Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Just a Mockingbird

 This week we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird.  It is one of the few books that I consider to be perfect.  Sad, but perfect. The 6-year-old main character, Scout was the first fully-realized tomboy I'd met in literature.  She didn't want an add-a-pearl necklace, she wanted to climb a tree.  She was smart. But still a child, whose magical thinking accepted the presents in the tree hollow as a natural occurrence. She is amazing as is her brother Jem.  Amazing real.  After achieving such perfection, Harper Lee continued to write but produced no other novel.  So she settled down living in New York and with her lawyer sister Alice Lee in Monroe Alabama, where she grew up.  Read the novel. See the movie.  Then read Harper Lee's biography for insight into how it is she produced one perfect book.
To Kill A Mockingbird - novel
To Kill a Mockingbird - movie
Mockingbird : a portrait of Harper Lee / Charles J. Shields
Mockingbird events in the Des Moines Public Library system.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

One of my favorites (book and movie)!
Did you know that the character of Dill was based on Harper Lee's childhood friend, Truman Capote?