To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

 

Title: To Kill a Mockingbird

Author:  Harper Lee

Narrated by:  Sissy Spacek

Publisher: Caedmon

Length: Approximately 12 hours and 17 minutes

Source: Checked out from the Kewaunee Public Library through Overdrive.  Thank-you!

 

What is your favorite classic novel or movie?

To Kill a Mockingbird is both one of my favorite classic novels and movies.  I reread To Kill a Mockingbird in September for the Back to the Classics Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library.  We’ll be watching the classic film at the end of this month. 

We all agreed in book club that we loved To Kill a Mockingbird.  It is a classic novel for a reason.  It is a wonderful and thought-provoking novel on so many levels.

At the start of the book, it seems it is the story of a young girl, Scout Finch, growing up in the small town of Maycomb.  Scout has a lot of adventures with her brother Jem, and friend Dill who comes to visit for the summer.  The story vividly paints a picture of growing up in the small town and great character portraits of the various neighbors.  The kids are focused on one neighbor, Boo Radley, who is never seen.  The kids have heard all sorts of rumors about him and are sure he is the scariest thing in town.

Scout and Jem are raised by their father Atticus and their housekeeper, Calpurnia.  Their Aunt Alexandra joins the family later in the book.  Both Atticus and Calpurnia are great characters.  Atticus is a perfect father with a strong moral compass.  I like the part of the book when Jem is ashamed of his father being so old and boring and then finds out that Atticus is a dead shot.  Calpurnia is the housekeeper, but she steps in as a mother figure for most of their lives and teaches them how to read.  It causes a lot of discussion in the book when Scout wants to go to Calpurnia’s house, but Aunt Alexandra doesn’t think it is proper as Calpurnia is African American.  Aunt Alexandra is something else.

The book pivots when the kids start to get wind that their father is being talked down about because of a trial that he is going to be involved in.  He will be defending Tom Robinson, an African American man who has been accused of raping a white woman.  Atticus does the best that he can to show the truth in this trial, that Tom Robinson is innocent, but it doesn’t matter in this time and place.  Scout and Jem are both horrified by the lack of justice, and it is a pivotal point in their growing up.  The book doesn’t end at this point and has another pivotal scene where the kids are forced to realize that they have also judged others, Boo Radley, without really knowing them.  It’s a great way to really look at the judgement of others issue from all sides.

The characters, the writing, the setting, and the story were excellent.  It painted a picture of a small southern town during the depression perfectly and it makes the reader really ponder justice and the judgement of others.  This book gets banned by both sides of the aisle, but I think it’s an excellent book that should be taught.

Sissy Spacek was a wonderful narrator with her southern drawl and expressive voice acting.  I would love to listen to other audiobooks that she has narrated.