(Book review)

“People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for.”

‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is a famous American novel written by Harper Lee in 1960. It became popular right away and got the author the Pulitzer Prize. Now it is considered to be an American classic novel that everybody should read at least once in their life.

‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ tells us a story about a conventional family of Finches, who live in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. Scout and Jem are usual children, whose father is a lawyer and is known for signing himself on difficult cases. You may ask now: so what? What makes this novel so good? The author uses town, its citizens and Finch family to talk about inequity, racism, rape and its overall perception by kids. She shows us that people are not always as good or as bad as we realize.

“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.”

I really enjoyed reading it. Even though I was miffed by some actions and by some situations, I realized that was the thing Harper Lee wanted me to feel – the sense of injustice. I loved observing the adventures of Scout, Jem and their friend Dill. They were captivating. I even was a bit jealous of them because I didn`t have such active childhood.

The description of side characters was also one of the well-written parts of the book. However, to me, the best parts of the book were chapters where Atticus Finch was trying to prove that his client was innocent. That were the moments I couldn’t put the book aside.

“Our courts have our faults, as does any human institution, but in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal.”

Although I was delighted while reading the book, there is one thing I felt a lack of – an action. There were chapters where I was always checking the number of pages left to its end. I would like to experience more thrill but maybe that`s just my inner detective lover talking.

So, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is a sledgehammer novel about life in America in the 1930s. You should definitely read it if you want to dive it the American culture and get to know more about the society in those years. And remember “Things are always better in the morning.”

I give it 8/10.