To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

For starters I never thought I would read this book, and I can tell that a lot of people probably are thinking the same thing. I had always pictured it as an out-dated novel where nothing much happened. However, now having read it I see that I was very wrong. Harper Lee writes about the everyday lives of a family in a small American town in a time when racism towards the Negro population was still a huge issue. Atticus Finch, a single Lawyer father takes on a ‘his word vs. His word’ case defending Tom Robinson, a black man wrongly accused of rape. Told through the eyes of Atticus’ daughter ‘Scout’, though somewhat simplistic, it really gives you view of what was happening at the time. The advantage of a child’s opinion of what was going on around her is that it is completely unbiased as she is not tainted buy the ways of the world, nor does she care what the mobs attitude is. 

It’s one of those books where you don’t always get what you want or expect when you turn the page and where many MANY things frustrate you. I think this is what the author was trying to do. He was trying to show the irrationality of what people were doing and making you wish you were there so that you could have done something about it. You probably have to be older rather than younger to read this book; younger people probably wouldn’t stick it out to the end. This novel makes you think about the things in your life that maybe you aren’t seeing or judging clearly.

Night’ an autobiography, by Elie Wiesel focuses on his experiences as Hungarian Jewish boy during the Holocaust. It details what Elie, along with his father, experienced; from first rumours of what Hitler was doing until the Jews were freed including Elie.

Elie is an interesting character, mostly because he is real, and reading his internal struggles, especially about his belief and whether or not God can exist if He is allowing so much suffering to happen. Elie’s father is a very strong man and especially helps him during their early days in the concentration and work camps.

‘Night’, explores issues like family bonds, beliefs, grieving, war and what life is like for a young person growing up during the Holocaust. It really makes readers think about the horrors of war and why it is important for us not allow anything like this to happen again.

I didn’t enjoy reading ‘Night’ because I failed to connect with the characters’ struggles and found the writing style uninteresting. The horrors covered in this book also were quite disturbing and are not for the faint-hearted.

I recommend this book for senior readers looking for an honest account about what happened to Jews during the Holocaust and about one boys struggle with faith throughout