R.I.P. Nelle Harper Lee

[huntertrw]

Nelle Harper Lee, the author of "To Kill a Mockingbird," passed today at age 89. Of all of the books that I have had the pleasure of reading that one gave me the most, and provoked the most thought during and long afterward.
Rest in peace Miss Lee.

 

[mso489]

Just one masterpiece, but it was enough. A great woman and a most interesting life.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Hats off, gents

 

[huntertrw]

Your father's passin'

 

[tbradsim1]

She was one of a kind, smoking my Parks in her honor.

 

[agnosticpipe]

Sad to see the passing of a great author.
Saw the movie To Kill a Mockingbird when I was a teenager, and knew I had to read the book too. Still one of the best books I've read.

 

[kcghost]

"Stand up, child, your daddy's passing" - one of the all time great lines in a movie.
R.I.P.

 

[mayfair70]

Sad news. I'm glad she lived a full life. I heard there was another novel to be published some years ago and there was some controversy surrounding it. Then I heard nothing more. Has anyone else heard of it or read it?

 

[deuce26]

Unbelievable book. I haven't read the new one she wrote for fear it would ruin To Kill A Mockingbird, but I have it sitting on my shelf. Why she didn't write more I don't know, but she left us with a novel for the ages!

 

[mayfair70]

(gasp!) Nothing could ruin To Kill A Mockingbird. :? But, I understand.

 

[huntertrw]

The screenplay for the movie version of "To Kill a Mockingbird" was written by Horton Foote, a kinsman to the late author Shelby Foote.

 

[dukdalf]

RIP Harper Lee, but IMHO your Carson McCullers shot all and any mockingbird before it could reach maturity.

 

[warren]

"Go Set a Watchman" is about Scout as an adult. Her father, Atticus, is apprehensive of the changes in race relations in the 1950s. He's not a fan of the changes nor the Federal Government's meddling in what he perceives to be state concerns.
The release of the book caused a bit of an uproar with the press. Atticus has become human and not the super-hero many readers wished him to be. If one hadn't read the "To Kill a . . . " the book could be construed as making the revered Atticus into a racist. I saw it as more the story of an old man questioning his life and the changing world about him. But, I saw no trace of racism in Atticus. He simply aged into what many of us have become in old age, a bit confused with the speed and size of the changes rapidly taking place. He realizes his life and beliefs have led to some consequences which he is not happy with. And, yes he is a man with prejudices.

 

[ssjones]

Warren, that is a great summary of "Go Set a Watchman". I had not read TKAM for decades and re-read it before reading Watchman. I enjoyed Watchman and didn't think it diminished TKAM at all.

 

[warren]

Some authors only have one yarn inside them. "Go Set a Watchman" is every bit the book "To Kill . . . " was. I think it completes the story, gives us the full measure of Atticus. The movie tended to enlarge "Scout's" importance. The girl is just the vehicle for the story in both books. Of course, without her there's no one to tell the tale.
Miss Lee had the one story and she told it well. Rest her soul.

 

[warren]

Some authors only have one yarn inside them. "Go Set a Watchman" is every bit the book "To Kill . . . " was. I think it completes the story, gives us the full measure of Atticus. The movie tended to enlarge "Scout's" importance. The girl is just the vehicle for the story in both books. Of course, without her there's no one to tell the tale.
Miss Lee had the one story and she told it well. Rest her soul.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Down here in the land of the yellow hammer, we gots folks that think of themselves as story tellers, not authors as much. She spoke at my college graduation and her story is that of one of the great story tellers, just talking to great crowds of people, telling her story. We have quite a culture of folks that led remarkable lives, with things to teach us about living on this planet. She's a special one, and the world is a little bit better.

 

[warren]

Cosmic: Séanchaidhe is the Irish term for the old storytellers, or ones who kept the lore, the oral history and legends, in their heads. An honored profession it was. A good story teller is to be revered in my book. And, Miss Lee told a great oral history about a tumultuous time in our country. You're lucky to live where the story teller is still admired.

 

[deathmetal]

I'm celebrating the life of Umberto Eco. Harper Lee was a political creation and her book is saccharine goop.

 

[warren]

Eco spins a good yarn also. But, I have no idea why he would find his way into this thread. Or, why you would feel the need to interject your observation into a tidy little thread more or less dedicated to Harper Lee.