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To Kill a Mockingbird
(To Kill a Mockingbird)
by
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 dee ...more
Compassionate, dramatic, and dee ...more
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Paperback, 336 pages
Published
May 23rd 2006
by Harper Perennial Modern Classics
(first published July 11th 1960)
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The Written Review :
If you haven't read this as an adult - pick it up today
I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks.I (along with millions of other kids) first read this in grade-school. And I (along with those millions) didn't really get the point.
I remember ...more

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
To Kill a Mockingbird one of the best-loved stories of all time, is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960.
It was immediately successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature.
The plot and characters are loosely based on Lee's observations of her family, her neighbors and an event that occurred near her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, in 1936, when she was 10 years old.
The story is told by the six-year-old Jean L ...more
To Kill a Mockingbird one of the best-loved stories of all time, is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960.
It was immediately successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature.
The plot and characters are loosely based on Lee's observations of her family, her neighbors and an event that occurred near her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, in 1936, when she was 10 years old.
The story is told by the six-year-old Jean L ...more

Why is it when I pick up To Kill A Mockingbird , I am instantly visited by a sensory memory: I’m walking home, leaves litter the ground, crunching under my feet. I smell the smoke of fireplaces and think about hot cider and the wind catches and my breath is taken from me and I bundle my coat tighter against me and lift my head to the sky, no clouds, just a stunning blue that hurts my eyes, another deep breath and I have this feeling that all is okay.
Why? Why this memory? I mean, this takes pla ...more
Why? Why this memory? I mean, this takes pla ...more

/// gentle reminder that this is not the time to read this book ///
This is my first re-read of 2017, and I don't regret it one bit. When I first read this book three years ago, I really liked it. Sadly, I didn't write my thoughts down in an elaborate way back in the day, but I know for sure, that I didn't read critically then. Upon my re-read of this book, I honestly don't have good things to say. I am aware that some of my criticism is not a critique of the book itself, but about its perception ...more
This is my first re-read of 2017, and I don't regret it one bit. When I first read this book three years ago, I really liked it. Sadly, I didn't write my thoughts down in an elaborate way back in the day, but I know for sure, that I didn't read critically then. Upon my re-read of this book, I honestly don't have good things to say. I am aware that some of my criticism is not a critique of the book itself, but about its perception ...more

With endless books and infinitely more to be written in the future, it is rare occasion that I take the time to reread a novel. As women’s history month is upon us (2019), I have kept revising my monthly lineup to feature books by remarkable women across the spectrum. Yet, none of these nonfiction books pay homage to the writers of the books themselves. Even with memoirs, the prose focuses on the author’s achievements in her chosen field. Last week a goodreads friend and I paid tribute to women
...more

So... I don't really know what to say.
I think I loved this book, but for a reason beyond my understanding, it never hooked me, and it took me AGES to finish it! Some chapters (especially at the beginning) were tedious and hard for me to get through them... but then there were some chapters that I devoured (the whole Tom Robinson trial and the last ones).
I definitely learned a lesson or two from this book. Atticus is my new role model, he is really incredible. I also love Scout and Jem, those kid ...more
I think I loved this book, but for a reason beyond my understanding, it never hooked me, and it took me AGES to finish it! Some chapters (especially at the beginning) were tedious and hard for me to get through them... but then there were some chapters that I devoured (the whole Tom Robinson trial and the last ones).
I definitely learned a lesson or two from this book. Atticus is my new role model, he is really incredible. I also love Scout and Jem, those kid ...more

Life gives you a few things that you can count on. Death (for all), taxes (for most), and the unwavering moral character of Atticus Finch (for me). "What would Atticus do?" is not just a meme; for eleven-year-old me it became a real consideration after I feigned an illness to cut school and stay home to finish To Kill a Mockingbird — while a decidedly non-Atticus-like move, choosing Harper Lee's book over sixth grade math was probably a wiser life choice.
For my thoughts on the...moreshameless money gr

Even in the evil times when John Crow ruled the South and the Blacks were scarcely more free than in times of slavery and were allowed no civic power nor respect from their erswhile masters who were White, good men did their best.
As regards this book, the last phrase is a lie.
Atticus, a lawyer and good and caring father, a moral man, represented a Black man accused of raping a White woman. He lost, but he'd done his best.
That last paragraph is a lie.
Atticus belonged to the KKK, thought that Bla ...more
As regards this book, the last phrase is a lie.
Atticus, a lawyer and good and caring father, a moral man, represented a Black man accused of raping a White woman. He lost, but he'd done his best.
That last paragraph is a lie.
Atticus belonged to the KKK, thought that Bla ...more

While the plot was very gripping and well-written, the book didn't actually instruct me on how to kill a mockingbird. I bought this book intending to do away with this obnoxious bird that's always sitting in my backyard and making distracting noises. I had hoped this book would shed some light on how to humanely dispose of the bird, but unfortunately it was this story about a lawyer and a falsely-accused criminal. As I said, the plot is great but nowhere in the book does it say exactly how to ki
...more

“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.”(p. 20)
I love this book and this idea of reading being like breathing. As Scout did, I read early too, and often. Every night before bed I would read and still do. I saw a Twilight Zone Episode once where the main character loved to read and only wanted to be left alone to do so. After falling asleep in the vault of the bank where he worked, he awoke to a post-disaster world where only he was left. He busily gat ...more
I love this book and this idea of reading being like breathing. As Scout did, I read early too, and often. Every night before bed I would read and still do. I saw a Twilight Zone Episode once where the main character loved to read and only wanted to be left alone to do so. After falling asleep in the vault of the bank where he worked, he awoke to a post-disaster world where only he was left. He busily gat ...more

A short, important, and powerful classic that deserved all its fame.
This will be a short review, there’s nothing else I can talk about here that hasn’t been discussed for the past 50 years and more.
Racism, prejudice, rape, false accusation of rape, all of these are abhorrent and really should have never existed in the first place within our world and society. However, it does. I find it insanely sad that even though this book was published more than 50 years ago, has also been used as an educati ...more
This will be a short review, there’s nothing else I can talk about here that hasn’t been discussed for the past 50 years and more.
Racism, prejudice, rape, false accusation of rape, all of these are abhorrent and really should have never existed in the first place within our world and society. However, it does. I find it insanely sad that even though this book was published more than 50 years ago, has also been used as an educati ...more

First of all, let's forget it's a 'classic' that we all 'must' read for the sake of reading a classic.
Second of all, let's have no inhuman high expectations from this book.
Third of all, it's enough to know that this has been written from the perspective of a six year old girl.
And that's how we should pick up this one and go for it like we are picking up a newly released book and seriously that's the way it should be for everyone I would like to say...like again!
I won't go into details regarding ...more
Second of all, let's have no inhuman high expectations from this book.
Third of all, it's enough to know that this has been written from the perspective of a six year old girl.
And that's how we should pick up this one and go for it like we are picking up a newly released book and seriously that's the way it should be for everyone I would like to say...like again!
I won't go into details regarding ...more

I’m not going to do my usual thing where I’d try to explain what I liked about this book. Normally, I would try to convince you why you should read it. I would speak about how important this book is and what message it could impart to its readers around the world. I would even say how it affected me personally. Today I’m not going to do that.
Instead, I will simply say that I loved this book. I loved its characters. I loved its plot. And I loved the eloquent way in which Harper Lee wrote it. It ...more
Instead, I will simply say that I loved this book. I loved its characters. I loved its plot. And I loved the eloquent way in which Harper Lee wrote it. It ...more


This is one of the most widely read books in the twentieth century. As most of us might have read this novel in high school, many emotions, including nostalgia, will come to our mind when we hear about the story of Maycomb and its denizens. This novel, set during the Great Depression, discusses a lot of vital topics like racism and sexual assault.

Atticus Finch is not just a hero for Scout, Jem, and the lawyers, but he is considered the hero of a whole generation. If you are someone who ...more

Alabama in U.S.A., 1935 during the crippling bleak, Great Depression, Atticus Finch a widower, struggling lawyer and ultimate believer in justice for everybody, (a gentleman, if ever there was one) is raising two small children Scout, (Jean Louise) and Jem, (Jeremy) a typical American boy, he likes to have fun in the fictitious mostly quiet , small southern town of Maycomb. The siblings are unusually close, the father is absent often being a politician in the legislature, in Montgomery, the stat
...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

English (To Kill a Mockingbird) / Italiano
«When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow»
Alabama. Early 1930s. The Great Depression. Maycomb, an imaginary town. Tom Robinson (black), falsely accused rapist. Atticus (white), lawyer instructed to represent him. Scout and Jem (white), sons of Atticus. Dill (white), friend of Jem and Scout. Calpurnia (black), maid from Atticus house. Arthur "Boo" Radley (white), mysterious neighbour. Mayella Ewell (white), victim
...more
Dec 05, 2007
Denise
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Recommended to Denise by:
Bookgroup
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

Mar 08, 2013
Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
coming-of-age,
made-me-think,
i-own,
favorites,
classics,
historical-fiction,
literary-stuff,
bingo-2016

What begins as, apparently, just an affectionate and humorous episodic tale of life in an Alabama town in the 1930s, and the personalities and quirks of the people who live there, gradually evolves into an amazing and powerful read, as a young girl called Scout becomes aware of her lawyer father's representation of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman, and the town's general attitude about that, which spills over into their treatment of Scout and her brother.

From an attorne ...more

Mar 03, 2019
Annemarie
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-in-english,
all-time-favs
Gosh, this is one of my new all time favorite books! It's just a shame that I will never be able to fully express how and why it affected me as much as it did. But I can try my best to at least write a few words to let you know what things I enjoyed (spoiler: I enjoyed every single word).
This story deals with the very important and sensitive topic of racism and is told from the point of five of a little girl. I had my doubts if this combination would work out. But somehow, Harper Lee was able to ...more
This story deals with the very important and sensitive topic of racism and is told from the point of five of a little girl. I had my doubts if this combination would work out. But somehow, Harper Lee was able to ...more

I can't quite remember how many times I have read this Pulitzer prize winning, coming of age, Southern American classic novel, I first read this most loved of books at school and I think this is the fifth of my readings in these most anxious of times. The novel spawned the unforgettable award winning film starring Gregory Peck playing the unforgettable role of the most iconic lawyer of all time, the compassionate Atticus Finch. I think there cannot be many who are unaware of this timeless, emoti
...more

The first time I read this I was much , much younger and I remember loving it then . Over forty five years later, it still held so much for me - wonderful language and characters that I never forgot about and relevancy even so many years later .
I'm not sure I have an original thought or feeling that someone else hasn't already articulated. So I will only say that for me the beauty of this book lies in how Lee has so perfectly captured the time in the 1930's and the place Maycomb and the life in ...more
I'm not sure I have an original thought or feeling that someone else hasn't already articulated. So I will only say that for me the beauty of this book lies in how Lee has so perfectly captured the time in the 1930's and the place Maycomb and the life in ...more

This is on a short list with Moby-Dick; or, The Whale and The Old Man and the Sea for the great American novel.
And this one stands apart as a novel that is also a celebration of courage, integrity, and dignity.
If ever there is a lawyer who, at least once, didn’t admire and want to be like Atticus, then there’s something deeply wrong with that lawyer.
The scene where the courtroom is empty and Atticus is gathering his notes and files and the black folks in the upper room are waiting and then as ...more
And this one stands apart as a novel that is also a celebration of courage, integrity, and dignity.
If ever there is a lawyer who, at least once, didn’t admire and want to be like Atticus, then there’s something deeply wrong with that lawyer.
The scene where the courtroom is empty and Atticus is gathering his notes and files and the black folks in the upper room are waiting and then as ...more

Giving one of the most acclaimed books of all time a 5 makes me feel all lovey-dovey. There was a time when I didn't agree with most of the established literature. But now that I've read TKaM, that issue has partially been addressed.
I approached reading this book with wariness and some pessimism, and also with low expectations. The year it got its Pulitzer was a decade or two since the War. The likes of Herman Wouk (one of my favorite authors) were no longer on the scene.
This was a sensitive top ...more
I approached reading this book with wariness and some pessimism, and also with low expectations. The year it got its Pulitzer was a decade or two since the War. The likes of Herman Wouk (one of my favorite authors) were no longer on the scene.
This was a sensitive top ...more

Alabama year 30, in total depression, Atticus Finch, a lawyer in the small town of Maycomb, raises his two children with Calpurnia, the cook.
At the story's beginning, Jem, the eldest at 13 years old, reveres his father; he is protective and curious.
In short, an easy-going child, Scout, the youngest aged 9, failed, sort of Tom Sawyer with his tongue hanging out to the dismay of his aunt Alexandra.
In the company of Dill the Scout lover, that's the holidays they go hunting for ghosts and legends, t ...more
At the story's beginning, Jem, the eldest at 13 years old, reveres his father; he is protective and curious.
In short, an easy-going child, Scout, the youngest aged 9, failed, sort of Tom Sawyer with his tongue hanging out to the dismay of his aunt Alexandra.
In the company of Dill the Scout lover, that's the holidays they go hunting for ghosts and legends, t ...more

A wonderful piece of literature, great characters, plot and prose. There is sadness and happiness, racism and equality, immaturity and maturity, injustice and redemption.
Atticus is a man we could all love and look up to a grounded just and fair man he sees beyond race and finds the goodness in people. His cook Calpurnia Is honest good black lady who you just gotta love in this story, she works for a nice family who are about to go through some obstacles and testing times.
A lot of the story is t ...more

Thus it becomes crystal clear why this classic is a must for kids. Surely it stands on an even shelf with the Harry Potter series (take in mind: its a Millennial writing this review); it's ripe with conventions that can be cracked open in the classroom, where the love for literature begins for most American children. The emblematic character of Atticus Finch is a great figure--mysterious, righteous, progressive...completely just and good. Intelligent. As is Scout, the precocious girl who filters
...more

Oct 23, 2014
Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
paperback-own,
own


I loved the movie and of course the book as well. My favorite is Scout, she is just one cool little kid. Scout and Jem's friend Dill is a hoot!
I really hated what happened to Tom in this book, but that is the way of nasty men and people in this world. I'm glad Mr. Ewell got what was coming to him.


I love Calpurnia and all of the ladies on the street. The stories of the kids and Boo Radley was great, but I liked in the movie better when they finally got to meet him. It seems like there was more ...more

What can I say about this amazing book that hasn’t already been said? I think The Guardian said it best– 'To Kill a Mockingbird will never stop being a good book, and it will never stop inspiring good people'
The story is told from the point of view of Scout (Jean-Louise Finch), a six year old girl, through various events that happen in the town of Maycomb and in particular, the court case of Tom Robinson as her father Atticus Finch acts as Tom’s defence lawyer. Tom, a black man who has been accu ...more
The story is told from the point of view of Scout (Jean-Louise Finch), a six year old girl, through various events that happen in the town of Maycomb and in particular, the court case of Tom Robinson as her father Atticus Finch acts as Tom’s defence lawyer. Tom, a black man who has been accu ...more
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Harper Lee, known as Nelle, was born in the Alabama town of Monroeville, the youngest of four children of Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee. Her father, a former newspaper editor and proprietor, was a lawyer who served on the state legislature from 1926 to 1938. As a child, Lee was a tomboy and a precocious reader, and enjoyed the friendship of her schoolmate and neighbor, the you
...more
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“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.”
—
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“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.”
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