To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

I don't know that I can say much to add to any conversation about To Kill a Mockingbird, surely one of the finest novels of the 20th century.  Harper Lee's courtroom drama has been an inspiration to some of my favorite writers of legal fiction, like Mark Gimenez and John Grisham.  But the bulk of the novel is life in small town America, race relations in the South, and learning about class and wealth and poverty, all through the eyes of a little girl.

This is perhaps a story that could only be told from the perspective of a child.  As Scout and her brother Jem grow up, watching their father stand as a voice of reason and justice in a world of unreasonable injustice, we are reminded of what we lose as the innocence of youth slowly wears away.  Atticus is what we should aim to be: fair, patience, selfless, and humble.

I was delighted that Elliot will be reading this for freshman English later this year.  I have enjoyed getting to know the story again.  Even as the racist attitudes of the South in the early 20th century seem more and more dated, we don't have to read the news or even listen to our neighbors very long to realize that Harper Lee's story is as important and powerful as ever.