I’m going to
let you all in on a little secret.
Growing up… I hated reading books.
There, I said it! *shock* *gasp*.
Then – yes, I know, it’s a little cliché – I read the first Twilight
book because others at my work were.
Then the one after that, and after that, until I had read all four. I was amazed that I actually enjoyed
reading. This was uncharted territory for
me. Next thing I knew, my mom handed me
another book by an author she liked, Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, and I was hooked
for life. That means that there were
numerous books in school that I only skimmed through or never even read. This was one of those books.
BOOK
DESCRIPTION
Did you know
that there is not a published synopsis anywhere for this book that I can find? This is what I found.
"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."
Not so much
a summary, so here’s my go at it…
Reflecting
on a time span of three years, this book centers on the life of a young girl
named Jean Louise Finch, or as mostly everyone called her, Scout. Between her and her older brother Jem, their
imaginations stretch on forever. That
same imagination gave them much entertainment, but also got them into a few
binds as well.
Life in the
South in the 1930’s was simpler, slower paced, but the fear of the unknown
could make people do crazy things. Whether
it be peering in windows at night to catch a glimpse of a recluse neighbor, or
trying a black man in court with no evidence for presumably raping a young
white girl. Prejudices run deep, and
while Scout keenly observes everything happening around her, with an open mind
and being full of questions, she tries to understand the many different
opinions of people around her.
MY REVIEW
2.5 out of 5
*Stars*
“Shoot all
the bluejays you want, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” –
Atticus Finch
Ok, here’s
the test. How many loyal fans and
followers am I going to lose after this review?
I did NOT like this book. It took
me months to read it, and finally the threat of library late fees made me
finish it. If it wasn’t for this
challenge, I probably wouldn’t have, but I refuse to use a DNF for the
challenge. There’s a catch. This book… There’s something about this
book. I started reading it, hated it,
and thought I would be giving it a 1 star.
Then, as it progressed, I moved more to dislike the book rather than “hate”
it, so I was going to give it 2 stars. Then there was the ending that was somewhat appealing. Appealing enough to bump it up to 2.5
stars. Who knows, after I dwell on the
book for a year, I might bump it up to a 4.
Yeah… That’s more than likely not going to happen.
The reader
spends countless pages going through the motions of everyday life. It takes us through the children’s school
days, evenings, and even summers when their best friend Dill comes to
visit. They have a fascination with
their next door neighbor that never comes out and the majority of the book is
focused on fueling their imaginations.
Then comes the trial, and the book turns a tad bit more interesting and
starts to build up hope where there is an almost impossibility to have any. This book shows the importance of treating
innocent people with kindness, kind of like the importance not to harm a
mockingbird that does nothing but “sing their hearts out for us”. Are things clicking together for you yet?
Another
thing… Who is Atticus, really? An alien?
Is he on drugs to keep him so calm and mellow all the time? I understand it’s the south and back then
life was slower and more relaxed, but COME ON!
Show me that you’re not a drone!
Nothing bothered him, and if it did, he hardly showed anything. I understand chaos brings chaos and he was
trying to instill peace so his children would become level headed people, but
when push comes to shove, you are a single parent. You are allowed to get mad and show it once
in a while. Finally! Finally, at page 152 Atticus loses his cool…
almost. He “nearly” slammed a door! Wow, I was in shock. <This is me rolling
my eyes.>
I know this
book has a powerful and important meaning that everyone should understand. People are afraid of what they don’t know, and
we should all do our best to be kind to the people that deserve it the most. I get it, and understand the message, but the
book was so boring that it was hard for me to finish. I was waiting for a big climax. <Get your
head out of the gutter.lol> Finally, at the end there was something small,
but not enough for me to get excited about reading the book. I hated that when I had a chance to read, I
didn’t WANT to pick up the book. Ever
since I started reading books for fun, that had never happened, and I didn’t
like it.
Here’s what
I didn’t hate about the book.
The
message. I see why they have kids read
this in schools. The whole concept of
learning from our past mistakes, and all…
Prejudice is shitty. Pardon my
language, but IT IS. What Tom, the black
man on trial for rape, had to go through was horrible, and the reader got to
see it all from the point of view of a child.
The wise Atticus said it all when he claimed he wasn’t going to win
defending Tom,
“Simply because
we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try
to win.”
That statement, to me, was so
sad. It was as if there was no hope, and
it is gut wrenching to know that there wasn’t back then.
Dill got
sick from the mistreatment of a colored person, and then a man, Mr. Raymond,
says something, and another reality check slams into you.
“Let him get
a little older and he won’t get sick and cry.
Maybe things will strike him as being- not quite right, say, but he won’t
cry, not when he gets a few years on him.”
It’s basically saying, “Oh, he’ll get used to “the simple hell people
give other people – without thinking, about the hell white people give colored
folks, without even stopping to think that they’re people too.”” What makes it so sad, is that it is
completely true, then and sometimes now.
Here’s the
tricky part. How do I recommend a book
that was so hard for me to get through?
What’s that even say about me, that I disliked a Pulitzer Prize winning
books that teachers have students read all over the country? I’m not sure on that one. This is what I’m going to do… I can’t tell you to go out and read the book,
but I can tell you that there is no harm in giving it a try. I have talked to many people that enjoyed the
book, so that just might be you as well.
Remember, I am only 1 opinion out of many. Even though I like to think that I am right
the majority of the time. ;-)
13 book
books down, 39 to go!!
Happy
Reading, Everyone!!
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