To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird isn't in my top 10 list. It isn't in my top 5 list. It's in my top 1 list. Other reviewers have called it the perfect book. It is. One reviewer said that Sissy Spacek knocked it out of the park. She did. For some reason I find it hard to review this book. Superlatives are just words that we've all heard. This is a book that you must immerse yourself in to understand just how stunning this work is. Ok, I know I'm gushing and this is all over the top, but Harper Lee's novel has layer upon layer upon layer. It has many moments that just clutch at your throat. One is at the close of the trial, as another reviewer mentioned. Another that stands out for me is when the innocence of youth dispels the anger of the mob on the jailhouse steps, forcing them to face their humanity. I could go on and on. But I can't say anything that hasn't been said before.

The perfect book and the perfect narrator come together here to create an American treasure. I don't have the vocabulary to speak highly enough of how special this book is on Audible.
Sissy Spacek's narration of this story is genius. She goes beyond even the great narrators like Patton, Hill, and Hurt. Her performance is not just technically perfect, it's illuminating. She's so smooth between characters. I can't even detect how she changes her voice and tone between Jim and Scout, but she does, just ever so slightly. It's hard to explain how amazing it is. I can see the dirt road, I can smell the dirty kid next to Scout in her class, I can feel the summer breeze on the back porch where they sleep. Yes, it's Harper Lee that creates that amazing imagery, but Spacek makes it an intimate experience that I felt honored to be a part of.
The book and story of course are above being "reviewed." It's a beautifully crafted story where every word is so intentional. The writing is dense with meaning while flowing perfectly.
It's a shame that Harper Lee only had one book published. Or maybe Mockingbird is such a gift that maybe it needs to stand alone.

How many books have you lived in; walked the streets waving to old ladies on their front porches, smelled pound cakes cooling on window ledges, knew which houses to give a wide berth when passing by, and missed when you left? Like Twain's enduring fictional classic Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird is a story so well told, so perfect, that you stroll through it and dwell for a while, coming away from it different for having been there. For many of us we visited Harper Lee's Maycomb to get our HS diploma, and it seems a natural progression to go back. I wonder if we miss those characters, or the healing balm of hearing a precocious little girl's voice cry out, "Hey, Mr. Cunningham. I'm Jean Louise Finch...I go to school with Walter; he's your boy aint he?"

As she shows so many times in her one and only novel, Harper Lee is a born story teller. The back stories of the characters are immense, yet told with an economy of words that contain volumes. You experience this especially your second time through...Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose, what have you suffered to become so mean; what has Mr. Dolphus Raymond learned about people that keeps him content to have townsfolk believe that's a bottle of whiskey, instead of a regular ol' Coca Cola, in that little brown sack; how has Link Deas kept his humanity; does every town spit out a Bob Ewell; and what is Miss Maudie's pound cake recipe? -- there's a not an insignificant character or event in this book. It is a treasure trove of stories and lessons. I'd love a couple hours of Calpurnia talking about the day old Tim Johnson, Judge Taylor's dog, came shuffling down the road, rabid and threatening, sending the neighborhood into their homes, barring their windows... But Lee left us with just this one brilliant book.

To Kill A Mockingbird was published July 11, 1960 and has never gone out of print. When contemplating whether to review this (what I think is THE perfect novel), I had to wonder "is there really anything that hasn't already been said?" In this case, *Sissy Spacek*; no matter how many times you have read this novel, or even listened, Spacek, with her sweet drawl, IS Scout, speaking back through the years, recounting her story. She is the perfect choice for a perfect novel.

Though it is cliché to say it, this beautiful novel feeds your spirit. The easy wisdom reminds us of the importance of having understanding and love for others, demonstrated without guile or pretense by the innocence of children. The moral integrity and gentle strength of Atticus brings tears to my eyes (and has inspired the line *What would Atticus do?*) just thinking that we as human beings have the capability of such grace. Quotes from this superb novel fill notebooks I keep, but it is always two words, repeated half a dozen time by Jem, when his father orders him to take Scout and flee the angry mob at the jail, that choke me up. They contain all that there is of love, courage, and strength...even a young boy's faith in mankind, "No, Sir." They get me every time.

*[Addressing the frequent use of the *N* word; quoted from Banned Books Awareness;
A worldwide literacy project to celebrate the freedom to read.: "The American Library Association reports that To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most challenged classics of all time because of the racial slurs and discussion of rape and incest, and still ranks at number 21 of the 100 most frequently challenged books." "In 1968 the National Education Association placed the novel second on a list of titles receiving the most complaints from private organizations. The top spot belonged to Little Black Sambo."]

I have search for this book on Audible regularly, hoping it would eventually appear - oh my goodness, it was well worth the wait! The book is the much beloved, Pulitzer Prize winning classic we all met in school.

The only question left is "how is the narration?"
The answer: Sissy Spacek does as good as I have heard or better!
Wish I could give this book a 10 star rating.

I first listened to this recording more than 10 years ago on a road trip with my family. It is one of the best-read audiobooks I've ever had the pleasure of listening to, and I am so excited my pre-order finally came in so I can relive that experience.

She captures Scout completely - sometimes it's difficult for me to "get inside" younger protagonists's heads and Sissy Spacek makes that a non-issue.

For me, the most moving moment in this book has always been when the entire black community stands up when Atticus passes under them in the courtroom.

One of my favorite books. I'm not even going to try to recap the story, but I will say that Sissy Spacek's narration is absolutely perfect. She brings a total honesty and directness to the story that illuminates each chapter. This is a great way to experience this American classic.

Like many others, I've read this book a number of times and have always appreciated it as very fine work. Hearing it - rather than reading it - is a completely different experience. Simply said, I fell in love with it.

In a novel, James Lee Burke writes about his fictional daughter Alafair editing her own work until there isn't a "rattle left in any sentence." That's a perfect description for Harper Lee's writing. Even though I've read it before, I really missed just how perfectly this prose has been crafted. It's so tight. When I slowed down and listened, it became apparent. On that level alone, it's brilliant.

The issues of race, respect and otherness it raises are just as relevant today as they were in 1960 when it was written and in 1935 where it was set. The characters have a timeless appeal. I have a greater appreciation of the balance between observations by a child and interpretation of those events by a grown woman looking back. For some reason, this too became clearer listening to the book rather than reading it.

Sissy Spacek does a terrific job with the material. Her narration isn't spectacular in a Will Patton or George Guidall kind of way. Rather, it's understated. She never gets in the way of the story. She's perfect as the older, wiser Scout looking back. I loved listening to her and the subtle way she reads the book and gives voice to its characters. Perhaps another narrator would have given the book a showier treatment. Spacek gives it authenticity.

There are only three other authors who leave me so awed with their talent: Wallace Stegner, Eudora Welty and Willa Cather. Their books are a pleasure to experience again and again. This is no exception. It doesn't matter how many times you've read this book. Listening to it is a new experience and well worth a credit.

Yes. And I have already listened twice. It's a classic.

It reminds me of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer because they share themes of life in the south through the eyes of a child.

I listened to it the day it was released, and finished it the following morning. That night, I started over again.

I'm so happy this was finally released on audio. From what I understand it was recorded in 2006, but it took until 2014 to finally make it available.

Atticus Finch is a great role model of a man who fights for what is right, regardless of what other people think.

What more really could one say about a book I think 99% of us have read?

That it's even better the second or third time? That Academy Award actress Sissy Spacek (with her Southern accent and super talent) gives an extra spark to Scout and an even more thunderous impact to this very American story of racism, fears, lies, goodness and fathers and daughters?

You may have read TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD one time or twenty, seen Gregory Peck in black and white as Atticus Finch, and have 3 copies of the paperback bought for your kids' classes. But, you must buy this audiobook to experience anew the magnificent wonders of how great literature (and this powerful novel) can transport you back to a time and a place and stoke your feelings of pain and pleasure in such a strong way that you're glad to be alive.

Sissy Spacek narrating this transcendent story is that incredible!

Before To Kill a Mockingbird came into our store last summer, it was the most highly requested book here at Audible. An American classic renowned for how it delves into issues of racial inequality and the loss of innocence, Mockingbird remains uniquely relevant today. Its characters are familiar to many of us who read the book in school or watched the 1962 film starring Gregory Peck as the iconic Atticus Finch. But it’s young Scout, Atticus’ daughter, who stole my heart and is arguably one of the most endearing narrators in literature. Sissy Spacek takes on this voice brilliantly. She brings an authentic Southern twang with an edge: sharp and clear – sweet and steady. She becomes the Scout we all know and love and makes listening to what is one of the most popular books out there a completely new experience. And with Harper Lee's newly discovered novel, Go Set a Watchman, due out in July 2015, it's the perfect time to become reacquainted with these beloved characters.