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And man, it was good. Still on a wee bit of a high from it. I've been raiding the family bookshelves lately, and after being disappointed with Hemingway, I uncovered Harper Lee.
I'd just finished Chaim Potok's The Chosen and frankly, I was astounded. More than anything, I didn't want to grab the next on the stack of new books I'd bought (Fight Club) simply because the dark cynicism would kill the pure beauty I was left with after Potok.
So I pulled out the slim little novel about the South, circa 1935. I'd seen the movie, of course. And so I spent the weekend by the pool reading through it at Godspeed.
First off, I love the writing style. I love how things are described, the sheer beautiful imagery of it. It's far better than the movie, and that's saying a lot--the movie was a gem and a marvel in itself. Scout's voice, and her slowly evolving character and style as she matures and comes of age, is so subtle it's simply absorbed.
Atticus Finch is probably one of my favorite characters from fiction. Wise, righteous, strong--and yet surprisingly human. The court case and the repercussion on Atticus himself are powerful and his closing monologue during the trial is astounding.
At points it seems like, in reviewing this book, I'll simply be looking up synonyms for excellent and typing them in. Live with it.
Boo Radley is a difficult character. With a modern eye, it's still difficult not to see him as, well, sorta creepy and pedophilic. I wonder whether to interpet his relationship with Scout and Jem more as a father-children relationship or as a fond but distant older brother.
And I think I've been reading too much Harry Potter. When I got to the bits of Robert E. Lee Ewell and how I treated his daughter after he catches her, well, I couldn't help thinking "Marvolo and Merope and Riddle, Marvolo and Merope and Riddle". Honestly, a dozen reading of Half-Blood Prince may have been too much.
Posts: 1735 | Registered: Oct 2004
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Dude, that's awesome. I cannot imagine a more wonderful idea than reading The Chosen for the first time right before reading To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time. I wish I had just done that--two of my favorite books in all the world. They're both so amazingly well-written and moving and--yeah, I could go on for ages.
Jen (who has a bracelet that says WWAD for What Would Atticus Do)
Posts: 910 | Registered: May 2000
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I didn't care too much for To Kill a Mockingbird, but then I had to read it for school which takes about all of the fun out of reading.
Posts: 1960 | Registered: May 2005
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Awesome books. Try reading the rest of the Potok opus, too. Start with "The Promise".
And I think Boo Radley is creepy weird with modern eyes and with Depression-era eyes. But the poor guy can't help it; he was written that way.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Actually, I had to read TKAM for High School English - it was the first assigned text I had in High School, and I asumed, because it was a "Classic" that it would be boring. I went into the text fully expecting to be bored out of my mind.
I loved every page of it.
Posts: 2689 | Registered: Apr 2000
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pfresh, the trick to reading books for school is to read the whole thing when you first get it. Don't worry about copying out vocabulary words, or stating the main idea of the paragraph, or underlining every intransitive verb, or whatever else they do to ruin the book for you. Just treat it like pleasure reading.
Then, as teacher assigns "Chapters 3 and 4 by Friday -- and there WILL be a quiz", skim those chapters to refresh your memory so that you will do well on the quiz. But don't let them kill great literature for you.
Don't let the man get you down.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Same as Taalcon, but I'd already seen the movie, so expected it could possibly be better, because books are.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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I try reading the books as pleasure reading, but then I don't retain enough for quizzes/tests/papers. So most times I have to try and pay special attention on stuff in the books, which makes reading less fun. On top of that, I'm not a big fan of regular fiction (I mostly read science fiction and fantasy for pleasure), so I just don't enjoy it to start with. *shrugs* Different things for different people.
EDIT: I've also only rarely had a teacher say "Read chapter 3 and 4" or anything similar. Most of my teachers have handed us books and said "Have it read by next week."
Posts: 1960 | Registered: May 2005
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That's how I always did it Tante, but once I ended up finishing the Giver, and had to read the alternate book for kids who'd read it in elementary school.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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Does anybody else find a spoiler warning for To Kill A Mockingbird somewhat. . . surreal?
Kinda like posting an Ender's Game thread with a spoiler warning. Sure, there may be one or two people on the forum who haven't read it, but the vast majority of us have.
Posts: 1357 | Registered: Mar 2002
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No tante, it wasn't Gathering Blue, actually I think this was before it was published. I forget what book it was, not by Lois Lowry, but of similar style,
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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A delightful little movie I have enjoyed watching.
I've been meaning to pick up the book, I've really only heard good things on it. The next time I need a mini 'readathon' I'll be sure to read it.
Edit: With the movie, expect much randomness, quite a few explosions, and an interesting sense of humor. It does not stay loyal to the book.
Posts: 1831 | Registered: Jan 2003
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