To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

It has been ages since I read this book. It was definitely time to pick it up again. I remember liking it but I loved it so much more this time.

Scout and Jem live in Maycomb (a small southern town) in the early 1930's. They are being raised by their father Atticus and their black help Calpurnia. Atticus is a lawyer.
Scout and Jem meet Dill. A boy that moves to Maycomb every summer. They quickly become friends. They spend much of their time fixated on Boo Radley, the mysterious neighbor that never leaves his house and has become legend in their minds. The children make up skits about him, dare each other to enter his yard or peek through his windows. Once in awhile they find small gifts in a hollow tree, which they think are from Boo Radley.
As the years slip away, Scout and Jem are faced with the wrath of the small town as Atticus defends a black man accused of raping a white girl. Jem is turning into a young man and he always looks to Atticus as an example. Atticus tells Jem that defending this man is something he must do in order to live with himself.
As the trial approaches the children are accosted by one time friends and neighbors. Atticus is always wise and forgiving. He makes sure that Jem and Scout do not fight to defend him and do not speak unkindly to their accusers.
The trial plays out with Jem and Scout hiding in the balcony of the courtroom. Jem has a mind for law just like Atticus. He is convinced that the evidence proves Tom (the defendant) innocent of his charges. The jury returns a guilty verdict anyway.......despite everyone seeming to know that Tom is not guilty. Jem is bewildered and crushed. He cannot understand why the people of the town would let the accusation stand.
The father of the alleged rape victim is livid with Atticus for shaming him in court. He threatens to take revenge. Atticus however does not believe his threats will ever come to fruition once the anger ebbs away.
But Mr. Ewell bides his time and attacks Atticus' children on their way home from the Halloween pageant. In a wild turn of events their lives are saved by their legendary neighbor Boo Radley. Making their wildest dreams come true.

I cannot describe the emotions evoked by this book. I can see why it is so popular. As I read, I couldn't make myself understand how anyone could ever believe the things people used to believe about race. This book is so applicable even today, whether it is about race, religion or gender.

Rating 5
Rating PG Despite the accusation of rape it was never graphically described. I would probably read this to my nine year old or let her read it herself. Hard lessons must be learned. Well worth the read.

Cannery Row

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

This book takes place in Monterey California during the Great Depression. Cannery Row is a small patch of town where there are fish canneries, a whore house, a lab, a small grocer and a flop house for the vagabonds.
Mack and the boys from the Palace Flophouse want to do something nice for Doc. Doc lives at the lab and collects specimen mostly from the near by ocean, which he sends to other labs to study. Mack is the kind of guy that even when he tries, everything he does flops. He borrows a truck from Lee Chong, the grocer. He and the boys take the truck, which needs fixin', and still promptly breaks down, to catch frogs. They want to sell the frogs to Doc for money, which they will use to throw him a party. Instead of giving the frogs to Doc, the boys trade them for good's at Lee Chong's. The frogs get away. The town finds out about the party and everyone shows up. The party gets out of hand and the lab is left in ruins when Doc shows up from a specimen gathering trip.
Mack knows he is a loser. He know that everything he touches turns to mud. But he still decides he wants to try again to give Doc a party. Everyone from The Row gets involved again........and Doc figures out what is up. Doc hides his valuables and buys food for his own party. The whore house girls make Doc a new blanket. They are so excited for the party that they take shifts at the whore house so that each girl has a turn at the party. Mack and the boys catch a bunch of tom cats to give Doc as a gift.......cats he will be able to sell to labs. Everyone from The Row comes, including strangers and sailors. The party is a success.
The story was very simple and at points I wondered what the point really was. It meanders and there are little points of interest. It's kind of like a slow Sunday drive. I liked the book enough. It was surely not one of my favorite Steinbeck's though.
Rating 3
Rating PG for crude language