Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Don't mention the mockingbird! (Daily Mail, UK)

It's the 50th anniversary of the classic novel TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.
Based on a few gnomic utterances over the years, many literary commentators have attributed Harper’s solitary life and subsequent failure to publish another book to her alarm at the tidal wave of praise for her Mockingbird...

But according to confidants, many of whom have known her since childhood, what Harper has really found a burden is her enduring sadness about the book’s underlying themes.

They say that while To Kill A Mockingbird is ostensibly a courtroom thriller ... Harper drew on deeply painful family secrets to create her protagonists. ...

‘I’m not a psychologist, but there’s a lot of Nelle in that book,’ said 87-year-old George Thomas Jones, a retired businessman who has known Harper and her family since she was a girl.
I don't think I know anyone who doesn't love (or at least like) this book. I'd never read much about Harper Lee, so this is a nice little history and helps put the book in context.
Read the full article here.

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