Review of To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird

Author: Harper Lee

Publisher: J. B. Lippincott & Co.

Publication Date: July 1960

    There is arguably no better time to read this book than now. Then again, that might be true of every year since this book was published more than half a century ago. While To Kill A Mockingbird is set in a town far removed from our place and time, the themes it addresses and the choices made by its characters seem all too familiar. The setting is sleepy Maycomb, Alabama, in the Depression era 1930s. The fact that many of Maycomb’s inhabitants are segregated, racist, and hypocritical is neither unusual nor unexpected. Nor is the central horror of the book - the brutal persecution of a black man, Tom Robinson. Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, who is five years old when the story begins, is the narrator. She grows up with her father, a white widowed lawyer named Atticus, her brother Jem, four years her senior, and her friend, Dill who visits during summers. Everything changes for Scout’s family when Atticus agrees to defend Tom, who is accused of raping a white woman.

    Lee’s choice of Scout as narrator allows us to discover Maycomb through the keyhole perspective of a precocious child. Scout awakens to the harsh realities of Maycomb - to racism and class conflict, to insensible hatred and to the cruelest falsehoods in the name of virtue. Our perception of Scout’s world grows with hers. There is no shortage of good stories about the complexities and terrible consequences of prejudice and hate. Why does a 60-year-old story remain not only relevant, but compelling? Maybe because it makes you not just furious, but sad. Deeply, profoundly sad. Fury is powerful, but often without constructive direction. Sadness makes us care and empathize, makes us not just want to destroy what’s wrong, but make things right.

    To Kill A Mockingbird is also just a well-told story. The dialogue of the main characters fits and evokes the time period. Their vivid, unorthodox personalities help us feel a deeper connection with them as well as the whole of Maycomb. The experiences of Scout and Atticus certainly don’t promise us a better future, but they do show us why we must hope and try. I recommend this book to mature middle grade readers and up. 

- D. K. Nuray

Review of Olive the Lionheart

Olive the Lionheart

Author: Brad Ricca

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Publication Date: August 11, 2020

    You’ve never heard of Olive Macleod. And you still wouldn’t have if she hadn’t left behind secret diaries, and if Brad Ricca hadn’t opened them to us in this remarkable story. A Scottish aristocrat, Olive was 30 years old when her fiance, the famous naturalist Boyd Alexander, went missing in Africa. So she did the natural thing for a female aristocrat in 1910 - she went after him. Her story is true - this book was written after her secret diaries and letters to Boyd were found in a Scottish castle that happened to be one of her family homes. The stunning African setting, unconventional protagonist, and elements of romance, adventure, and mystery lead the story on a novel’s path. Olive’s diary entries and letters are woven in neatly, contributing to the plot while immersing the reader in her experience, perspective, and time period. Little details and sentences such as “‘a woman… is always capable of doing what she wanted to’” further contribute to the reader’s understanding of who Olive was.

    Finely tuned details do not just shade the portrait of a remarkable character. We learn early on in the story that Olive kept a daily diary, no matter where she was camped or how exhausted she was. You know, just the sort of thing you would do when you’re looking for your lost fiance in Africa. Her diligence and observations lead the reader on a fascinating journey through time, unveiling a broad picture of colonial Africa. Olive accomplished feats that no man, let alone a woman, had done before. If she wanted to learn how to shoot, hear a tribal story told, or see the 250 secluded wives of a chief, she would find a way to do it. Ricca not only brings to light the untold and unforgettable story of a fearless woman, he brings to life the history of a continent that made humans who and what we are.

    Olive the Lionheart is riveting - for its writing, for its detail, for the portrayal of the meeting of cultures and societies, and for the real emotions that lift Olive’s voice out of the pages. Rich details can sometimes slow the narrative and make the story hard to digest, but it is worth slowing down to digest them. Also, for roughly the first 40 pages, already-introduced characters’ last names are included when they appear, and Olive’s name is included more often than necessary. This is perhaps meant as an aid to the reader but instead is a disruptive formality. Overall, this book is captivating, insightful, and well put together. I would recommend it for YA readers and up who enjoy biographies, history novels, strong female protagonists, and a rich setting and plot.

- D. K. Nuray