The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.
Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior - to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into forty languages, this regional story by a young Alabama woman claims universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature.
(back cover)
Orain arte irakurri ditudan liburuekin alderatuta oso ezberdina da hau. Horregatik dezente kostatu zitzaidan erritmoa eta gustua hartzea, 100. orrira arte edo ez nuelako jakin zer kontatu nahi zidan... eta gero ere, antzeko jarraitu du.
Bestelako liburua da, ume baten ikuspegitik dagoelako kontatua. Eta umeek emozioez gidatzen dute beren burua, ez justiziaz, ez gizalegez. Eta horrexegatik kontatzen du egunerokoa, detaile txikienari ere garrantzia emanda; eta, guzti horren artean, helduoi garrantzitsuagoak iruditzen zaizkigunak aipatzen ditu: justizia, arrazakeria, epaiketak, hilketak... baina beti eragiten dizkion emozioetatik abiatuta. Horregatik da bestelakoa liburua hau, eta, azkenean, liburuak horixe kontatu nahi zidala ondorioztatu dut: umetasuna.
The book represents a point of view of a child during the 30's written by someone who was a child during the 30's, which brings valuable historical authenticity. It was published in the 60's and due to its immediate success it was a part of a shift in attitudes regarding the civil rights movements of the 70's. Reading the book with this context in mind is an interesting experience because to a contemporary mind, the 60's is in many ways more absurd than was the 30's to the author.
The novel own its own merit is greatly delivered, with enough character building and contextualization that by the time the main plot arrives my metropolitan millennial mind is decently acclimatized to a completely alien society and culture. The naive, progressive-household-raised, clean slate kid point of view gives the narrator plausible bewilderment when facing the pervasive racial injustice and hypocrisy the book …
The book represents a point of view of a child during the 30's written by someone who was a child during the 30's, which brings valuable historical authenticity. It was published in the 60's and due to its immediate success it was a part of a shift in attitudes regarding the civil rights movements of the 70's. Reading the book with this context in mind is an interesting experience because to a contemporary mind, the 60's is in many ways more absurd than was the 30's to the author.
The novel own its own merit is greatly delivered, with enough character building and contextualization that by the time the main plot arrives my metropolitan millennial mind is decently acclimatized to a completely alien society and culture. The naive, progressive-household-raised, clean slate kid point of view gives the narrator plausible bewilderment when facing the pervasive racial injustice and hypocrisy the book aims to criticize.
But this book too is a product of its time and one can immediately recognize the white savior angle. The white gentleman class is displayed one cut above the white trash that are no better than also-poor-but-black folk, and raises itself a toast for being so intellectual. A pat on the back for being kind enough to employ honest colored folk and defending the sanctity of written law. The expectation is overwhelming gratefulness in return, even if the result is still injustice. The portrayal of "the good blacks" is subservient and forgiving, and the weapon of choice to build empathy is pity and the analogy with the sin of killing a creature that is dedicated to servitude and entertainment - the mockingbird.
Five stars as an expertly crafted novel with admirable goals and celebrated impact, one star as modern literature on racial injustice. I don't think the two aspects have equal weight but lacking better utilitarian formulation I'm averaging to 3 stars.
Romanzo per giovani adultǝ scorrevole e di forte impatto, ma capisco perché molti americani non apprezzino: vederselo obbligato come libro sul tema razzismo nelle scuole non mi sembra proprio il massimo, visto che se lo si analizza con minuzia cade talvolta nella narrativa del salvatore bianco.
