Eine berührende Geschichte über die gesellschaftlichen Strukturen eines kleinen County in den Südstaaten der 1930er Jahre, eine besondere Vater-Tochter-Beziehung und ein schreckliches Verbrechen. Harper Lee bearbeitet schmerzhafte Themen wie Rassismus, Gewalt und Armut und erinnert gleichzeitig daran, dass es sich immer lohnt, das Richtige zu tun, auch wenn - oder gerade weil - alle um einen herum nur das Falsche tun.

Ah yes a literature classic telling racism from the eyes of a white savior. I love and hate this book because yes, the surface may seem like it gives the reader an insight into the early 20th century white south america but the further you analyze the themes you realize that this book does nothing in the regard of actually explaining the circumstances of racial discrimination. It wraps everything neatly into a narrative that reassures that "not all white people are bad" instead of challenging Scouts ideology. It's less about the lived experiences of marginalized people and more about a white protagonist perceiving and moving on from the actual issue

The first half is great, the second half is incredible. The world of early 20th century Alabama and its racial divide are described well. While the strong message that still lingers in my mind is hard to miss and masterfully delivered, it leaves room for the characters to matter and at no point did I not feel the eyes of the girl Scout looking out at her world. To talk about it without spoiling one of the best endings I have had the pleasure to read, it’s fitting and not entirely spelled out, which I like a lot. “It’s not time to worry, yet” Summary: Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a powerful coming-of-age novel set in the American South, where a young girl navigates issues of racial injustice, morality, and empathy through the trial of a Black man falsely accused of a crime. Through her father, a principled lawyer, she learns the importance of standing up for what is right, even when faced with prejudice and resistance.

I had a really hard time getting into the book, I couldn’t see where it would lead me and I was waiting for the story to start. When it started it sucked me in and I loved the climax at the end. After I finished it I re read a couple of pages at the beginning and suddenly I could see that the story was already there at the beginning just not as ominous. I enjoyed it.

To Kill a Mockingbird is old, and you can tell. In the beginning of the book, the reading experience reminded me a lot of books like "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "Robinson Crusoe", and it shows the realities of the separation between Black and white people in the US of the time. Later, the book reminded me more of "A Lesson Before Dying", which I had to read in school for probably similar reasons as why this book made it into classrooms in the US, except that "To Kill a Mockingbird" is told from a perspective of a white family, while "A lesson before dying" is told from the perspective of a Black man (but also in a comparatively privileged position). While "To Kill a Mockingbird"'s approach is no longer modern, showing mostly white people's reaction to the Black people's struggles in this book, I can see why it was chosen and beloved and I think it will have served its purpose in answering more than a few "why should I care?" questions from white children sheltered from the social realities of those around them (just like the protagonist in this book), as well as making its way into households and communities where books by Black authors or Black protagonists possibly would not have been read. Even if its methods are outdated, "To Kill A Mockingbird" is still an enjoyable read, looking at a subject matter that was important then and now, that can still teach us lessons, especially about how easy it is to fall into prejudiced thinking if that is what everyone else is doing too. If you liked "To Kill a Mockingbird", I would recommend the above-mentioned "A Lesson Before Dying" by Ernest J. Gaines, a book treating a similar subject matter that is also being read in schools (albeit in a slightly older age range), from a Black author with a Black protagonist.

„To Kill a Mockingbird“ von Harper Lee ist eine bewegende und kraftvolle Geschichte, die vom Kampf um Gerechtigkeit und Moral in einer Kleinstadt im amerikanischen Süden in den 1930er Jahren erzählt. Die Handlung wird aus der Sicht eines Mädchens namens Scout Finch erzählt. Ihr Vater, Atticus Finch, ist Anwalt und verteidigt den Afroamerikaner Thomas Robinson, der zu Unrecht der Vergewaltigung einer weißen Frau beschuldigt wird. Durch Scouts Augen sehen wir eine Welt voller Vorurteile und Grausamkeit, aber auch voller menschlicher Widerstandskraft und Güte. Es war schockierend, so oft das N-Wort in diesem Buch zu sehen. Aber man darf nicht vergessen, dass das Werk in den 60er Jahren geschrieben wurde und als Kritik an der privilegierten Gesellschaft gedacht war. In dem Roman geht es um Rassenungerechtigkeit, moralische Dilemmas und die Bedeutung von Mitgefühl. Umso trauriger ist es, dass auch heute noch einige Mitglieder der Gesellschaft nach solchen Prinzipien und Vorurteilen leben. Ein Buch zum Nachdenken! 4,5/5 ⭐

So, after I've read Go Set a Watchman first I appreciate some changes she made to the first manuscript, some others not so much. I think writing this book in a child's perspective was a brilliant idea. We see the difficulties between white and black people in Alabama in the late 1930s through innocent eyes. I loved the long descriptions of the summers in this little town and their unique inhabitants. Atticus was an angel and the picture of the society ruled by white people as well as the law made by white people, too, was very interesting to read about. Still, I missed the hard realism of Go Set a Watchman at some parts of the book which made me rate it 4 stars "only". Nevertheless, an important book and a great read!

Also zwischendurch zieht sichs nen bisschen aber ich würds trotzdem sehr empfehlen. Ich dachte immer wieder es wird nicht krasser und wurde seite für Seite des besseren belehrt. Ich lieb Atticus ja mal absolut, aber auch Calpurnia und die Entwicklung der Charaktere ist richtig schön beschrieben. Auch von der Lexik her ist es mega gut nachvollziehbar und lässt die Situation aus ihrer Sicht nachvollziehbar werden. Liebs.

I really enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and it is a book with an important message that everyone should have read - not without a reason a classic. It took me a while to really get into the book and its story. I found it very nice to read with how much imagination the two children Scout and Jem arrange their free time, but I still found it a bit long-winded for my taste. This is for me one of the reasons why I give only 4 and not 5 stars. In addition, in my opinion, the part about the process and the conviction is a little too short, which could have been presented in more detail for me. The story is told from the point of view of the little Scout and is just at the beginning much about the everyday life of her and her brother Jem. In the course of the story, however, you realize more and more that the book is set in the 30 years in a small town in the U.S. and this is very marked by racism. Without giving too much away about the story itself, I found it remarkable what a, for the time, modern attitude their father Atticus had and with how much intelligence, kindness and progressiveness he tries to educate his children so that they go through life with less prejudice. The story takes place almost 100 years ago and a lot has certainly happened in that time, but unfortunately it has to be said that some of these issues are still far too current. But also for that reason, this is a recommended read for me to bring more awareness to the issue.

The majority was a slog to get through. Why this is read in schools i do not really get. It mostly displays the difference of white and black people back than, how they talk about each other, how they behave with and between each other and what assumptions they have. Back then this was probably a bigger issue than today, and the "how" people are treated differently has changed quiet a bit with technology and the interconnectes world. The parts in which Atticus tries to educate the children is the only wisdom i take from this book. But it couls have been packages way better. Being from europe this whole racism thing never really affected me and i dont get why people were like this - ever.

Der Schreibstil von Harper Lee, wie die Charaktere dargestellt sind und die teilweise kindliche Sprache lassen einen in diesem Buch wirklich mitfühlen. Am Ende des Buches hängt man sehr an den Charakteren. Ein Augen öffnendes Buch mit wohligem Gefühl trotz der harschen Wahrheit der Gesellschaft aus dieser Zeit.

to kill a mockingbird gab mir sowohl sprachlich, wie auch geschichtlich ein sehr guten Einblick in die 1930 im Süden der USA. Teil der Geschichte ist ein kleiner Ort und wie das so typisch ist kennt jeder jeden, hier wachsen die Finch Geschwister auf und als Leser begleitet man die beiden über einen Zeitraum von ca. 5 Jahren. Gerade da es eine Geschichte erzählt durch die Augen eines Kindes ist, ist es eine so tolle Erzählung über Courage und der Wahrheit, wie schrecklich das Leben sein kann (vor allem zu dieser Zeit). Bis Seite 200 kam mir alles sehr lange vor, da erst dann auch mal mehr Spannung rein kam, wobei das gar nicht so schlimm war. Das Buch beleuchtet einfach viel alltägliches und das Ende war dann sehr spannend, mir hat es so gefallen.

Manche Klassiker sind schwer zu lesen oder eine Qual für jedes Schulkind. "To kill a mockingbird" dagegen hätte ich gern im Unterricht gehabt - und ich bin sehr froh, dass ich es jetzt gelesen habe. Dies ist ein Klassiker, der zurecht einer ist und Preise gewonnen hat, ein wunderbares Buch, das sehr, sehr eindrücklich und bildgewaltig ist. Das Mädchen Jean Louise Finch, genannt Scout, lebt in den 30er Jahren mit ihrem verwitweten Vater Atticus, dem älteren Bruder Jem und der schwarzen Köchin Cal zusammen in Alabama. Es ist eine Kindheitsgeschichte aus ihren Augen, mit vielen Wundern und Spielen, lauen Sommernächten und sehr spitzen, treffenden Beobachtungen der Kleinstadt und ihrer Bewohner. Erst ganz langsam schleichen sich Töne in den Roman, die tief treffen, bis es mit Atticus' neuestem Fall als Anwalt, bei dem ein weißes Mädchen einen schwarzen Mann der Vergewaltigung bezichtigt, dann sehr deutlich um Rassismus zur damaligen Zeit geht. Ich schreibe "zur damaligen Zeit", aber eigentlich habe ich sehr lange gebraucht, um zu merken, in welcher Zeit es spielt, bis es dann nach ca. der Mitte des Romans auch erwähnt wird und es auch deutlichere Bezüge zum Zeitgeschehen gibt (Hitler, Great Depression, WPA - auch wenn ich das erst googlen musste, das war die Works Progress Administration in den USA, die in der Zeit der Depression Arbeit für die vielen Arbeitslosen beschaffen sollte). Dadurch wird der Roman zeitloser und bleibt aktuell, wie auch Atticus' Botschaften an seine Kinder und das Unverständnis von Scout und Jem, was einige der Verhaltensweisen ihrer Mitmenschen angeht. Ein paar Zitate habe ich noch mit Stellen, die mich besonders nachhaltig beeindruckt haben: "Why don't you drink your coffee, Scout?" I was playing in it with the spoon. "I thought Mr. [...] was a friend of ours. You told me a long time ago he was." "He still is." "But last night he wanted to hurt you." Atticus placed his fork beside his knife and pushed his plate aside. "Mr. [...]'s basically a good man," he said, "he just has his blind spots along with the rest of us." Jem spoke. "Don't call that a blind spot. He'da killed you last night when he first went there." "He might have hurt me a little," Atticus conceded, "but son, you'll understand folks a little better when you're older. A mob's always made up of people, no matter what. Mr. [...] was part of a mob last night, but he was still a man. Every mob in every little Southern town is always made up of people you know - doesn't say much for them, does it?" S. 210 Dieses Zitat folgt am Ende einer langen Szene, in der die beiden Kinder Scout und Jem, ca. 8 und 12 glaube ich, versuchen zu verstehen, warum ein bestimmtes Urteil im Gerichtsprozess gefällt wurde und warum Menschen sich auf eine bestimmte Art verhalten und warum es Ungleichheiten zwischen ihnen gibt: "That's what I thought, too," he [Jem] said at last, "when I was your age. If there's just one kind of folks, why can't they get along with each other? If they're all alike why do they go out of their way to despise each other? Scout, I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time ... it's because he wants to stay inside." S. 304 Eine der härteren Stellen, weil hier niemand widerspricht, auch wenn klar ist, dass niemand aus der Familie Finch diese Meinung teilt: "Now class, say it all together, 'We are a democracy.'" We said it. Then Miss Gates said, "That's the difference between America and Germany. We are a democracy and Germany is a dictatorship. Dictator-ship," she said. "Over here we don't believe in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from people who are prejudived. Prejudice," she enunciated carefully. "There are no better people in the world than the Jews, and why Hitler doesn't think so is a mystery to me." An inquiring soul in the middle of the room said, "Why don't they like the Jews, you reckon, Miss Gates?" "I don't know, Henry. They contribute to every society they live in, and most of all, they are a deeply religious people. Hitler's trying to do away with religion, so maybe he doesn't like them for that reason." Cecil spoke up. "Well I don't know for certain," he said, "they're supposed to change money or somethin', but that ain't no cause to persecute 'em. They're white, ain't they?" S. 328 f. Wie man den Zitaten unschwer entnehmen kann, habe ich das Buch übrigens im Original gelesen und mit meinem C2-Englisch tatsächlich nachschlagen müssen. Zudem gibt es einige Umgangssprache in der wörtlichen Rede, die für die heutige Zeit ungewohnt klingt. Dennoch würde ich nicht unbedingt die Übersetzung empfehlen, schon allein weil der deutsche Titel sehr viel abgemildeter klingt (Wer die Nachtigall stört? STÖRT? 1. ist der Mockingbird keine Nachtigall, sondern eine Spottdrossel und 2. geht es nicht ums Stören, sondern ums Töten eines unschuldigen Wesens, was als Vergleich an zwei Stellen im Buch herangezogen wird. Diese ganze Symbolik ist verloren, wenn es nur darum geht, einen vollkommen anderen Vogel nicht zu stören.) Alles in allem - wundervolles Buch, das nach wie vor wichtig ist und verdient ist, von jedem mindestens einmal gelesen zu werden! Content Warnings: Rassismus, Tod, Morphin-Sucht (am Rande), Vergewaltigung (als Gerichtsthema, keinerlei grafische Darstellung oder tatsächlich passierende Szene), Gewalt

Scout wächst mit ihrem Bruder Jem bei ihrem Vater Atticus in einer Kleinstadt in Alabama auf. Als ihr Vater als Anwalt zur Verteidung eines Schwarzen berufen wird, dem die Vergewaltigung einer weißen Frau vorgeworfen wird, erleben die beiden am eigenen Leib die Vorurteile und Rassissmus in den Südstaaten der 1930er Jahre.

Die Geschichte wird aus der Sicht eines Kindes erzählt was hier aber gar nicht weiter stört. Scout, Jem und besonders Atticus sind für mich ziemlich sympathische Charaktere gewesen und es hat Spaß gemacht ihre Gedanken und Gespräche zu verfolgen. Natürlich muss man im Hinterkopf behalten, dass das Buch von einer weißen Frau geschrieben wurde und inzwischen auch über 60 Jahre alt ist. Trotzdem habe ich die Geschichte ziemlich genossen.

Plot Louise “Scout” Jean and Jeremy “Jem” Finch live with their father Atticus in Maycomb, Alabama. Their lives take a turn when attorney Atticus has to defend African-American citizen Tom Robinson, who got accused of raping 19 year old Mayella Ewell. Raised by their tolerant father and their nurse Calpurnia, Scout and Jem are suddenly caught and found between injudice and prejudice, not understanding how cruel and life can be and how hard it is to get out of stereotypes once they are set. My opinion To be honest, I was a bit afraid to start this book since I thought it would be too hard and too complicated to read (another prejudice). Little did I know that it was from the perspective of a child and therefore the language was easier, more fitting to a child’s mind – yet not just as easy. The story is told in the timeset of Alabama in the 1930s, in which racial segregation was very active. The Finches have an African-American household keeper, African-Americans go to their own separate church and work as pickers and helpers on a cotton field. Not to forget that if they are involved in a crime, they are guilty no matter how many facts are presented that the opposite is the truth, that they are innocent. Which leads to the main theme of To Kill a Mockingbird. Through the innocent eyes of a child racial discrimination has the effect to look even worse than it already is and that the color of one’s skin isn’t a factor to get judged. Scout and Jem question constantly the actions and stereotypes the grown-ups presented to them. Mentioned grown-ups try to put down the kid’s questions with answers like “this is how it is” and “that some ways aren’t able to change”. Which shows that not changing grievances is easier and has less resistance than changing current situations which requires more willpower and energy. The hope of this book is presented by Scout, Jem and Atticus who do not really want to keep grievances and want to change the ways of the people of Maycomb as it is, although Maycomb seems to push against them with everything single man and woman. … Read the full review on my Blog Blattzirkus

Heavy topics like social inequality and racial prejudice were beautifully presented through the eyes of a child. I loved that about the book. It definitely gave the book a completely different perception. I really wish I liked it more but I can’t give this book more than 2 stars because the way black people were portrayed and characterized didn’t sit well with me. It felt weirdly racist to me for a book that’s supposed to be anti-racist. The focus is purely white. It is clearly a book written by a white woman for a white audience. It definitely is a product of it’s time.

To Kill a Mockingbird, ist ein Buch geschrieben aus der Sicht eines Kindes das während der Jim Crow Zeit in Alabama aufwächst. Scout ( das Kind ) lernt mit der Zeit was Rassismus bedeutet und wie Vorurteil behaftet die Gesellschaft ist. Als das Buch 1960 veröffentlicht wurde war es revolutionär, da es erstmals Rassismus und den Kampf dagegen darstellt. Ich persönlich würde aber sagen das dieses Buch eher mit Schwierigkeiten zu lesen ist es beinhaltet das N Wort und ist heutzutage eher überholt das es definitiv bessere Lektüre über den Kampf gegen Rassismus und die Aufklärung darüber gibt. Klar es wurde zu der Zeit geschrieben, in welcher es „normal“ war bestimmte Ausdrücke zu benutzen. Allerdings sollte man doch lieber bei dieser Art von Literatur auf ein Buch aus der Sicht von PoC‘s zurückgreifen. Falls ihr es doch lesen wollt klärt euch bitte vorher über diese Thematik auf und streicht die Ausdrücke aus eurem Vokabular der Allgemeinheit zu liebe.

I read this book twice when I was in high school - once because I had to for freshman English, and the second time to my mum while she prepared supper each night because I loved the book so much. Now, some 15 years later, I just finished the book again, this time because I'm working through Business Insider's Most Famous Book Set in Each State list (http://www.businessinsider.com/most-famous-book-set-in-every-state-map-2013-10) on my blog, and this one came up as the most famous for Alabama. Now, perhaps more than ever, I love this book, and it is more near and dear to my heart than in the past. This time around, there were actually some great quotes that I found myself highlighting in this book. I found it so inspiring! Plus, while I may not entirely have the academic aptitude to be a lawyer, I love the character of Atticus Finch. He is the type of man I want to be. Perhaps a little too perfect to be realistic, but I want to be a man of the same type of character and calibre, like him. A man who respects all people and teaches others to do the same. A man who understands why those character traits are important. A man who will stand up, even in the face of danger to himself and his family. Only when we have men like him will we see this world change for the better. Now, more than ever, I give five stars to To Kill a Mockingbird!

Wow! What a lovely and totall amazing book. It deeply and truly touched me. I didn't know what the book was about before I started it but it actually flashed me in a good way. Jean Louise is a wonderful girl and she's telling her story. She has a brother and a best friend. Her father Atticus is so amazing. He's like the best dad in bookish history. Really. He is. The story is so amazing that I need to stop before I start to spoile.

Wow. Tolles Buch! Ich weiß nicht, wieso ich so lange gebraucht habe, um es endlich mal zu lesen. Wahrscheinlich hat mich abgeschreckt, dass es viele als "Schullektüre" lesen müssen. Ich habe es auf Englisch gelesen und obwohl ich eigentlich flüssig lese auf Englisch, fand ich de Südstaaten-Dialekt teilweise schon tricky. Aber ich muss sagen, Goodreads hat recht: Das Buch passt von der Stimmung zu anderen Südstaaten-Büchern wie "The Help" oder "Die Bienenhüterin". Wirklich schön! Ich hatte zwar einen Doppelband, in dem auch der "Wächter" enthalten gewesen wäre, aber den hebe ich mir für ein anderes Mal auf. Also, der erste von - wie ich mir vorgenommen habe - 12 Klassikern in 2018 war schon mal ein echter Volltreffer. Das werde ich sicher noch einmal lesen. Was nun? Vielleicht einen Faulkner? Oder einen Steinbeck? Mal sehen...

It seems like there is hardly any need for yet another review about this well-known classic of modern American literature, yet the late Harper Lee deserves all the acclaim imaginable for her masterpiece. Beloved by millions of enthusiastic readers and despised by only few, "To Kill a Mockingbird" is definitely a book everyone, if reader or non-reader, has at least heard of. I began to read this book the day of Harper Lee's death and was immediately taken on an interesting ride through the story of American small town Maycomb, Alabama, with its unforgettable characters. It is impossible to really summarize what the novel is essentially about as it covers so many different subjects, but the blurb does fairly well with describing this as "compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, [taking] readers to the roots of human behavior—to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos". Of course, "To Kill a Mockingbird" is considered to be a must-read novel for everyone, but if I had to recommend it to a specific audience, it would be to those people who want to raise children one day. You might not agree with all the methods of education and upbringing applied here, but if Harper Lee manages to do something pretty well, it is provoking her readers to think about how to treat children on their difficult paths to learn to deal with their surrounding world. At least this is the theme which stood out most remarkably to me. I got into the story almost immediately and found myself interested in the fates of Jem, Scout and Atticus Finch, but during the middle parts, I slowly began to lose interest (which cannot be attributed to Harper Lee's novel, but rather to the amount of time my exams swallowed up and prevented me from concentrating on any reading for more than a week), only to be lured into the story again at about the half point. Hence I will need to reread this novel one day, and I definitely intend to do so in order to get into the book in a more appropriate way. This review only dealt with my reading experience, but there are so many reviews and thoughts about the story circulating around the internet that there is hardly any need to repeat them here. If you have not read this book yet (which is not very likely, considering the fact that it is the novel with the third-most ratings on Goodreads, only exceeded by the first Harry Potter and the first Hunger Games novel), then you should right now feel obliged to give it a try. And if you have ... then you should right now feel obliged to reread it. It is actually that simple.

To Kill a Mockingbird ist die Geschichte eines jungen Mädchens, aber auch ein düsteres Drama über die Wurzeln und Folgen von Rassismus und Vorurteilen, das zeigt, wie Gut und Böse innerhalb einer einzelnen Gemeinschaft oder Einzelperson koexistieren können. To Kill a Mockingbird is a young girl's story, but also a darker drama about the roots and consequences of racism and prejudice, showing how good and evil can coexist within a single community or individual.

3,5 / 5 stars I had to read this book for my American Reading List exam. I feel like I would've enjoyed this book much more if I had read it at a different time in my life. I am stuck in a huge reading slump right now, and this wasn't the best book to get me out of this. I listened to the audiobook of this, which I highly recommend. The speaker did a good job of keeping my attention. I definitely enjoyed this more than a few other classics I have read, but I will still try to read it again once I am out of the reading slump.

So aus dem Leben gegriffen geschrieben, immer noch relevant und tatsächlich mal ein Buch, wo ich nach den Post its gegriffen und zwei, drei Stellen markiert habe. Ich mochte Scout, die Geschichte aus ihren Augen erzählt zu bekommen machte es besonders. Man fiebert mit ihr mit, stellt sich dieselben Fragen und sieht noch einmal mit ungetrübten Kinderaugen. Berechtigter Klassiker und wahrscheinlich auch gerade zur rechten Zeit gelesen.