This book is written by Harper Lee and was first published in 1960. Its genres are Southern Gothic (a subgenre of fiction that are heavily influenced by Gothic elements and American South) and bildungsroman (coming of age.)

This novel is set in the 1930s at fictional Maycomb County, Alabama. The story is written from the first-person point of view of Scout Finch, 6 years old at the start of the book and 9 years old towards the end. The plot centers on adult hypocrisy, racism and social inequality. Scout lives with her brother, Jem and her lawyer-father, Atticus. When Tom Robinson was falsely accused of rape of a white girl, Atticus took up the case as the defence attorney. The Finches were condemned and ridiculed, and Tom is an innocent the townsmen are eager to persecute on the basis that he is a person of colour.

To Kill a Mockingbird is an impressive read. It is warm and funny, and an insight to the “irrationality of adult attitude to race and class.” Atticus Finch is a strong and inspirational character: a remarkable lawyer, an admirable father, and an even greater man. I find that one of the highlights of the novel is Atticus’ parenting style. The respect he accorded both Jem and Scout and treated them both as adults while minding them as the children they were, is refreshing to read. Parents and adults either dismissing their children (the doctrine of ‘children are to be seen not heard’ is absolutely rubbish) or skirting around their questions and curiosity is just offending to say the least.

My favourite character from the novel is Scout. For an 8-year-old, her sensitivity to her surroundings is amazing and she is also greatly self-aware. She is smart, sensible, and intuitive. I especially like the part where Boo Radley asked her to take him home and she told him to let her hold on to his arm a certain way so it would look like he was leading her and not the other way around.

My favourite part from the book is the conversation between Jem and Scout when Scout said, “No, everybody’s gotta learn, nobody’s born knowin’. That Walter’s as smart as he can be, he just gets held back sometimes because he has to stay out and help his daddy. Nothing’s wrong with him, Naw, Jem, I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.” To which, Jem replied, “That’s what I thought too when I was your age. If there’s just one kind of folks, why can’t they get along with each other? If they’re all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other? Scout, I think I’m beginning to understand something. I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time … it’s because he wants to stay inside.”

As someone who speaks English as a second language and partial to the standard American or British English, the Southern American English used in the book did take some getting used to. Also to be noted, I think that the pacing of the book is rather slow at the beginning which can be discouraging and may be a ground of DNF (Do Not Finish) for some. If you are among the discouraged, I assure you that the story really does pick up towards the first quarter so hang in there and persevere.

To Kill a Mockingbird is one the best books that I have read in my life. I vehemently believe that everyone should experience reading it at least once in their life.

Star Rating: I don’t believe in a full star rating, but this masterpiece is a 6/5 stars.