To Kill a Mockingbird
After a two week hiatus, Novel Ideas is back with To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This book is another one of those that most of you probably had to read in school. For us, this was one of the assigned readings that we actually enjoyed, and we were reminded of that on the re-read. We discuss the big issues, like feminism and racism, mostly without embarrassing ourselves. Mostly. We also discuss the smaller issues, like who makes the best cakes in Maycomb, why everybody loves tomboys, and whether Atticus Finch gets to claim the title of “Literary Father of the Year.”
The music bump is “Fables of Faubus” by Charles Mingus, written to poke fun at Governor Orval Faubus of Arkansas when he called out the National Guard to prevent Little Rock Central High School from being integrated in 1957.
24 – To Kill a Mockingbird – All Racism, All the Time
Note: We neglected to mention it on the podcast this week, but banned book week is coming up at the end of the month. Our next few books have all been banned or challenged in various places for various reasons. Celebrate with us by reading something controversial!
Novel Ideas 
September 19, 2012 at 6:11 pm
Hey! Just listened to this week’s episode because it’s my favorite book EVER, so I was excited. I really enjoyed it, and Gabs, thanks for pointing out the knife vs knife thing at the end. It took me many, many rereads for that to dawn on me.
Just a few things: The movie really is excellent, and totally worth watching. Not only is it a well-made film but it kind of illuminates (through what gets removed/changed) what society would and wouldn’t tolerate in the 1960s, even in a film decrying racism. (Confession: I wrote my senior thesis on this. So it’s possible it’s not as obvious as I think, but still.)
“Mockingbird” by Charles Shields is a really good biography of Harper Lee, if you’re interested in some of the background information, like her mother issues and the Truman Capote thing and how/why she never wrote another book.
Also! She’s still alive!! She’s really old and I think she might have Alzheimer’s, and she hasn’t given an interview since something like 1965, and just lives in Alabama with her like, 106-year old sister. But! Still alive!!
Thanks for this! I enjoyed it!