To Kill A Mockingbird- Harper Lee

1ST PUBLISHED: 1960. This book was instantly successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature. The plot and characters are loosely based on the author's observations of her family and neighbors, as well as on an event that occurred near her hometown in 1936, when she was 10 years old.

ISBN: 0-09-941978-5

GENRE: Literary Fiction/ Modern Classic

SYNOPSIS:

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

A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of this enchanting classic- a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humor the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the thirties. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is picked by the stamina of one man's struggle of justice. But the weight of history will only tolerate so much...

EXCERPTS:

#Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.

# "It's not necessary to tell all you know. It's not lady-like; in the second place, folks don't like to have somebody around knowing more than they do. It aggravates 'em. 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 nothin' you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language."

ARPITA SPEAKS:

To Kill A Mockingbird is one of those books that leave a lifelong impression. Set in the fictional town of Maycomb, this novel has two plots that go together. Little Scout and Jem, her elder brother, live with their widowed father Atticus, a well respected and able lawyer.

However, when Atticus decides to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, accused of raping a white woman (the daughter of a social outcast, Bob Ewell) the children have to face a lot of abuse and accusations from their prejudiced friends and neighbors, something they'd so far been unaccustomed to. A heart-stopping courtroom drama follows that has just as awful an impact on the reader as the young protagonist.

While this aspect of the story is undoubtedly disturbing, the episodes revolving around Boo Radley are fascinating, and ultimately heart warming. Arthur Radley, nicknamed 'Boo', is a man who has lived in the spooky house down the lane for as long as anyone can remember- and hasn't stepped out in years. Naturally, a number of rumors erupt, adding fuel to the children's imagination.

One summer, when their friend Dill, who is new in town, persuades Jem and Scout to try and make Boo come out of the house so that they can see him for real, they find themselves drawn into an unimaginable adventure that changes their lives forever. This is a remarkable story about seeking humanity in human beings...despite the violence and prejudice that is so deep rooted in society.

RATING: 5/5

PRICE: Rs.378/- (Flipkart)

NUMBER OF PAGES: 309