Harper Lee’s Pulitzer prize-winning masterwork of honor and injustice in the deep south—and the heroism of one man in the face of blind and violent hatred
One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than forty million copies worldwide, served as the basis for an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father—a crusading local lawyer—risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime.
Nelle Harper Lee (born April 28, 1926) is an American novelist widely known for her 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning To Kill a Mockingbird which deals with the racism she observed as a child in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. Though Lee only published this single book for half a century, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contribution to literature. Lee has received numerous honorary degrees, and declined to speak on each occasion. Lee assisted close friend Truman Capote in his research for the book In Cold Blood (1966).
In February 2015 at age 88, nearly blind and deaf after a 2007 stroke, and after a lifetime of maintaining that she would never publish another novel, Lee a statement through her attorney that “I’m alive and kicking and happy as hell with the reactions of Watchman,” that Lee would publish a second novel, Go Set a Watchman (set to be published on July 14, 2015), written before To Kill a Mockingbird.
My Impressions:
Really?!! I am writing a review of To Kill A Mockingbird? This beloved novel has been the subject of countless literary critiques, reviews, dissertations and high school book reports since its publication 50+ years ago. What could I possibly add? Just that this really is an American classic that accurately depicts the South before the Civil Rights Movement in all its beautiful and ugly glory. The characters of narrator Scout and her father Atticus are some of the best written. This is definitely a must-read, and if you are like me (I had never read it before) you need to put this one at the top of your TBR list. I listened to the audiobook, and Sissy Spacek did an outstanding job giving voice to Scout. Mockingbird is my book club’s May selection, and I look forward to some great discussion. Have you read it? Let us know your thoughts.
Very Highly Recommended.
Audience: teens to adults.
Great for Book Clubs.
To purchase this book, click HERE.
(I purchased the audiobook from Audible. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
Thanks for the review. I look forward to listening to this classic book. Keep up the great reviews.
It was great! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
With most classic stories, it seems like I’ve seen the movie, but not read the book. However, this is one that I did read many years ago and it is everything you said and maybe more! The movie was excellent also. You’re making me want to read it again now, Miss Beckie.
Carole, I am reading it with the ladies at the center where I volunteer. It has only been 2 months since I read it, but the second reading is just as good!
I read this fairly recently after my kids read it for school- and I was embarrassed to realize it was something I had never read. Amazing book!
It is. My book club loved it and we had a great discussion. The world today isn’t so much different than it was in the 1930s. One thing that cracked us up was Scout’s description of the “Dewey Decimal System” of education. 😉 Thanks for stopping by.