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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not be enjoying "To kill a mockingbird"

54 replies

Fiestylittleowl · 19/07/2017 08:58

I hadn't read this book so thought I would give it a go as read so many good reviews about it. I'm about a quarter of the way through and finding it so dull. Nothing is happening. Have I missed something? Should I stick it out?

OP posts:
YesILikeItToo · 19/07/2017 09:01

YABU, yes, it's a classic for a reason. It's not a long book - stick it out!

MyCalmX · 19/07/2017 09:02

Yabvu! Come back when you've finished and then say it was boring l dare you

It's a remarkable book, about doing good when it's easier not to, about not judging without knowing.

Just finish it OP Smile

LloydColeandhisCoconuts · 19/07/2017 09:02

YABU Wink
It's a bloody brilliant book (and important too). Please persevere, you'll be glad you did.
What bit are you up to?

Original poster
Fiestylittleowl · 19/07/2017 09:04

There has just been the fire. I love reading but I am not finding this a page turner. I really want to like it. I'll stick it out and hope that I start to enjoy it soon

OP posts:
Lules · 19/07/2017 09:05

It's incredibly dull. Had to do it for GCSE. And even at 15 I thought the white saviour theme was a bit dodgy. But I accept that most people like it and I'm in the minority.

FlandersRocks · 19/07/2017 09:05

I was the same op...a classic it may be but it really didn't grab me.

I stuck it out but it only marginally improved!

Sirzy · 19/07/2017 09:06

I love it and it is one of the few books I read over and over again.

However, that doesn't mean that someone who doesn't like it is unreasonable. Everyone is different!

tarheelbaby · 19/07/2017 09:09

Do stick with it. It was a set text when I was at school and we charged through it - the writing is straightforward. You need the background information and familiarity with the characters to be able to appreciate the ending. You might also try 'The Help' and 'Mudbound'. All these have also been made into films but the books really take you there. As my moniker suggests, I knew/know this life. We had 'help' when I was a girl. All my family and friends' families did too.

LloydColeandhisCoconuts · 19/07/2017 09:13

Sirzy I'm sure the OP is very nice but they did ask whether they were BU or not Grin

ShotsFired · 19/07/2017 09:17

If you really can't stick the book, watch the Gregory Peck film version. He is so dreamy.

(term used because it seems to fit the period of the film!)

now people are ruining Atticus by calling their kids it. Blatantly not worthy of the name!

skyzumarubble · 19/07/2017 09:18

Yes yabvu! Think it's my all time favourite and like a pp one of the only books I can read again and again.

mohuzivajehi · 19/07/2017 09:18

It does move slowly but that is part of the ambience of the book. I find the slow pace helps me to get into the mindset of small-town southern USA of yesteryear rather than the blaring hustle and bustle of modern city life. Yeah there are divergences where nothing happens for ages, and that is what the protagonists' lives are like. When stuff does start happening the previous chapters where not much happened are a vital backdrop to appreciating what is going on.

ChickenBhuna · 19/07/2017 09:19

There's no rule saying that you have to like it. I wasn't keen on it either.

Different strokes and all that.

MissBax · 19/07/2017 09:19

I love reading and wanted to give it a go myself but ended up giving up on it.

RiverTam · 19/07/2017 09:21

Amazing book. The only set school book that has stayed with me.

ExPresidents · 19/07/2017 09:23

YABU, sorry. It's a fantastic book.

Nikephorus · 19/07/2017 09:24

It's okay but not great. I read books over & over but this one I wouldn't bother with again particularly. But I wonder if it's because I "read" it at school - I hated reading round the class. Apart from the horror of having to read myself I can't get into something when it's being read out like that. Maybe I'd enjoy it now more if I'd read it properly originally.

Janus · 19/07/2017 09:25

One of my all time favourites. Please stick with it and let us know if you enjoyed it at the end. Maybe you won't but I think you will!!

(My last child was a boy and I wanted his middle name to be Atticus! Husband didn't, hate naming children when you don't agree!!)

Kannet · 19/07/2017 09:38

It's a good book. I find people generally say they love it and it's their favourite book simply because it's the first serious adult book they read.

luckylavender · 19/07/2017 09:40

Why is this an AIBU?

hackmum · 19/07/2017 09:42

It's a long time since I read it, but my memory is that it is quite dull for the first quarter and then livens up considerably when the rape story gets underway. It is a good book, but I have my reservations about it. It does seem to attract a reverential and uncritical approach in some quarters.

TheVanguardSix · 19/07/2017 09:48

Of course I love this book. And she is a fantastic writer. It was Harper Lee's swan song.
I read it again when I was 40 and admittedly, it didn't have quite the pull it'd had when I was young. I think a good point was made by kannet. It was one of my first serious books, like The Grapes of Wrath. They all stand the test of time and my love for To Kill a Mokingbird is a nostalgic one.

Try the film. It is superb.

BabychamSocialist · 19/07/2017 09:48

I've read it about 30 times - because I'm an English teacher and it's a set text - and I look forward to it every year. I've only had a handful of students who couldn't get on with it. It's incredibly easy to read and the story is gripping. I think it helps to do some reading around the subject though to fill you in on historical details.

SueMacartney · 19/07/2017 09:52

Also recommend watching the film. I usually hate child actors but the children are really good in it.

ShotsFired · 19/07/2017 10:30

@TheVanguardSix It was one of my first serious books, like The Grapes of Wrath.

many yeas ago I was on a longhaul trip, by myself. I had The Grapes of Wrath with me and was finding it heavy going. I then switched planes.

Left the book on the first plane by accident Angry

Got on the next one, and what film is available on the in flight entertainment... Grin