Wednesday 3 October 2018

Read in September

To Kill a Mockingbird audiobook cover art

To Kill a Mockingbird

  • Author: Harper Lee (1926-2016)
  • Audio narratation: Sissy Spacek
  • Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
  • To Kill a Mockingbird, first published in 1960, has been translated into more than 40 languages and sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. I’ve seen the title on lots of “Must Read” lists over the years, but never got round to reading it – until now. Actually I never even really had a clue what it was about. But when it recently turned up for me at Audible, I decided that maybe it was time to find out!

    So during the month of September I listened to this book – twice! Because I tend to drift off sometimes, and when I reached the end I felt that I might have missed some bits and pieces. So I gave it one more turn, to fill in the blanks. And I’m glad I did, as it is indeed one of those books where quite a few “clues” kind of lie hidden in things that may not seem all that important until later – when you begin to get the whole picture. Just like Life, really!

    The story takes place during three years (1933–35) of the Great Depression in a fictional town in Alabama. The story is told from the point of view of a young “tomboy” girl (Jean Louise, but nicknamed Scout); only six years old at the beginning, and living with her older brother Jem, and their widowed father, Atticus, who is a lawyer.  One major thing that happens in “the adult world” in the town is that Atticus is appointed to defend a black man who has been accused of raping a young white woman. In spite of Atticus (as always!) doing his best to stand up for justice and fight against prejudice, the same cannot be said for all of the town’s inhabitants…

    The plot and characters are said to be loosely based on Harper Lee's own observations of her own family and neighbors and an event that occurred near her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, in 1936, when she was 10 years old. In her novel, she manages to combine the innocence and misconceptions of childhood with the gradually increased insights of growing up, as well as the adult perspective of looking back at the past from a more mature point of view.

    I liked the audio performance by Sissy Spacek (read with a southern accent), I think it helped set the “mood” of the story.


    This is not the only book I read/listened to in September, but the others were in Swedish and/or not yet finished.

    2/ As daily radio series (38 episodes), I’ve been listening to Swede Hollow, a novel by Swedish author Ola Larsmo (born 1957), published in 2016. It is about Swedish emigrants in the 1800s who settled in Swede Hollow (‘the Swedish valley’), a neighbourhood of Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was one of the oldest settlements in the city, but also the poorest. I don’t know if the novel has been translated into English.


    3/ I’m also currently listening to a Swedish crime novel set in the city and province where I live, and written by our district police chief (Lena Matthijs). Her characters and turns of events and details etc are fictional, but the stories inspired by real cases. I think she has written four books so far. I bought one at a local book fair back in the spring (her third), and now I borrowed the first as audio. I was impressed by the one I bought, and I am with this one as well (although not having finished it yet). Alas I don’t think her books have been translated (even though the one I’m listening to now has an English title: Killing your darlings.) Just thought I’d mention it anyway…


    4/ On Kindle, I am reading another crime novel: Lethal White by Robert Galbraith, alias J.K. Rowling. It’s her fourth about the private detective Cormoran Strike and his (female) assistant Robin. I still have about 25% left to read (and no idea how it’s all going to come together at the end), but can’t resist mentioning one of those extraordinary coincidences that happen sometimes… You know: you happen to read or hear about something, somewhere; and then, just afterwards, it happens to turn up again in a completely different context! In this case: the White Horse at Uffington, Oxfordshire, a giant prehistoric chalk figure on a hillside. Jenny Woolf  recently wrote about it on her blog *An English Travel Writer* (September 12th). The new Galbraith novel was downloaded to my Kindle a week later (I had pre-ordered it, weeks before, knowing no details about the story) – and it turns out to involve the very same chalk horse. No need for me to look it up, as I had the images fresh in my mind already! (Thanks Jenny!)


    16 comments:

    1. The only one I have heard of is Mockingbird, which is a classic here. I have seen the White Horse on T.V. documentaries. It is really fascinating!

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Yes Ginny - I kind of assumed you'd probably be familiar with To Kill A Mockingbird, as it is an American classic.

        Delete
    2. What a coincidence. I read Jenny's post too. It's a great place, and a good one for some criminal activity. I was thinking about it again today as I wrote about Ale's Stones... I love the (sometimes) atmosphere of a place that has had significance for thousands of years. Or even hundreds! We don't have much in that way going on in New Zealand.
      Are you a member of Audible?

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Yes Kate, I'm a member of Audible. Because of a combination of both my neck and my eyes getting easily tired, I listen a lot to audio books. I guess living alone comes into it as well. With a good audio book, I can keep listening whether I'm doing routine household chores or just resting! With Swedish books I can usually borrow them as audio/talking books from the library, but as I also love to read/listen in English, I'm also big fan of Kindle + Audible :)

        Delete
      2. PS. I'll be popping over to your Ale's Stones post very soon! :)

        Delete
      3. YES! I totally love Audible. For some of the reasons you mentioned. For me it's arms and fingers that get tired from my painting. Another reason is that I am losing my hearing and so I'm a little bit in love with one of the best (in my opinion) readers - he is so clear I can hear every word. Ric Jerrom.

        Delete
      4. Never heard of him, I think - but looking it up now, I see that he's read what I've gathered before is one of your favourite series. (One which I have not read.)

        Delete
    3. I have read "To Kill a Mockingbird" when I was about 12 years old, but I am quite sure I did not fully benefit from it as I would if I re-read it now. Gregory Peck will always be Atticus for me!
      The books by your district police chief sound like something I'd also read if I were you - local setting, local and knowledgeable author; I love this kind of thing.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Meike, I don't think I ever saw the film. (If I did, I don't remember.) As for re-reading books I first read back in my early teens, I too find that I probably see some different aspects of them when returning to them many years later. But it's probably always a sign of quality when a book can be enjoyed by both young and old!

        Delete
    4. I'm surprised that it was written in 1960. I must have read it not long after it was published. Like Meike I always imagine Atticis (since the film) as being Gregory Peck.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Graham, I had no pre-set images of any of the characters in my head when I read (listened to) the book, as I never saw the film (and did not even know there was a film until I looked it up in connection with writing this post). In 1960, I was five years old, and probably still not reading any books by myself that did not have mostly pictures in them... ;)

        Delete
    5. I saw the movie To Kill a mockingbird but have never read the book. might try it.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Sandra, strangely both the book and the film have escaped my attention until now (even if I know I've heard the title).

        Delete
    6. I really enjoyed Lethal White!

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Fi, I finished it yesterday and I enjoyed it too. Rather complex plot with a lot of characters though (and a lot of lies) - not all easy to keep up! :)

        Delete
    7. I don't think I've ever seen that movie but I've been meaning to for a while.

      ReplyDelete

    Communication is what makes blogging fun :)
    ... but all spam or suspected spam will be deleted.

    Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...