This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the original publication of To Kill A Mockingbird, so it seemed a good time to pull the book down off the shelf and give it another read.
What can I write about Mockingbird that hasn't already been said? Very little. It is a timeless classic, and rightfully so. Its theme of racial integration in the deep south of America is one we've seen time and time again in popular fiction over recent years, yet it must have been groundbreaking in 1960. Its secondary theme, of growing up and the loss of innocence, is another common to many classic novels, yet despite the fact that Mockingbird's narrator is a pre-teenage girl, Harper Lee never shies away from the unpleasant realities of the adult world.
The courtroom scenes are as gripping as any John Grisham thriller, yet in Atticus Finch, Lee gives us a hero more fascinating and troubled than any other crusading legal eagle you might care to name. He's an old widower with young children and a snobby sister; a crack shot with a firearm who doesn't like guns; a quiet, studious man but a cunning judge of character. He's honourable and lives his life to the letter of the law, yet is ultimately persuaded that there are times when the law needs bending to protect the vulnerable. For anyone who's seen the movie, it's impossible not to think of Gregory Peck's pitch perfect performance.
Beyond the central storyline are some powerfully affecting subplots, notably the tale of crotchety old Mrs. Dubose, one of Atticus's sternest critics, a proud lady who wins her final battle with dignity. And then, of course, there's the unsung hero of To Kill A Mockingbird, Boo Radley. Well - unsung until the early 90's, anyway...
Harper Lee never published another novel. As she's refused all requests at interview for the last few decades, we may never know why. It's possible she just doesn't feel she can ever top her first book. If you're only going to have one novel to your name, you could do much worse than this one.
