Book Review: To kill a Mockingbird

I’ve recently finished reading Harper Lee’s – To Kill a Mockingbird, and I really enjoyed this classic novel. The novel is set in a fictional small town in Alabama during the Depression, and is narrated by Jean Louse Finch or Scout who is 5 when the story starts, and is 8 when the story ends.

The story is about Scout and her older brother Jem growing up to witness the injustices and wrongs in the world, and their relative reaction and adjustment to it.

Most of the first half of the book revolve around the children playing, and giving a glimpse into their world, and while the story is interesting, I wasn’t sure what to make of it till the second half of the book starts.

The second half of the book is where the story picks pace, and where the main incident takes place. As you read further in the book, the more sense the previous pages start to make, and you begin to appreciate how the characters have developed, and how the outlook of the children have changed based on the events unfolding around around them.

I think this is a good story, especially for all parents because it shows how Scout and Jem’s father – Atticus Finch, who is a respectable lawyer, and moral compass of their town brings up his children and teaches them about morality, and the co-existence of good and bad in people.

I also think this is one of the best titles that I’ve ever come across. Killing a mockingbird symbolizes killing innocence, and destroying something which has caused you no harm.

Throughout the book, several characters are introduced who symbolize the killing of a mockingbird in varying degrees, suffering caused to them because of no fault of their own.

The book is beautifully written, and all the characters develop wonderfully, and the contrast between how they react to the injustices in the world around them is quite moving.

Although not a parent myself, I feel that parents will especially enjoy this book because of the connection between Atticus Finch and his children, how he raises them, and how that influences their outlook of the world as they grow up.

I couldn’t put this down once I started reading it, and highly recommend it.