Well I finally had the chance to read one of the most popular books in twentieth century. This book is ranked number one by the British librarians on “Which book should every adult read before they die?”. This is my first attempt to review a book, so please be gentle on critics. And as usual, my reviews are always spoiler free.

Theme
It’s very clear that this book talks about racial injustice. However I feel some kind of reluctance to give that as an answer if I were ever asked about this book’s theme. It is injustice to describe the book in a couple words. And it won’t cover all of good things in this book. So I add “family”, “coming out of age” and even “children education” just to make it broader. You will never know, maybe there is still a person who uses grep to choose his books.

Plot
I think the first half of the book focused on developing the characters and their backgrounds. I took a long time reading this part. It contains a pretty good amount of Middle English words so paying Merriem-Webster a visit was a must (or not). Added to that a history lesson about America and some Christians stuff I didn’t get. As soon as the main conflict started, it’s a downhill run.

Characters
The character were well developed throughout the book. Seeing the character interactions really gave you a warm feeling. Seriously. I guess I have to put some characters explanation here. First, our racial hero, Atticus Finch. This single father is a self-claimed bad parent. So he decided to teach his children by example. I don’t think there is a father in the history of fiction that can beat him (please forgive my melodramatic mood). Second, Jean Louise Finch (or Scout). This is a bright kid. At first I am kinda confused why a girl smart enough to deduct his brother motive by his sentence can not understand a simple matter. If you look at the start of the book, it is clear that the main character narrates the story as a flashback. So in the book, you will see two kind of her sentences of thought. One as a child (innocent), and one as a grown woman (omniscient).

Why (not) read this?
First, this book has a lot of moral lessons on a lot of subjects. And they are all well put. You will not feel like being preached. I frequently found myself smiling when finding a good lesson in the book. Second, it really moves your heart. Well this one is amazing. It did not move my heart by a descriptive sad scene spanned for pages. It simply tells you a story.

Conclusion
I must watch the movie now, there is no other way. It is simply a book every adult should read before they die.