Name: Matthew Jackson's review of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Item: To Kill a Mockingbird
Rating: 4
Author: Matthew Jackson

Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird

Voted America's Best-Loved Novel in PBS's The Great American Read 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 most cherished 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.

Ida :)

Never, never, never, on cross- examination ask a witness a question you don't already know the answer to, was a tenet I absorbed with my baby-food. Do it, and you'll often get an answer you don't want, an answer that might wreck your case.

To Kill A Mocking Bird

Ausrine Blazyte

 Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them.

Naw, Jem, I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks. 

That's what I thought, too, he said at last, 'when I was your age. If there's just one kind of folks, why can't they get along with each other? If they're all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other? Scout, I think I'm beginning to understand something, I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time it's because he wants to stay inside.'

The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a court-room, be he any colour of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box. As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it - whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.

In our courts, when is a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins. They're ugly, but those are the facts of life.

 There is not a person in this court-room who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman with desire.

Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women black and white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race ot men.

Nour

[…]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.

You're not gonna change any of them by talkin' right, they've got to want to learn themselves, and when they don't want to learn there's nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language.

baby, it's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn't hurt you. 

To Kill a Mockingbird - Hhp EDT

Get it Miss Maudie. She gives me old lady with 500 cats at home vibes

Nina Koen

People in their right minds never take pride in their talents

Atticus was the definition of a great dad

I do my best to love everybody... I'm hard put sometimes- baby, it's never an insult to be called what someone thinks is a bad name. It just shows how poor that person is, it doesn't hurt you.

Eternal Endeavor

marie

Josephina Lucke

Matthew Jackson

Atharva Bedekar

I read this in school and even ended up reading it again multiple times after. Such a classic. 

Victoria Maier 

Kristof Revilak

Caroline Oestergaard

This was my first time reading this classic and let’s just say I definitely understand why it’s a classic now. This was extremely difficult to read at times, but what an incredible and important read.

Matthew Royal

We never read this in highschool. I guess my homeschool curriculum focused on different stuff than most.

It's an enjoyable, easy read. Lee's opinions come through the voices of the child protagonists a bit more heavy-handed than I like. Despite agreeing with his message, I strongly dislike putting your opinions into the mouths of babes, as if they are the natural truths a pure and innocent child is born knowing.

Sachin Yadav

** spoiler alert **
           A lovely and refreshing read.

The way the children were trying to make sense of prejudice and stereotypes was intriguing.

And the childish humour of the protagonist is 👌.

Some of my favourite lines:
• 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.
• A merry heart maketh s cheerful countenance.

novel tentang kasih sayang dan prasangka

To kill a mocking bird

Erwin Lemuel Oliva

I listened to the Audible version, which was narrated by Sissy Spacek. It is indeed a classic, well-written story.

Anna Ureta

*listened to the audiobook and read the paperback* 

Loved it. Definitely worth the hype. 

I see why this is typically part of high school required reading. 

If I had read this during high school I would have definitely been moved.

Jamieson

" Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird."



I think this is arguably one of the most well known and well loved classics ever. And it's not hard to understand why - the characters are memorable, the flow of the story is easy to follow for a classic, the writing is lyrical and poetic without being twenty five metaphors deep like some American novels, and probably most importantly it aims to promote an anti-racism, anti-bigotry message most of us can get behind. but the whole time I was reading this all I could think was it's not the best way to discuss these themes from todays standards. Now there's a lot of essays written about how To Kill a Mockingbird is not as good as people may think and honestly I have to agree. It's filled out with the white saviour complex and characters with white guilt. when you're entire anti-racism story is all about white feeling and characters and barely shows any black people, but when it does the narrative refers to them with derogatory language and slurs and barely gives them ANY characterisation I have to wonder and obviously this book was groundbreaking for the time, and it still is so so popular today - but it is interesting this book by a white writer featuring white characters is lauded as THE anti racism book, even though people like Maya Angelou, James Baldwin and W.E.B. Du Bois were Harper Lee's contemporaries. 

I don't think you can really talk about this book in it's entirety without talking about the representation and race issues and yeah, because I've read book in 2017 about these issues I do think parts of it ring problematic. But since there are also black writers who love this book, so I'm not saying it's bad - I'm just saying calling it THE book with THE BEST exploration of these issues feels hollow to me After all it has so many tropes that ah .... eh. Non-fleshed out black characters, white man deemed a hero because he realised black people are people and a constant centring of white characters in black issues. But don't take it from me, go read some essays by the experts.


  “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”


But regardless of thoughts on those issues, from an entertainment point this book is definitely enjoyable this is one of the most easy to follow classics I've read - partly because of it being so character driven, partly because of it's straight forward and well defined plot, and partly because the telling of it through Scout's eyes really simplified things. 

I think the most memorable aspect of this book for me was the characters. The central characters - Scout, Jem and Atticus were generally interesting to follow, with dynamic characterisation that left me remembering them after the book. The process of growing up for Jem and Scout, as well as the unravelling of the mystery around Attitucs the father was enjoyable to follow and that was really what kept me most invested in the story.

Story wise, the first half was a little difficult for me to get into. I was waiting and waiting for the events to start happening and now I realise it's less about the "trial" which I considered to be the plot and more about Scout and Jem growing up, and seeing the world with more nuance. For me the second half went much faster, especially because of the court room drama (I love court room scenes). But the thing is despite the book being about learning to see in grey, this book still feels quite black and white to me. There are still essentially "good people" and "bad people" and I just think it's much more nuanced then that, especially when discussing things like race, racism and the impact of colonialism & slavery. 


  “Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” 


From a purely entertainment point of view, I definitely liked this book. It had interesting central characters and the plot moved quickly in the second half. I definitely have remembered details of this book after reading it, which shows I enjoyed it. But I don't think I got the enjoyment everyone else did out of this. I read this and kinda closed is thinking .. well is that it ? Thats the book everyone loves so much?
 
And the thing is, in 2017 I think we can accept this book is not perfect in it's representation and it may be time to find something different or better. Not to say it's bad, but come on, this isn't perfect. 

I definitely see why this book is a classic, Lee masterfully utilises the child narrator to explore issues contemporary to her, but ongoing today, and it was a complete game changer. I know it's seen as a sin to rate this book below 5 stars, but I just think can't help thinking it wasn't as good as everyone made it out to be. And honestly after reading a lot of literature on this book for uni I don't think thats such a terrible stance to take. 3.5 stars

Jordan Peet

I read "To Kill a Mocking Bird" in August of 2013. To be honest, I thought I was going to hate this book, only because I did not really have read any classics anymore. But I was completely shocked. I fell in love with Harper Lee's writing style and just the story in general. Because of this book, I've been wanting to read SO MANY classics. If you have not read this yet, READ IT.

Fabio Bracht

Comecei a ler To Kill a Mockingbird primariamente porque achei a capa bonita, confesso. Sabia se tratar de um clássico, mas frequentemente não gosto de clássicos, então isso foi um fator menor do que a bonita capa, mostrando a silhueta de uma criança brincando num balanço feito com um pneu sob uma árvore.

À medida que fui lendo, gostando e me informando, descobri que é um dos romances mais importantes já escritos em língua inglesa, em grande parte pela maneira como toca na questão do racismo dos EUA dos anos 30.

Mais do que único e bem executado, o livro é lindo, tem uma alma linda. Literalmente a alma de uma criança. Não tem como não se apaixonar.

A questão do racismo dos EUA dos 30, porém, não é muito próxima de mim, e o que mais me fez gostar do livro, em vez disso, foi um dos personagens, Atticus Finch. Um homem à frente do seu tempo mesmo se vivesse nos dias de hoje. Assim como seus filhos na história, aprendi algumas boas lições com ele. Dizer quais foram seria correr um risco muito grande de entrar no território dos spoilers, mas basta dizer que, se um dia eu for pai, espero ser um terço do homem que Atticus Finch foi — a despeito do fato de nunca ter vivido fora da ficção.

Na verdade, independente de eu ser pai ou não.

Alyssa Witt

It was so sad, I mean I read it in school and I wasn't really paying attention............

Ne Tirez Pas Sur LOiseau Moqueur  To Kill a Mockingbird                            Le Livre de Poche

Anna

En fait je suis déçue parce que je pensais vraiment que le procès prendrait la place principale de A à Z, et qu’on aurait accès à toutes ses facettes. 
Mais non, c’est le point de vue d’une enfant et donc c’est en premier lieu la façon dont Scout voit les adultes/les choses et surtout les choses qu’elle ne comprends pas.

Claudia Ganea

As much as my reading experience would have been way better if I didn't have to read this for uni and write an essay on it - I couldn't help but love this. I had several gripes with it (my main one is please stop using the n-word even if it's "historically accurate" especially if you're a white author thank you) but the message and the themes are still so relevant today that it aches. We're doing better, but still not good enough. This is definitely one of those books everyone has to read in their lifetime.

Fleur van Ravesteijn 

I didn’t really like it until I had fully finished it. And even now I’m not a fan of the style of writing or the characterisation, but it does take you back to the Alabama of the 1930’s. I had an issue with the way it was written from such a young girl’s perspective (to me it lacked some sort of credibility, I suppose?), but it tells an important story. The character of Atticus is one that will stay with me.

The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.

Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior - to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into forty languages, this regional story by a young Alabama woman claims universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature.
(back cover)

Aboobacker Sidheeq M

Good read.it remembered about the movie 'മഞ്ചാടിക്കുരു' by Anjali Menon. Also, like ' God of Small things '.

Tilde C

I have no words*.

Like... I suspected I would enjoy it. It's considered one of the greatest works of modern literature, and I think the movie is absolutely amazing. My main worry was that if it turned out the movie was very faithful to the book (it was!), the suspense would be marred by knowing the plot.

Knowing the plot from start to finish did not lessen my enjoyment of the book one jot, it turns out. The writing is incredible, breathtaking. So many times I found myself just staring blindly at the page because I'd been subjected to yet another sentence of such exquisite phrasing I had to take a moment and just meditate on it. I enjoyed every single page of this book, I loved inhabiting that world, seeing the universe through Scout's eyes. I cried, I giggled -- sometimes both simultaneously. 

My only admittance of shame is that I could not for the life of me envision Atticus as anybody but Gregory Peck.

*This was a lie, turns out I had several words.

Gabriella

Best book my school has ever made me read! Had me tearing up and really made me sympathize with the characters. Overall an Amazing read! Would recommend this to anyone and everyone.

it is very good. i loved it and was super into it while reading. i love this story and how it’s message can be interpreted in different ways.

Leah Vidal

Por Favor Não Matem a Cotovia

Tiago

Este livro conta, através dos olhos de uma rapariga de 8 anos, a história do julgamento de um homem negro, injustamente acusado de violar uma mulher branca, numa cidade do sul dos Estados Unidos em que o racismo está profundamente enraizado. A visão inocente e despreconceituosa da narradora contrasta profundamente com a da maioria da população, pretendendo fazer o leitor refletir sobre a validade da discriminação observada. Além disso, são apresentadas personagens adultas que se opõem ao racismo e que agem muito timidamente (com uma notável exceção) para iniciar uma mudança no sociedade.
Apesar da intenção louvável da autora, a história passa-se numa época demasiado distante para ser relacionável. A primeira metade do livro, em que apenas são descritas aos brincadeiras e o crescimento das crianças, contribuem para definir o cenário, mas são tão aborrecidas que fazem considerar desistir do livro antes de chegar ao julgamento propriamente dito.
Finalmente, o racismo que a obra pretende expor é um racismo muito explícito (ainda com segregação), que é diferente do racismo mais indireto e encoberto que existe nos dias de hoje, o que diminui a relevância da obra para os nossos dias. Outras formas de discriminação, como o machismo e o desprezo demonstrado para com os (brancos) pobres ao longo da narrativa, contribuem para a desatualização deste romance.

Georgia Carr

The last 1/3 of this book makes it all worth it. Reminds me of Shawshank Redemption, in that it's slow and rambly and then bam, everything comes together. Glad I read it.

Matar a un ruiseñor

Mary Garza

Me gusta muchísimo a pesar que en ciertas partes la sentía lenta. Es una historia muy linda y sencilla pensé que iba a resultar pesada pero está equivocada. 
Scout, Jem y Atticus mis favoritos

Mohammed Moussa

The kind of book that you will never get over... like an unforgettable memory that you visit from time to time, a nostalgic feeling that you can't help but reminisce about and call upon it when ever you want a bit of peace or love... the idea of young Jean (Scout) running around in that summer breeze with Jem and Dill will forever bring happiness to my heart. Atticus can be viewed only as hero standing for humanity rights teaching his kids love and tolerance in a society still clutching of its old broken hateful ways.. it is well written with a great message considering the time the book was published and how till this day can be relevant and how it will continue to be..... "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."Atticus Chapter 10.

Matthew Jackson &
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

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