B.R. of To Kill A Mockingbird

If you have never read To Kill A Mockingbird, I would advise you to stop reading this review immediately, and go and buy yourself a copy.

For any that don’t know what the book is about, I’m going to describe it briefly, because the beauty of the book is that the reader follows the story with the characters. It’s set in the 1930s, when America was hit by the Great Depression, and filled with prejudice. It’s told in the voice of Scout. Being in the voice of a young girl made a story about such brutal prejudice and discrimination different: it was youthful, it was playful, it was innocent, and to see such innocence corrupted by a genuine sense of reality throughout the novel was one of the most worthwhile parts of the book. Scout has an older brother, Jem, and they live with their father, Atticus: Atticus is a lawyer, and possibly one of my favourite characters of all time. I feel like often writers feel their characters need a defining trait, a fatal flaw: but Atticus was just genuinely a good person. He wasn’t a hero, he wasn’t this macho and masculine protagonist that some books seem to need. He was moral, he was good, he was inspirational, just because he was such a good person. His wisdom gave a sense of continuity throughout the novel, and seeing how his words impacted his children, and how subtly in awe they were of his presence was done with a skill I rarely see in fiction. Atticus Finch is wonderful. He viewed the world in a way that didn’t judge people, and this translated perfectly through the pages of the book.

I found this review almost impossible to write. I don’t want to tell you the plot, to list every character, every theme tackled in it: dive straight in, and discover it for yourself.

If you are a human being with emotions, this book will impact you, regardless of age, gender or background. This book makes you FEEL: that’s the best way to describe it. Ultimately, there’s a reason why people still read this book. It’s a reason you won’t understand until you pick up the book, and feel the words speak to you.

Until you see this for yourself, you’ll just have to trust my rating, which I give a solid nine out of ten. It really doesn’t get much better than this one. Until next time guys, peace.

-Ink