I bought this book last year at Blossoms if I remember right. But since my memory is almost always suspect , I ll leave it at that. The more important thing here is the book was lying in my house in a desolate bookshelf for a long time with other classics like "Moby dick" ( which is incidentally about a whale and not anything else mammalian) and "War and Peace" . To describe each and every book that lives in that book shelf would be really tiring to me to write and u to read , so I ll skip the crap and get to the point.
About the former , its a story about childhood , as seen through the eyes of a really young girl.
It addresses a whole plethora of issues , racism being the foremost. I remember how it used to feel when I had questions burning at the back of head all the time waiting to be answered . And when I finally figured it out , it was such a great experience that it has no substitute , not even Quake (!) . The way this books progresses is somewhat similar , one discovery after another through such an honest outlook , that I think we adults suppress so much , its killing a part of us slowly. When you saw something you did not understand ... when you were a child and had an adult around you who could answer these questions satisfactorily , that must have been the beginning of a very well learned life. I recall that I found most of my answers to unanswered questions through books , and many more questions still remain unanswered , but now the problem is I ve forgotten the questions !
The most impressive characters in this book.... almost all of them are very well constructed. The dude being the Mr.Atticus Finch whose harmless ,boring daddy image at the beginning turns to the thoroughly professional lawyer who will not compromise on his integrity for any reason, even threats to harm him in person. His handling of the curious children (his elder son and younger daughter ) is exemplary , if I could compare with any number of parents I have seen. No offence to any real parents , but that guy teaching his children strong principles , with solid reason behind every belief if something which I dream to achieve if and when I have children of my own. This gentleman not only handles his children well , but there is something which is said about him in the book. He's the same inside his house and outside on the streets. This is something which I have heard from my department (ECE- Electronics and Communication) H.O.D , Dr.P.Subbanna Bhat ... he said it once in a Conference hall , and I still had nt fallen asleep due to Quake stress . He said "Only when what you say , what you do ,what you preach , what you practice are the same , you have integrity .Most people have a rift somewhere in them , which makes one or more of these things go awry ...." something to this effect ..and then of course , like the rest of the half of college lectures , I was lost in uncontrollable involuntary nodding. So this character "Atticus Finch" is one of those guys who believes in being consistent in all versions of his interaction and I know chances of meeting his kind are far and few in between. That's enough about Mr.Finch I think , else I ll end up telling the whole story right here .
The youngest character and the narrator of this story is "Scout" . That's what everyone call this really young girl who does not want to be anything "girly". She reminds me of my child hood friend "Sushma" on whom I had a enormous crush for years until I met her a couple of years ago and all my child hood memories were shattered by what was left of her. Back to "Scout" ... shes the embodiment of curiosity , and she asks away questions and very often the answers are not easy to give . Like when I was a kid and I really wanted to know where babies came from. There were several theories floating around at that time. One of them was that if a bee stung a boy and a girl , the girl would then have the boys baby ! It was an ever greater mystery how the baby which I assumed was in the stomach of the mother would ever come except through the ..... And so my mind was so muddled up with alternative theories put forward or atleast repeated by my classmates , that when the actual stuff was taught to us in school , I could n't believe that what I was hearing was true! It seemed like there was something very uncomfortable about the entire topic , which I believe holds true to this day . Anyway "Scout" the girl asks such and many more questions. The best part about it is that there is someone who can give her a satisfactory answer bound by reason and not just mindless sentiment and emotion. Even when the answers are not satisfactory , the reasoning process of the child does not stop, and this is the most important quality any human being should possess. This I realized only after a very long time in my life. Along with her elder brother , she sets out on a learning adventure almost everyday in the book , and what a dream of brother shes got!
Mr Atticus' son's name is "Jem" , and the name just does nt do justice to what he could have probably grown upto be had he been real , or what he was even as a kid. Whats so special about the kid? He's a thinking boy who goes through that hated adolescent phase with a lot of questions and comes out with so many firm beliefs at the end of it , it makes me feel that I wish I was like him. I guess having a firm and loving mentor in his father (like mine) makes the difference between an average run of the mill guy to a good human being with a firm sense of justice . This is not the only characteristic of this boy , he's very adventurous and because of that ends up making great mistakes and consequently learns much greater lessons at such a young age. Being adventurous is not only important when we are kids , but it becomes all the more important when we are adults and life and work bogs us down. Making mistakes not only prepares us for a rough day , but makes us more rounded personalities. This boy impressed me with the dedication he shows to follow his father's words. The way he stands by his sister and father even when there is grave danger at hand. The sense of fairplay in him makes him feel great remorse when a negro is ill treated by just harsh words of a white prosecutor. He grasps some concepts like how the judicial system of having a jury of citizens is not foolproof and in cases of racial nature ,they become topsy turvy with such deep reasoning that his dad must have been one proud guy !
Well , that was a brief look at some of the main characters in that book . I wish to stop here because I don't know if I am doing any justice to the book by giving inklings of the characters involved. There are atleast 2 more important characters in this story , i ll just name them ... one of them is the black house maid and care taker of the children , "Calpurnia" is her name and she reminds me of "Mammy " in "Gone with the wind"( don't blame me if u have nt read tat one ! its a real killer though ...1024 pages !). I give the last but not the least position to the ultra introvert and indoors neighbor "Arthur Radley" ... he's a legend among the kids because nobody's ever seen him step out of the house. What could be the reason?
To find out that and much more , you ve got to read this book . Its not a scare even for the first timers or beginners with the time required I would say roughly 2 - 3 times of that taken for "5 . someone " . I guess most people I know who do read novels regularly have read it already and think its a great book. What I would advise someone whos going to read any book is to go for it without any prejudice about the name/author/cover and so many things , because I have been made to eat the dust so many times about misjudging a book by its cover , I never dismiss any book without reading at least a couple of chapters.
I started off with talking about 2 books , the other one being "one night at the call center" . I ll write about that hopefully this week. I have a many more interesting stories related to that ... more of that later .
Good night
railmani , 12 39 am , 15th April 2006.
