Book Review - To Kill a Mockingbird

One of life’s most beautiful experiences is to see kids growing up. And no, I am not talking about the years long process of seeing kids go from kids to teens and then mature adults. I am talking about the moments when you see them come of age – the moments when they wizen up. Perhaps it’s something they say, something they see, something they do, a decision they make – it could be anything. And it is then that you see them grow up in that one moment. You see them in that instant and you know that they now understand; you know that they have now matured just that little bit more. It’s not that anything changes about them – nothing in real physical sense, at least. You just sense it, you sense the moment, and it warms your heart. And this is exactly the feeling you will have when you finish this classic by Lee Harper. You will have a warm smile on your face when you will put down – ‘To kill a mockingbird’.

We never got to read another book from Miss Harper Lee and that’s a pity. But, if you wanted to publish only one of your works, then you would want it to be ‘To kill a mockingbird’ – every time. It is one of the best – if not the best – coming of age stories you will ever read or ever see. Many people believe this book is more about racism – which was of course the relevant topic in those days when it was published. I don’t know what Miss Harper had in mind while writing it, but to me it is more about growing up than about racism. Racism along with many other prevalent issues forms just a backdrop to this process. And we view all these issues from the eyes of young Jean Louis Finch (known through the book as Scout) – this book is essentially a description of her world as she grows up, gets out and learns about life.

It is this learning process that so endears us to her and to her world. We start off the journey from her early childhood and the legend of Boo Radley. And from there we ride along with Scout as she learns about the importance of having a good family; through her first years in school; through the usual childhood frustrations about unfair elders; through her ordeal when her aunt makes a determined effort to turn her into a lady; through her times of trying to understand her brother and last but not the least; through her experience of the extreme prejudicial nature of people’s psyche. Her brother – Jeremy Atticus Finch (Jem) – and a friend – Charles Baker Harris (Dill) – are her constant companions along the way. And this book, along with its young protagonists, manages to teach us mature adults a thing or two about integrity, courage and compassion.

Through this review, I might be guilty of portraying this novel as a little preachy. But, rest assured, it is anything but. I have never been fond of novels or movies which have to hammer home the point they want to make. For me, it is – the subtler the better. And this book is all that. It never tells us the importance of having a good family; it never tells us to stand up for the poor and the needy; it never tells us to treat people with respect and it never tells us to get rid of our prejudices and bias towards them, yet we end up learning all of this. So, where does the secret lie? The secret lies in its author’s acute observation of the people around her and her ability to pen them down simply yet effectively. And her gift of creating great moments. And Atticus Finch.

This novel has been adapted into a full length feature film. And the character of Atticus Finch – played by Gregory Peck – has been voted by AFI (American Film Institute) as the greatest hero in American Film. And somehow I thought they couldn’t do justice to the character in the film! That’s how good Atticus Finch is. His character is the perfect embodiment of this novel – in the sense that he never tells his children what to do and what not to do. He lets them be and lets them learn on their own. Of course, he is always there for advice and comfort, but only when they ask for it. Everything he teaches them is through his actions only. He is an intelligent man with good legal acumen. He is a tireless crusader for good causes and seems like one of very few people around with an open mind. And through his actions he takes great pains to teach his children to keep an open mind, too – free of prejudice and free of bias. He tells Scout, in what is one of many quotable quotes in the book, “If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it”.

A major part of the book centers on Atticus’ troubles while defending a black man for the rape of a white girl. He knows that he is fighting a lost cause. He knows that he and his family will face lots of difficulties and that they do. He and his children face insults and threats of physical violence from townspeople. Yet, he never gets flustered nor does he lose his cool. He also tells Scout and Jem to maintain their calm in the face of all provocation. Even in the face of all these hardships, he never gives up on his efforts for the acquittal of the accused. He doesn’t want his children to witness the trial – because he fears they will lose their faith in justice and more importantly, he doesn’t want their minds affected by people’s racial hatred and prejudice. By doing so he sets a strong moral example for his children. I have never been to America, but from what I have read about Atticus Finch, I gather that he has had a profound and lasting impact on the legal profession in the country. He is considered to be equivalent of a moral code to be followed by all the lawyers. He is revered by the legal circles in America. Notice how I am talking about him as if he is a real person? That’s how much of an impact he has made. In fact Michigan Law Review observed, "No real-life lawyer has done more for the self-image or public perception of the legal profession” (courtesy Wikipedia).

Miss Lee’s observations about different people and their customs come to the fore through another teacher figure in the form of Calpurnia. She is a black housekeeper hired by the Finch family. She is instrumental in teaching Scout about manners and different customs of folks. The respect that she has for Atticus becomes just another indicator of Atticus’ character and his standing in black people of the city. She is the feminine presence in the lives of motherless children.

And now regarding the great moments that Miss Lee manages to create – there are many of those interspersed through the novel, but some stand out still. The most iconic of these is the scene when Atticus decides to spend the night guarding Tom Robinson – the black man he is defending – from the townspeople intent on killing him. These men don’t want to hurt Atticus but Atticus refuses to budge. As Atticus stands alone to face this group of violent men, the tension Miss Lee builds up is just fantastic. The whole court room sequence also stands out. It feels authentic and believable, so much so, that it could have been a part of any dedicated court room drama. And the moment in the climax, as I have mentioned right at the start of this review, is one of the most heartwarming moments you will ever read in literature.

As a book, it is paced leisurely but I dare you to say you were bored while reading any of it. The characterization, which I have described in detail, is flawless. As this is a coming of age story, we get that wonderful experience of watching the characters grow, of watching them become who they eventually become. In addition to the main cast of characters, there are others, too, whom you will undoubtedly love. And as you might have guessed, the narrative engaged this reviewer emotionally at many levels and again I am sure you will undoubtedly have the same experience.

For the record, I didn’t even try to find any flaws. And even if I had, I am sure they would have been minimal if not nonexistent. And even in case of former they are inconsequential for this book is all that you can ask of a book.

In my own humble ways, I have been able to read many works of fiction across genres. Some of the books I have had the privilege of reading were thrilling, some were laughing out loud humorous, some were very originally creative and imaginative, some were very informative, some were lovely, some were warmly feel good and some were just simply awesome. But I have not read any other book which was truly beautiful – in every sense of the word. This is that one book I cannot stop gushing about and telling people how very beautiful it is. This book is a guide to set our moral compass with. It has made a huge impact in its time in the racially divided America. And its beauty lies in the way it teaches us the simplest things in life. It teaches us,

“Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

If you are still waiting to read my recommendation, you are wasting your time. You should have already been buying yourself a copy to add to your classics collection.

Book Review - Fear is the key

When you are 15 years old and starting up on your reading of English, what will you start with? The likes of Hardy Boys and the Famous Five are for younger kids and the adventures of Huckleburry Finns and Tom Sawyers are a little too unrealistic to appeal to you. Howard Roark is too complicated to understand and you are too young to laugh on Yossarian’s catch. You probably want something smart and pacy to hold your attention. You probably want a James Bond like protagonist triumphing over all the odds and taking home the prize. While Perry Mason seems the obvious choice at this point in time, one has to admit it does become a little repetitive. And so it all comes down to John Talbots and Keith Mallorys of Alistair MacLean.

Long before Hollywood came to like Michael Crichton, Alistair MacLean was its author of choice. He wrote novels that were brimming with thrilling action and moved forward at breakneck speed. He penned characters that were infallible and heroic in their deeds and they were always pitted against worthy opponents. And though the characters mentioned above are not the stuff that makes legends in English fiction, they – along with the author who created them – have been a big part of the great reading experience I had while growing up. So, it seemed apt for me to start writing this series of reviews by reviewing one of my first and one of my favourite novels by an author who seldom fails to entertain. And that novel is – ‘Fear is the key’.

‘Fear is the key’ is a typical Alistair MacLean novel. It is – as I have mentioned up front – a thrill a minute ride with plenty of action and twists to keep your mind occupied. In that way it is like many other thrillers that you will read. What really sets it apart though – which is also the case with other best MacLean novels – is the sarcastic humour and a touch of emotion. The narrative is gripping and will make avid thriller readers read on till they finish. When you have all these things in place all that remains is a good, believable and intelligent story.

And the story is all that. Let’s summarise it then – this is a story of a lost treasure and a band of goons going after it. But, it’s not that simple of course. The treasure is submerged in a deep chasm in the ocean bed and what the goons need is a salvage expert to drag it up for them. And lo, they find one right in the neighbourhood. He is John Talbot – an expert in deep sea diving and underwater salvage. He is wanted by law for multiple homicides and due to his uniquely and readily identifiable traits finds it difficult to hide from its long hands. He doesn’t want to get involved with this bunch of very dangerous guys. But he seems to have run out of options. The bad guys know all about him and will not think twice before handing him over to the authorities – or better still, before killing him. Things couldn’t be rosier for the bad guys, you would think. But then again, things aren’t quite the way they seem. Thrown in the mix are an oil baron worth many a million dollars, his beautiful daughter, her chauffer cum bodyguard – who is unmistakably English – and a corrupt ex cop. And what you have is a pot boiler which promises to be as exhilarating as a treasure hunt.

Mr.MacLean’s attention to technical detail is commendable and can be appreciated even by those who have only the basic grasp of Physics. And the good thing is as easily explained as all the facets about the salvage vessel are, they are not dumbed down. The action sequences – and there are plenty – are well detailed and lengthy, so much so that one feels exhausted at the end of each, and not because one is tired of reading on but because one feels a part of it. On occasions Mr.MacLean uses detailed descriptions to send a chill down our spine. If the idea of having a soft nosed bullet put into your hip bone or how a 3 year old will spend his last moments before drowning is not enough to make you wince, just read how Mr. MacLean describes it in painful detail and you will – at least.

For such novels – which rely on thrills and spills – characterization often becomes secondary. And one can see that Mr. MacLean doesn’t worry unduly about building his characters up; not that he doesn’t tell us anything about them, but most of it is inferred rather than explained. We only hear that bad guys did terrible things, but they don’t really mean anything to us. We are supposed to hold the killers in fear, but we don’t. The only character that ever gets built up – and that is because of the first person narrative used – is that of John Talbot. In John Talbot we have a protagonist who is formidable and yet manages to convey a sense of vulnerability which means as a reader it is easier for us to be concerned about him. It is only because of his character that we connect to the novel at any emotional level at all. The only other drawback I can think of is that probably the support cast is a little too clever, and that’s about it really.

This novel is like a summer blockbuster. It will probably score less with the critics but it will do a lot better with the fans. Just like a summer blockbuster, if you are a newbie and have just started out, it will stay with you the longest. And when you grow up to become a learned veteran and start enjoying the classics more, you might just keep coming back to it for that rare guilty pleasure.

My recommendation – if you haven’t guessed already – is to get yourself a copy and start reading.