To Kill A Mockingbird: A Graphic Novel by Fred Fordham and Harper Lee

 To Kill A Mockingbird: A Graphic Novel by Fred Fordham and Harper Lee-273 pages

I have not read the original "To Kill a Mockingbird" classic novel by Harper Lee. When I saw this on the shelf I decided I would read it for this month's challenge. It is a good novel/graphic novel. It is harrowing and appalling to once again realize that this is how African-Americans were (and to some extent still are) treated during the Jim Crow Era. The way Tom Robinson is convicted even though all evidence says to the contrary is infuriating and appalling, but this is truly the way it was. This is a fairly accurate portrait of life in the 1930s in the American South. Harper Lee was from Alabama and grew up in this time, so she should have a decent grasp on the time. She wrote it from the point-of-view of a young white girl named Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. Her father, Atticus Finch, is appointed to defend Tom Robinson because the judge knows he's the only one who will treat him with dignity and truly defend him properly. It is a thought-provoking story. I am glad to have finally read it in some form. 

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Adapted and Illustrated by Fred Fordham

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Adapted and Illustrated by Fred Fordham, 273 pages

I have read To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee a couple times.  I saw this graphic novel and it intrigued me what the illustrator would do with the novel.  The graphic novel was based pretty much word to word of the classic except with illustrations.  I actually really enjoyed this graphic novel.  The illustrations were very similar to the movie version with Gregory Peck.

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee - 288 pages

I have to say up front that To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite books ever.  My love for it is definitely influenced by Gregory Peck's portrayal of Atticus Finch in the movie.  I went into this new book with a little trepidation from the media's furor over the portrayal of Atticus.  I was pleasantly surprised to truly enjoy this book.  It is a slice of an entirely different time in which Scout is a grown woman coming back to Maycomb from New York for a yearly vacation.  The portrayal of Atticus as a real-life flawed human being trying to live by a personal code is much very relatable.  This snapshot of southern life on the cusp of the civil rights movement has lessons that still resonate today. 

Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee

Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee, 278 pages

I loved this book!!  I tried not to prejudge this book by listening to all the spoilers.  I knew when I heard the manuscript was found that I would want to buy this book.  I am a big fan of To Kill A Mockingbird and was afraid this book would not live up to all the hype.  Although Go Set A Watchman may not be the classic as was To Kill A Mockingbird, it deserves the attention.  I was not disappointed in the story or the characters.  This book focuses on Jean Louise (Scout) and Atticus Finch and how they have been influenced by situations in the south at the very early beginnings of the civil rights movement. Their relationship is just as touching now as it was back when Scout was a child.  I really appreciated how Jean Louise had grown into an intelligent young woman. The flashbacks in the book remind us why we all loved To Kill A Mockingbird.

The Mockingbird Next Door: Life with Harper Lee by Marja Mills

The Mockingbird Next Door: Life with Harper Lee by Marja Mills - 288 pages

This biography of the reclusive writer Harper Lee has been embroiled in controversy since publication.  Harper Lee has issued a written statement publicly denouncing the author which states the book was written without her cooperation.  After reading the book I tend to believe the news reports that state Harper Lee is in a different state of mind after a stroke in 2007 and that may have affected her feelings regarding the book.  Unless Mills is totally fabricating things she had cooperation from Harper Lee and her sister Alice to get such a detailed picture of their day to day life over so many years.  I find it telling that as far as I can tell the friends of the Lees mentioned in the book have not made any public statements denouncing the book. 

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite books of all time and I really enjoyed the glimpse this book gave into the world of Nelle Harper Lee and her sister Alice.  It is a slow paced narrative weaving Chicago Tribune reporter Marja Mills depiction of daily life in Monroeville, Alabama with the memories gleaned from the two sisters regarding their experiences that shaped the book's creation and also how they lived in with the aftermath of book's enduring popularity.  It was particularly funny to hear how Harper Lee felt about the depiction of herself in the Truman Capote biopics.