book review: to kill a mockingbird

I did it! I finally read this book! I don't know why but i feel like every bookworm has read this and that i'm not an official bookworm until i have as well. It's a classic and a historical fiction, constantly being discussed in book clubs and literature classes. So by my own definition; I'm officially a bookworm, yay! This book was absolutely great, and i'm rating it 4.3 out of 5.

To Kill A Mockingbird is a book set in the 1930's in a district in Alabama, United States. The book is told from the perspective of a young girl named Scout Finch, who is about to enter first grade. Scout and her older brother Jem are children to one of the district's well-known lawyers, Atticus Finch. The main plot of the book is about Atticus Finch, who was considered of a higher class because he was white, defending a rape case involving a black man and a white girl. This book explores the challenges Scout and Jem has to face when their father, who treats everyone equally regardless of their skin colour, has to defend the black man in court. Being in a society that does not socially accept people of colour to be their equals, Atticus is seen negatively as a "nigger-lover", which affects his family.

I sort of went into this book blindly without knowing what to expect. Because of this, I was genuinely surprised that it was told from the perspective of a six-year-old girl. The language being used was surprisingly not that difficult to follow, though i must admit it did take a few chapters of getting used to. It was just a little shocking to me that a young girl would have such deep thoughts and understanding about the issues being pointed out. At the same time though, it was still easy to believe that she was still a child, so i must applaud Harper Lee for doing an amazing job at writing the story from that perspective.

Before i indulge into writing what i loved about the book, i'll start with the problems I had first. I found it difficult to keep track of all the characters mentioned throughout the book, especially the side characters but who were there until the end. My theory for this is because of the long classic names for those characters which distracted me to remember who they are in the story and what role they played. Only some were easier to remember. I thought this was problematic as I would probably be a lot less confused for most of the book if there was a different approach to present the character names. Another theory is that she introduced so many names at a time, not giving me the chance to make a solid mental note of the previous character that appeared.

The book is also a little slow for my liking, with the rape case significantly being discussed halfway into the book. However, I understand that the author probably wanted to describe the characters and setting well first, to make us understand the mentality of the society at that time. I guess that was strategic, because it really helped me understand the trial which took place in the middle of the book. Oh man, the trial! It was absolutely entertaining to read the chapters describing the trial, because i was imagining it all in my head and it was just so, so good. I've never read books with trials in them but i've watched a Korean drama titled I Hear Your Voice and i truly loved it, so i had no trouble understanding what was going on in court in this book.

The characters in this book are just absolutely wonderful. Even though i felt like the children are a little young to realistically be able to think so deep about things, their perspectives are definitely thought-provoking and wise most of the time. The best character would of course be Atticus Finch, who is such a great person. I think a lot of things can be learnt from Atticus' character; from parenting to being a lawyer to basically being human. There are so many good dialogues coming especially from Atticus that are worth taking note of, and i've come to really love and respect him as a character. A lot of good values can also be seen and learnt from his children and a few of the side characters.

I love how this book made me feel like i'm growing up with the characters, and sometimes i even felt like a kid again. Harper Lee really is a talented, extraordinary writer. Reading the book and feeling that it's quite light but then realising how deep it actually is is just remarkable. The issues regarding class prejudice, racism, justice, and gender roles had great approach and I loved how we read about these through the characters' observations rather than just being told about it. It lets you think about the issues rather than just accepting it how it is.

Lastly, i was slightly confused about what happened in the end but once i Googled it to get confirmation from what i wasn't sure of, the title just made perfect sense. It's such a wonderful metaphor.

All in all, i really enjoyed To Kill A Mockingbird and i think i might even read it again someday. I've heard people say that you should read classics at least twice to get an even better understanding and grip of the book, so i'm sure it'll be a different experience when I read it again. I would highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates good literature, but not for those who are only looking for fast-paced books.