We all know that there are books which are considered "classics" and which are included on almost every standard reading list for American Literature. Somehow, however, there are two classic American novels that somehow eluded me during my Central Catholic and Robert Morris College (now University) careers: "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain and "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee.
Inspired by Mrs. Grandstander, who chose "To Kill a Mockingbird" when it was her turn to choose for the Stonebrook Village Book Club, I decided to take a crack at this classic, but first, I was going to read Twain's masterpiece.
To Brother Gregorian, Ron Borsch, Dr. Agnes Vardy, and any other of my esteemed literature teachers in my formative years, whose names don't come to me right now, I have to say, "I'm sorry" because I just didn't get Huck Finn. I waded through about a third of the book, but I wasn't seeing what everyone else has seen over the 120+ years since the publication of Huck Finn. I wasn't grasping the life lessons, nor was I seeing a lot of humor for which Twain is famous. It's gotta be me, I realize, but I have to put this one back on the shelf. Perhaps some of my great-nephews and -nieces who are now in or approaching high school can give me some pointers that will make me revisit this work someday, but for now, it is on the Kindle shelf.
On the other hand, I am glad to say that this was most emphatically not the case with "To Kill a Mockingbird." What a terrific book! As everyone no doubt knows, the story takes place in Alabama in the 1930's and is told from the point of view of Jean Louise "Scout" Finch, who goes from age 6 to age 8 in the book, and she is wise way beyond her years. She is the daughter of lawyer Atticus Finch, and in telling about her and her older brother's upbringing she weaves a mesmerizing depiction of that time and place. The story hinges on the trial of a black man accused of the rape of a white woman, and Atticus Finch is appointed to defend the man in this highly segregated and prejudiced town. How everyone acts and reacts to these events is the crux of the story.
At first, I thought the story moved slowly, but after about 60 pages or so, you are drawn into the lives of these people as Scout tells the story. The writing is terrific. There were passages that I found I just had to stop and read aloud. One of the critical blubs on the jacket of the book that we had said that as soon as you finish the book, you want to go back to page one and start all over. I agree. This is a book that I see my self rereading every other year or so, and I really regret that it has taken me 50 years to discover "To Kill a Mockingbird." This truly is a book that everyone should read.
Now, the next task is to see the 1962 movie version of "To Kill a Mockingbird" wherein Gregory Peck won an Oscar portraying Atticus Finch. As I have missed this classic book, I have also missed seeing this classic movie. That error will be rectified within the next week.
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