By: Harper Lee
Genre: Fiction
Stars: 3 out of 5
In a quiet Southern town during the 1930s, a child learns about the adult mentality of the time and how it can rock an entire population. Jean Louise Finch – Scout – and her brother Jeremy Finch – Jem – are the children of Maycomb County’s lawyer Atticus Finch. They live like any normal child of the town, running around chatting with the neighbors, terrorizing the mysterious Boo Radley, and hanging out with their summer friend Dill. It’s not until their father takes on a case that their world gets rocked upside down. All of a sudden adults and children are calling their father a “Negro-lover” and disapprove of their hanging around the black folks. It isn’t until the trail of Tom Robinson, a black man who is falsely accused of attacking a white woman, that Scout and Jem truly understand the nature of their world.
Normally a classic read in middle school or high school, I never had to partake in the reading of this novel. This summer I decided it was time to start reading classics that I never had to read in school and so I began with Harper Lee’s infamous piece of literature. Honestly, I am glad I never read it when I was younger because I do not think I would have had the patience to finish it. You have to read until the very end to truly understand the premise of the story and so it was boring up to a certain point. Although the writing style and language is excellent and done extremely well, I just did not find this book that timeless for me. So kids that have to read this, I am so sorry. If I could barely get through it being 23, I can’t even image how it is for you.
It's not so bad, since usually you have to read it to complete papers, tests, assignments, etc. The language is rather dry, but that is possibly due to the time period in which the book was written. The novel carries a dark but important message, which is the reason why most people need to read it in school at some point, but I think it's pretty great that you took the initiative to read it on your own, and that you stuck with it even when it got boring. You don't have to like it as long as you understand the message! ^_^ Thanks for another great review.
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