To Kill a Mockingbird
Ratings2,080
Average rating4.2
I first read this book when I was 14 and had very fond memories of it. I decided it was time for a re-read and discovered that I remembered only a fraction of it. So it felt like I was reading it for the first time. I loved it all over again. Thank you Harper Lee for a true timeless classic.
I had no idea what the story was about before reading, just that it was a classic book.
It certainly not the story I expected, especially considering the actually meat of the story doesn't start until halfway through.
I guess it's a good book. I mean, technically it is, yes and it's a good story - Good in the sense of the message it portrays.
Like literally every other child in the United States (maybe elsewhere?), I had to read this for school and I don't think I really appreciated it or understood a lot of what was going on behind the scenes when I did so. I remember liking the book a lot when I read it, but before revisiting it I'm not sure I could point to exactly why that was. I read the chapters, checked the boxes, took the quiz, and apparently walked away with a memory of really enjoying the book.
I'm incredibly glad I revisited it as an adult, because there was just so much I didn't pick up on as a kid, I'm sure. I really appreciated reading about the complex racial issues here through the literal eyes of a child, especially as we got to follow them growing up in years and in maturity. I liked that the writing was simultaneously easy to follow and also hiding a lot between the lines and left unsaid.I'm glad I revisited this as an adult with my book club, and would be open to tackling other notable books I read for school in order to give them a fair shake. Except for Ethan Frome, I won't go back to that one willingly.
I can't believe I didn't read this when I was a kid. I've only read it now because my county chose it for our “Big Read” this year and I thought it was about time. It's a fine book, with a great structure, but a heavy-handed lesson. Which makes it a good book for teenagers, important even, but not great art.
Publicado originalmente: El Extraño Gato del CuentoLo curioso de esta lectura es que me pase un gran tiempo buscando “To Kill a Mockingjay”, la influencia del Presidente me está haciendo mal, y no ayudó nada todos los fanarts ¬¬ No sé si soy la única pero le tengo un tremendo terror a los clásicos, supongo que tiene que ver con que a mí me pidieron leer clásicos en el colegio y no era ese el momento adecuado para mí leerlo. Además que cuando a mí me obligan a hacer algo que no quiero, ese algo no tiene buen futuro en mi aprecio xDNo me arrepiento no haberlo leído antes porque creo que si lo hubiera hecho muchos años atrás no hubiera podido apreciar este libro como lo hice ahora. Es de esos libros de los cuales necesitas experiencia para poder identificarte o conmoverte con los personajes. Estoy casi segura que si me hubieras dado este libro en la secundaria lo hubiera odiado a muerte, porque así era yo, bastante fastidiosa. Ahora que estoy más grande (en realidad mayor, porque no crecí nada), la ternura y inocencia de este libro me ha dejado encantada.Gracias a la perfecta narración de Scout, no recuerdo nunca haber querido tanto tener la necesidad de abrazar hasta ahogar a alguien, los personajes secundarios y principales son extremadamente adorables. Hace un tiempo cuando en el página de facebook hicieron un comentario sobre el libro “Querido Atticus”, no lo había entendido porque en ese momento no había leído Matar a un Ruiseñor, ahora sí y sí, el personaje de Atticus es del tipo por el que temes en todo el libro, sobre todo nosotros que ya nos estamos acostumbrando a que los escritores sean sanguinarios.Twitter Blog Pinterest Tumblr Instagram
Remember reading it for high school and really liking it. Wanted to see if it held up and it did.
Fantastic and sad. Easy to see why it's a classic and I regret that it took me so long to read it. It wasn't part of my high school reading, and it's been on my to-read list for years; it was bumped up in my priority list when a friend posted Jem's brief exchange with Atticus after the trial, on Facebook in the wake of the Ferguson situation. So glad I picked it up.
This is the kind of book you should read as a teenager, and then later on in life. Up here in Québec, this book rarely appears on mandatory or recommended reading in school, so I did not get to it for a really looooong time. I saw the movie in my late twenties, and kept telling myself I should read the book. I finally got to it, right in the middle of the noise around its “sequel” (which I have no intention of reading)...
I enjoyed reading Scout's voice and perception of the world around her and all that adults say or don't say around kids. Now I have to put this book in my daughters' hands (one is 22 the other 17) to be able to discuss it with them :)
Managed to force myself into reading over 300 pages of the medium-to-large-sized font of this edition (of this prose, heh), after which I found myself sleeping within mere minutes (or, perhaps, seconds, as the haziness of my memories was surely amplified during those moments, and I'm sure such has occurred in numerous instances). Not much is remembered except that I found most characters boring. Seriously, I couldn't care less about heroes like Atticus or whatever other dust was left with the Black characters in the story. Typically I found myself in monochrome imagination, although I doubt the reader cares much about my laments on my lack of scope; but this was one of my first text-dependent, bona fide novel (not for school, to any non-Filipinos reading this who are wondering about my education); so perhaps a revisit would provide me more significant detail. Or I could watch the movie adaptation.
Read and reviewed: Aug 17, 2021
Chapter 1-2: The story intrigued me from the very first page, as I wanted to know what was the cause of the elbow incident, and who had been part of it. I love how vivid her descriptions of the town are, and how easy it is to visualize each street already. Wow, that teacher has such an inferiority complex and really loves asserting her power over ‘weaker' people than her! Also, I only realized at the end of chapter 3 that the narrator was a girl! So impressive that she learned to read and write mostly on her own!
Final thoughts after finishing the book: I loved it so so much! 5 stars! One of the best reads of the year. I couldn't find anything to change, this book is just excellent. It's interesting how her draft for this book was so different from the final version. (this is the synopsis for the sequel, and a spoiler if you intend to read it blindly): with Scout as an adult coming back to her home town and trying to reconcile with her father who is actually a racist in this version. But to come back to To Kill a Mockingbird, I don't even know what to say! It's always easier for me to write pages and pages for the books I disliked, than for the books I liked. The book had a good moral at the end, that most people are nice, and you need to take the time to get to know them.Somehow, I thought that the character of Dill would be more explored, as he somehow disappeared from the last part of the book, but it still makes sense. It was good to keep the final events enclosed in themselves. Scout, Jem, Atticus and Boo, I am going to remember these characters for a long time. I wonder if there is a slight chance that Jem or Boo killed Bob Ewell...
Whenever I read classics and actually think they deserve their accolades, I am surprised. “The people! They chose correctly this time!”. Anyways, I'm sixty years late to this party but I think Harper Lee has a future in this business.
I don't remember much about what happened in this book but it does remind me of a very distinctive time of my life that I perhaps don't want to ever live again
This is a really good book. I read it this summer and now I'm reading it for English. It's one of those books where every time you read it you just get more out of it. Everyone should read this book
I am in such deep regret for not being able to read this (as well as The Giver) way back in high school. I remember seeing a film adaptation of this way back when I was still a child, but I don't remember a single detail about it's story. It was all a blur. People kept raving about this book (including USA President Barack Obama) even after it was first published way back in 1960.
Harper Lee has written not just a magnificent story, she also created characters ever put into paper: Atticus, Jem, and Scout Finch, Boo Radley, Dill, the Ewells, Tim Robinson, etc. You will get attached to them in a heartbeat.
This book may be about the court trial of Tim Robinson as it's potential climax, but there is more than that as the story progresses. I really love how they tackled issues about racism and diversity. That everyone should be treated equal despite one's color, race, and nationality. It also talks about the flaws of humanity, and how it's slowly deteriorating.
I recommend this to everyone, young or old. It's just that brilliant and will leave a mark in your heart. You won't easily forget how amazing this book is.
read the graphic novel kinda version pretty fun book just would rather not read it again or something like that something veers me away from this book
The saddest part of any re-reading of this story is that it continues to be relevant today.
I finally got around to reading this classic novel!! I had to read it for school, that's why it took so long. It was really great. I almost cried because it was really beautiful. I have never felt this way about a book, like it wasn't just good, it was heartfelt and old so it smelled good and was written different from what I'm used to, like back-in-the-60's style. I love, love, loved To Kill a Mockingbird and I'm so happy. It really was great.
Atticus Finch is my kind of human being! What an admirable character! I've read this book several times and I have never been disappointed.