Harper Lee

This forum is for discussion about authors. You can discuss specific authors, types of authors, groups of authors, or any other topics related to authors.

Related Special Forums: Author Articles | Author Interviews

If you are an author or writer looking to discuss writing and author-related issues, please use our writing forums instead.
User avatar
gali
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 53652
Joined: 22 Oct 2013, 07:12
Favorite Author: Agatha Christie
Currently Reading: The Suite Life
Bookshelf Size: 2287
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-gali.html
Reading Device: B00I15SB16
Publishing Contest Votes: 0
fav_author_id: 2484

Harper Lee

Post by gali »

Harper Lee, Author of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ Dies the other day at 89. I have read both her books, but thought “To Kill a Mockingbird" was her best work. RIP!

Harper Lee
A retired Admin/Mod

Pronouns: She/Her

"In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you." (Mortimer J. Adler)
User avatar
Kimkay15
Posts: 5
Joined: 20 Feb 2016, 03:45
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by Kimkay15 »

Sad to hear this!
User avatar
Gannon
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 14464
Joined: 17 May 2009, 01:48
Favorite Author: Colleen McCullough
Favorite Book: Pillars of the Earth
Currently Reading: Heaven's Net is Wide.
Bookshelf Size: 52
fav_author_id: 2863

Post by Gannon »

To this day "To Kill a Mockingbird" remains one of my favourite novels and Atticus Finch one of my favourite characters. Brilliant story, amazing characters and sensationally written. Rest in Peace Harper Lee you have the honour of writing one of the greats. :)
Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless. - Mother Teresa
User avatar
Readaholic24
Posts: 13
Joined: 23 Feb 2016, 10:57
Currently Reading: Infinite Jest
Bookshelf Size: 11
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-readaholic24.html

Post by Readaholic24 »

So sad that Harper Lee passed away. Her work was incredible and I'm saddened that negative press surrounding Go Set a Watchman has tarnished her legacy a bit. I read an interesting article in the express about handling any author's first draft with care (in relation to Harper Lee) and how the circumstances of her 2nd book being published were not ideal. I guess we may never know the full truth about how that manuscript was published, but I'll never forget Harper Lee for To Kill a Mockingbird. RIP
User avatar
karthykat1701
Posts: 5
Joined: 05 Mar 2016, 08:17
Bookshelf Size: 0
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-karthykat1701.html

Post by karthykat1701 »

To Kill A Mockingbird definitely beats Go Set A Watchman when it comes to content. Go Set A Watchman deconstructs the idealistic, morally straightforward plot of To Kill A Mockingbird, so it didn't impress me greatly. Hey, call me a goody-two shoes, but idealistic is the way I roll. That's probably why I love Captain America... :D

-- 05 Mar 2016, 08:32 --

To Kill A Mockingbird definitely beats Go Set A Watchman when it comes to content. Go Set A Watchman deconstructs the idealistic, morally straightforward plot of To Kill A Mockingbird, so it didn't impress me greatly. Hey, call me a goody-two shoes, but idealistic is the way I roll. That's probably why I love Captain America... :D
User avatar
Fran
Posts: 28072
Joined: 10 Aug 2009, 12:46
Favorite Author: David Mitchell
Favorite Book: Anna Karenina
Currently Reading: Hide and Seek
Bookshelf Size: 1208
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-fran.html
Reading Device: B00I15SB16
fav_author_id: 3104

Post by Fran »

I see on Twitter Harper Lee's will is to be sealed after being lodged with the court ... why I wonder?

nytimes.com/2016/03/05/books/judge-seal ... ;smtyp=cur
We fade away, but vivid in our eyes
A world is born again that never dies.
- My Home by Clive James
User avatar
Gannon
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 14464
Joined: 17 May 2009, 01:48
Favorite Author: Colleen McCullough
Favorite Book: Pillars of the Earth
Currently Reading: Heaven's Net is Wide.
Bookshelf Size: 52
fav_author_id: 2863

Post by Gannon »

Fran wrote:I see on Twitter Harper Lee's will is to be sealed after being lodged with the court ... why I wonder?

nytimes.com/2016/03/05/books/judge-seal ... ;smtyp=cur
Hmmmm.... very interesting. :?:
Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless. - Mother Teresa
User avatar
DATo
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 5772
Joined: 31 Dec 2011, 07:54
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by DATo »

Fran wrote:I see on Twitter Harper Lee's will is to be sealed after being lodged with the court ... why I wonder?

nytimes.com/2016/03/05/books/judge-seal ... ;smtyp=cur
Perhaps Harper Lee wanted the people/institutions she endowed with her bequests to be protected from the publicity, scrutiny, and exploitation from which she had always tried to protect herself. There is a very clear message suggesting "harm" to those mentioned in the will but we are left to speculate as to the manner of harm to which this refers.

Considering how privately she conducted her personal life it would seem to me that this imperative was something that she had considerately wished for those mentioned in her will and perhaps that (privacy) is / was her sole purpose in wanting the will sealed; but, as always, there will probably forever remain a niggling doubt as to whether there is more to the story.

I am more intrigued by the story of Jacqueline Kennedy having time sealed a letter which is to be opened 25 years after the death of her two children - the implications are staggering - or, it may prove to be a dud like the Fatima letter.
“I just got out of the hospital. I was in a speed reading accident. I hit a book mark and flew across the room.”
― Steven Wright
User avatar
moderntimes
Posts: 2249
Joined: 15 Mar 2014, 13:03
Favorite Author: James Joyce
Favorite Book: Ulysses by James Joyce
Currently Reading: Grendel by John Gardner
Bookshelf Size: 0
fav_author_id: 2516

Post by moderntimes »

Regarding her novel, "Mockingbird" I must admit that I never much cared for it. The book, in my opinion, was very well written, skillful, but the plot premise was based on "low hanging fruit" which biases the book being a favorite. By "low hanging fruit" mean that the plot cards are stacked so that we can only admire the crusading attorney working in the den of racism and the conflicts are therefore expected and predictable. It would be better if Finch had known the black guy was in fact guilty but still mounted a superb defense for him.

Let me illustrate my point by referring to a fairly popular movie a few years ago, "Crimson Tide". In the film, Gene Hackman plays the rancid commander of a strategic sub. He's an "old school" guy who hates dissent, set in his ways, rough and not a very nice person. Now we meet Denzel Washington as his new exec. Denzel is everything his boss is not. He's gentle, educated, smart, decent. Now there's a nuclear threat and the sub deep dives, and their code transmissions from HQ are jumbled. The argument is whether they should fire their missiles at the Russians. Naturally, Hackman wants to, Denzel does not, and there's a near mutiny. Then after a lot of confrontations, the sub surfaces and they find, surprise, that there was no war and that Denzel was right.

But we knew from the START that he'd be right. He's smart, handsome, young, black, professional, all the good things for a Hollywood movie, whereas Hackman is the opposite. So there's really no surprise in the movie. Now what I'd have done was reverse the roles. Make Denzel the commander, Hackman the underling, and have Denzel wanting to fire the missiles. Now, we'd be unsure who was right or wrong. But as Hollywood did it, the deck was stacked from the outset and therefore there was no real suspense.

Now imagine that Finch, at the end, discloses that the black guy was guilty and that he nevertheless defended him strongly. The conflict we'd see in his kids and friends would be a much more vivid situation. Whereas, with the deep South's racism, the black guy being totally innocent, we have no real tension or payoff.

Nevertheless, the book was well written, but the outcome was predictable and that made the book much less intriguing for me.

Just my 2 cents.

I am very saddened however that Harper Lee was apparently "held hostage" by her caregivers who made a mint off the "Watchman" book and much to Lee's likely denial. I don't think she'd have wanted that book published if she had a say in things.
"Ineluctable modality of the visible..."
User avatar
WillWalter13
Posts: 5
Joined: 12 Mar 2016, 20:04
Currently Reading: The darkest part of the forest
Bookshelf Size: 0
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-willwalter13.html
Reading Device: B00IKPYKWG

Post by WillWalter13 »

I haven't read "watchmen" yet but I loved TKAM as a kid.
User avatar
moderntimes
Posts: 2249
Joined: 15 Mar 2014, 13:03
Favorite Author: James Joyce
Favorite Book: Ulysses by James Joyce
Currently Reading: Grendel by John Gardner
Bookshelf Size: 0
fav_author_id: 2516

Post by moderntimes »

I liked the book, don't get me wrong. But is was seizing "low hanging fruit" which means that it took easy targets -- a black kid accused in a racist south, a stalwart and campaigning lawyer fighting for the black kid, he's sedate and kind hearted father and a great attorney while all the other white folks are stereotype racists. With that forumulaic concept, of COURSE people will be fans of the novel. It's the "right" think to do.

But what if the attorney knew for a fact that the black kid was guilty and still defended him, and when the daughter learns that he knew of the client's guilt, she was baffled that her father defended him anyway? That would have made the story so very much more intense.
"Ineluctable modality of the visible..."
User avatar
blai3ser
Posts: 6
Joined: 26 Apr 2016, 13:42
Bookshelf Size: 0
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-blai3ser.html

Post by blai3ser »

Harper Lee captured the children's understanding that adults lose. The little child within us is released through Scout and even Boo. Her loss from this world is a tragedy.
User avatar
Allerdale
Posts: 14
Joined: 12 May 2016, 16:26
Currently Reading: House of Leaves
Bookshelf Size: 14
Reading Device: B00I15SB16

Post by Allerdale »

To be honest I was never a big fan of TKAM. Even as the classics lover that I am, I never clicked with it. Boo and Jem are the only characters I remember from reading it. Maybe it's due a re-read since it has been a while.

I however was very saddened to hear about her publishing process. I think she had plenty more novels in her that could have been even better if the weight of TKAM hadn't settled. Sadly I won't be picking up "Watchman" because *SPOILER* Jem died prior.
User avatar
Fran
Posts: 28072
Joined: 10 Aug 2009, 12:46
Favorite Author: David Mitchell
Favorite Book: Anna Karenina
Currently Reading: Hide and Seek
Bookshelf Size: 1208
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-fran.html
Reading Device: B00I15SB16
fav_author_id: 3104

Post by Fran »

moderntimes wrote:I liked the book, don't get me wrong. But is was seizing "low hanging fruit" which means that it took easy targets -- a black kid accused in a racist south, a stalwart and campaigning lawyer fighting for the black kid, he's sedate and kind hearted father and a great attorney while all the other white folks are stereotype racists. With that forumulaic concept, of COURSE people will be fans of the novel. It's the "right" think to do.

But what if the attorney knew for a fact that the black kid was guilty and still defended him, and when the daughter learns that he knew of the client's guilt, she was baffled that her father defended him anyway? That would have made the story so very much more intense.
I disagree, IMO Atticus was fighting for the rule of law and legal process rather than specifically because the accused was a black kid.
We fade away, but vivid in our eyes
A world is born again that never dies.
- My Home by Clive James
User avatar
DATo
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 5772
Joined: 31 Dec 2011, 07:54
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by DATo »

Fran wrote:
moderntimes wrote:I liked the book, don't get me wrong. But is was seizing "low hanging fruit" which means that it took easy targets -- a black kid accused in a racist south, a stalwart and campaigning lawyer fighting for the black kid, he's sedate and kind hearted father and a great attorney while all the other white folks are stereotype racists. With that forumulaic concept, of COURSE people will be fans of the novel. It's the "right" think to do.

But what if the attorney knew for a fact that the black kid was guilty and still defended him, and when the daughter learns that he knew of the client's guilt, she was baffled that her father defended him anyway? That would have made the story so very much more intense.
I disagree, IMO Atticus was fighting for the rule of law and legal process rather than specifically because the accused was a black kid.
Bear with me ....

I'm going to have to agree with @Fran on this one. Atticus would have defended Tom Robinson with equal effort regardless of whether Robinson had been black or white; however, he was mindful that the deck was stacked against him because of Robinson's race. Atticus Finch emerges as perhaps the greatest moral champion of literary history because he was willing to courageously accept the case despite knowing the obstacles he was facing but also because he knew of the probable effect this would have on the lives of his children ... his own children!

@moderntimes - Harper Lee came from the deep south (Monroeville, Alabama). She was obviously not a racist and I'm sure she probably knew others who also were not racists. It must be remembered that the jury in the Tom Robinson Case was out for several hours. If they were all racists the verdict would have been returned in a matter of minutes. There were at least some jurors who accepted Atticus' presentation of the facts. The reason the verdict came back the way it did was in all likelihood the result of the jurors knowing that they would have to remain in this community and be forever remembered as the people who had sided with a black man over a white woman. No one wants to be ostracized in their own community.

We see the same dynamic playing out today in African-American communities. When a white police officer makes an arrest in a black neighborhood it seems the entire community is on the side of the black criminal. Why? Because they will have to remain in that community and accept the censure and perhaps even reprisals of their neighbors who will consider them traitors. Even if they know the truth is on the side of the police officer they will remain quiet. But sometimes the opposite occurs. I have seen with my own eyes several black people coming to the defense of a white girl in opposition to a black woman claiming the girl was the cause of a traffic accident. I clearly heard a black woman who was a witness to the incident shout, "I will not lie for you." An older black man dressed in a work uniform approached the white girl and handed her a piece of paper - obviously his contact information in the event he was needed as a witness.

Elements of integrity and courage reside in all people of all races as does fear, and sometimes we witness integrity and courage rise to the surface in the face of fear. When we see it we know it, and we honor it. I think this is what Harper Lee was shooting for in her presentation of Atticus.
“I just got out of the hospital. I was in a speed reading accident. I hit a book mark and flew across the room.”
― Steven Wright
Post Reply

Return to “Discuss Authors”