What is it about To Kill A Mockingbird?

[TooTicky]

So many MNers mention it as a favourite on their profiles and I love it too. So what is the attraction?
For me, more than anything, it's the realness - the descriptions, the characters, the dialogue - everything is just so right. Of course it is also politically good and the story riveting all the way through, but it is the exceptional quality of the writing that really makes it for me.
Anyone else?

You could be right there! Perhaps I should re-read TKAMB as GCSE spoiled it a bit for me - I seem to remember thinking that Scout was a boy for about half the book, so I possibly wasn't concentrating very hard.

Mind you, I was thinking about this and almost all my absolute favourite books were ones that I first read as a teenager. Perhaps it's an impressionable/ formative age?

btw we were going to call DS Rowan if he'd been a girl.

i agree with franny - for me too - the lessons Attitcus teaches his children about life and how to treat others. Love the character of Atticus - so noble.

the lessons we all should learn about judging (or not judging ) others, about true heroism, about empathy and walking a mile in another's shoes - lessons that are as relevant today as they were when Harper Lee wrote the book.

Have read it so many times as a student and then as an english lit teacher - my all time fav book.