with just the right mix of serious truths and childhood charm. Scout is smart, spunky, and says exactly what she thinks, which makes her a wonderfully relatable guide. Her older brother Jem and their quiet hero of a father, Atticus Finch, are equally unforgettable. (Atticus, it should be noted, delivers life lessons so good they might as well be printed on fortune cookies.) While the story deals with heavy topics like racism and injustice, it does so in a way that younger readers can begin to understand; not by shouting, but by gently showing. And yes, there are courtrooms and sad parts, but there are also hilarious neighbor tales, summer games, and one mysterious Boo who may not be so scary after all. To Kill a Mockingbird isn’t just a school book; it’s a story that sticks, like your favorite bedtime story but with more meaning and fewer dragons. It’s a book that helps young readers grow up just a little bit wiser. Highly recommended for curious minds, brave hearts, and anyone who’s ever wanted to peek behind a front porch curtain.

If you're going to write only one book in your life to be remembered for, let this be your guide. For starters, being an avid reader, I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that I have just read this masterpiece for the first time at just a few months shy of my fiftieth birthday. It's been the all-time favorite book of many people I know, mostly women. So it's been on my must-read list for a long time, hanging around with Moby Dick and a few others. But being a person who believes that you receive the message or the teacher when you are supposed to and receptive to the lesson to be learned. Aside from its must-read status and a few cultural references ( the schizophrenic Joon in the film Benny and Joon referring to her 'Boo Radley moments' comes to mind ), I was almost completely naive to the general story until a couple of years ago when the film was shown on one of the old movie channels I receive locally. I usually prefer to read the book before seeing the movie, but since I hadn't gotten to it yet, I decided what the Hell, I'll watch the movie. It's no great surprise that I loved it, which strengthened my resolve the read the book. Even though I knew the story now, I still ploughed through the book. A real page-turner. However, I was also determined to go slow enough to not overlook the subtleties of reading what I knew to be a masterpiece of modern fiction. Not disappointed, I savored every word and every page of this lovingly crafted meal. As for the story, I'm sure I can't add anything worth mentioning that hasn't already been written by better and more skilled reviewers than me. Briefly, an honest and true widower attorney in Jim Crow Alabama tries to do his small part in keeping the law colorblind in his small town. He's also trying, with more success than he realizes, to gently sculpt the minds and hearts of his two young children who are unfortunately but inevitably affected by race and class ugliness in an alleged black on white rape case. Through their observations and inevitable questions about this case, these two children are exposed to an issue they struggle to understand while also trying to cope with a real-life boogeyman next door that, in their inexperienced and naive minds, is a much greater threat to their lives than racism and institutionalized hatred. As this beautiful story unfolds, these children gradually come to understand that imagined boogeymen are far more benign than the very real ugliness in people that they thought were friendly and safe. Harper Lee's genius in crafting this novel is in her choice of teaching this lesson, which we can all learn from, through the eyes of two children as they are forced to grow up and learn to discern between real and imagined monsters. That's about all I have to say, leaving more eloquent analyses to those better at it than me. I feel richly rewarded by finally hunkering down and tackling a book that was a sheer pleasure to read and a profound lesson, even to this old-ish reader who thought I had already learned all these lessons. After experiencing both the book and the film, and I generally try to avoid comparing films adapted from books because of the near impossibility of faithfully rendering books into movies, it's an apple/orange comparison most of the time. I have to say that in this case, the film rendering is nearly flawless. Whoever decided to cast Gregory Peck should be made a Saint of Hollywood. it was perfection, both the choice and the performance. Oh, and I've decided that my next dogs will be named Atticus, Jem, Scout, and Boo, not to appear edumacated to others, but because these characters have now become the most upstanding human beings I've ever had the pleasure to know.

Great read. Read this in high school many years ago.

A genius book, to read at least once. Buy it or at least give it to someone you like.

Great read and final jeopardy answer

Harper Lee hat eine bemerkenswerte Gabe des Geschichtenerzählens. Ihre Kunst ist visuell, voller taktiler Brillanz und mit kinematografischer Fluidität und Subtilität ausgestattet: wir sehen vor unserem geistigen Auge, wie eine Szene mit einer anderen verschmilzt, ohne dass es dabei zu holprigen Übergängen kommt. Die Schicksale der Protagonisten sind im Kopf, im Herzen und in der Seele des Lesers emotional und moralisch miteinander verbunden. ***** Setup Anfang Der Schauplatz dieses Buches (erschienen 1960) ist die fiktive Stadt Macomb (Alabama) Mitte der 1930er Jahre. Dort lebt der Rechtsanwalt Atticus Finch (50 Jahre alt) mit seinen Sohn Jem (Jeremy) und seiner Tochter Scout (Jean Louise) – die auch die Erzählerin der Geschichte ist. Die Geschwister sind zu Beginn des Romans, der etwa eine Zeitspanne von 3 Jahren abdeckt, 10 bzw. 6 Jahre. Die Mutter der beiden starb einige Jahre zuvor. Atticus verteidigt einen schwarzen Mann (Tom Robinson), der der Vergewaltigung einer weißen Frau beschuldigt wird. Die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass ein solcher in den 1930er Jahren in den Südstaaten einen fairen Prozess bekommt, liegt bei etwa 1 zu einer Million... optimistisch betrachtet. UND: Der Leser sieht die Welt durch die Augen eines jungen Mädchens, das noch versucht, seinen Platz in ihr zu finden (genau wie ihr Bruder), und dem ganzen Trubel um sie herum einen Sinn zu geben. Ein größerer Teil des Buches (und seiner „Faszination“) besteht eben auch aus einem Bericht über das „Aufwachsen“ / „Erwachsen werden“ zweier Kinder, ihren Fragen, Freundschaften zu anderen Kindern & Erwachsenen, ihren Erlebnissen und wie sie diese verarbeiten. ***** Setup Ende Das Buch behandelt eine breite Palette von kontroversen Themen, das Verhüllen von Klassensystemen, Geschlechterrollen, Südstaatenmanieren und Tabus sowie einige Botschaften wie Freundlichkeit, Liebe und Überzeugung - alles in einem skurrilen Bilderroman enthalten, den kein Leser, der je von seinen Seiten beglückt wurde, je vergessen wird. Ich habe TKAM zum ersten Mal vor 40 Jahren in der Schule gelesen und es hat mich tief berührt. Und als ich das Buch im Jahr 2017 noch einmal las, war ich genauso ergriffen, erschüttert, betroffen und überwältigt. Harper Lee brachte uns dazu, Vorurteilen und Ungerechtigkeiten ins Gesicht zu blicken, und danach zu streben, ein Atticus-Fink zu werden. Fähnchen schwingend gibt es 5-Sterne! ***** Einordnung *** Die Weigerung der Afroamerikanerin damals 42-jährigen Rosa Park (1913 - 2005), ihren Sitzplatz in einem Stadtbus einer weißen Person zu überlassen, führt nicht nur zu ihrer Verhaftung und Verurteilung (wegen Störung der öffentlichen Ruhe), sondern löste auch den Montgomery-Bus-Boykott von 1955 aus. *** Die US-amerikanische Professorin für Literatur und Theater-Geschichte, Claudia Durst Johnson, schrieb 1994 in ihrem Buch „To Kill a Mockingbird: Threatening Boundaries“: „In den 33 Jahren seit seiner Veröffentlichung stand das Buch noch nie im Mittelpunkt einer Dissertation, und es war nur Gegenstand von 6 literarischen Studien, von denen einige nicht mehr als ein paar Seiten lang waren.“ *** Harper Lee (1926 - 2016) wuchs in der Stadt Monroeville (Alabama), auf, wo sie sich mit dem später berühmten Schriftsteller Truman Capote anfreundete. Capote war ziemlich sicher Vorbild für den Nachbarjungen Dill (Charles Baker Harris) im Roman. *** Es gab auch zahlreiche Gerüchte, habe Capote habe in Wahrheit den Roman geschrieben oder zumindest stark redigiert. Diese wurden 2006 durch den Fund eines privaten Briefs Capotes an eine Verwandte zu Fall gebracht. *** Originaltitel: „To Kill a Mockingbird“; auf Deutsch: „Wer die Nachtigall stört“. Der „Mockingbird“ ist aber eigentlich die sogenannte Spottdrossel (Mimus polyglottos). Das Gesangsrepertoire des Männchens besteht aus 50 bis 200 Liedern. *** Harper Lee veröffentlichte ein Jahr vor ihrem Tod ihr zweites Buch „Gehe hin, stelle einen Wächter“ (im Original Go Set a Watchman; 2015). Der Titel spielt auf die Rolle von Atticus Finch als den moralischen Kompass ("Wächter") von Maycomb an. Jean Louise "Scout" Finch, mittlerweile 26 Jahre alt und Jurastudentin, kommt aus New York City zu Besuch nach Maycomb und trifft viele der Figuren aus TKAM. ***** Zitate „Aber bevor ich mit anderen leben kann, muss ich mit mir selber leben.“ (Atticus (11. Kapitel)) „Vorurteile, ein schmutziges Wort, und Glaube, ein sauberes, haben etwas gemein: Sie fangen beide da an, wo die Vernunft endet.“ (Onkel Jack Finch; jüngerer Bruder von Atticus) „Dill hatte einen großartigen Plan ausgeheckt, um Boo Radley ohne jede Gefahr für uns herauszulocken. (Man nehme Zitronenbonbons, lege sie als Köder auf den Weg zwischen Radleys Hintertür und dem Vorplatz, und schon wird Boo wie eine Ameise der Spur nachgehen).“ „Man versteht einen Menschen erst dann wirklich, wenn man die Dinge aus seiner Sicht betrachtet - wenn man in seine Haut steigt und darin herumläuft.“ (Atticus (3. Kapitel)) „Wenn ein Kind Sie etwas fragt, antworten Sie, um Himmels willen. Aber machen Sie keine Inszenierung daraus. Kinder sind Kinder, doch sie erkennen ein Ausweichen schneller als Erwachsene, und es bringt sie einfach durcheinander.“ (Atticus)

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is, without a doubt, one of the most powerful and thought-provoking books I’ve ever read. The story is gripping, with unforgettable characters like Scout, Atticus, and Boo Radley, who stay with you long after you finish the book. The themes of racial injustice, empathy, and moral growth are just as relevant today as they were when the book was first published. Harper Lee’s writing is beautiful yet straightforward, making complex ideas accessible and emotional. This is a novel that not only tells an incredible story but also challenges you to think deeply about the world around you. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a book that is as enriching as it is captivating.

Buen libro!.