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Read Mockingbird: A Portrait Of Harper Lee (2007)

Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee (2007)

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3.97 of 5 Votes: 2
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ISBN
0805083197 (ISBN13: 9780805083194)
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English
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holt paperbacks

Mockingbird: A Portrait Of Harper Lee (2007) - Plot & Excerpts

Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee Author: Charles J. Shields ©2006Publisher: Henry Holt and CompanyISBN-13:978-0-7394-7846-2 324 PagesFifty-one years after the publication of her Pulitzer Prizewinning novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, author Harper Lee is again claiming the headlines. CBS News and the Sun-Sentinel both ran stories this month about President Obama honoring Harper Lee with the National Medal of Arts. Ms. Lee, aged 84, perhaps one of America’s greatest living authors, did not attend the ceremony. Her lack of attendance is no surprise to those of us who have read Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee, by Charles J. Shields. Mr. Shields writes, in the introduction to Mockingbird, that his book “aims to capture a life but is not a conventional biography, because – despite her novels huge impact – Lee’s writing life has been brief, and her personal life has been intensely private.” Mr. Shields goes on to explain his decision to write the book and the reasoning and research used to compose it. A beautiful and detailed introduction to the book sets the reader up to expect a hazy, distorted picture of Ms. Lee. However, the book is anything but that: clear and concise – weaving together research, commentary, and a warm narrative – the book transports the reader into a journey through life with Harper Lee. The authors desire to “capture a life” is eloquently and meticulously met in the pages that follow. This 324 page book provides a multi-layered picture of the woman that is Nelle Harper Lee: modern-day recluse, prior college drop-out, Pulitzer Prizewinning author, lonely airline ticket girl in New York, close childhood friend and research assistant to Truman Capote, tomboyish girl from the South, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, fervent church attendee, and winner of The National Medal of Arts. Lee, the enigmatic author of To Kill A Mockingbird, is simultaneously defined by these designations while remaining an individual that will not be subjugated to any one title that describes her. Mr. Shields, in Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee, brings the feisty, Southern writer to life for his readers. She is a woman we can admire and understand. She is an uncommon author uninterested in wealth or movie-star status. She is simply Nelle, an author seeking to explore her talent and write something meaningful about the world and time in which she came of age. To Kill A Mockingbird is no longer just a Southern novel, but is transformed into an inevitable work of art by this writer. Her love of place, family, and the strong desire for empathetic justice fills the book as it fills her life. The clarity of Lee’s character shines in Shields book as he delves into the psychology of the time in which Ms. Lee wrote and the emotional connection she felt to time and place as displayed in her writing. Lee’s one and only book, To Kill A Mockingbird, is a book of substantial importance in American literature. It delves into the psyche and behavior in the American South during the period of racial unrest and blatant discrimination that characterized the decades of the 1950′s and ‘60′s. The book was a sensational hit during it’s time as summarized by Biography.com:In July 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird was published and picked up by the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Literary Guild. A condensed version of the story appeared in Reader’s Digest magazine. The work’s central character, a young girl nicknamed Scout, was not unlike Lee in her youth…. part of the novel reflected racial prejudices in the South…. attorney,…Atticus Finch tries to help a black man who has been charged with raping a white woman to get a fair trial and to prevent him from being lynched by angry whites in a small town.The following year, To Kill a Mockingbird won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize and several other literary awards. Horton Foote wrote a screenplay based on the book and used the same title for the 1962 film adaptation. Lee visited the set during filming and did a lot of interviews to support the film. Earning eight Academy Award nominations, the movie version of To Kill a Mockingbird won four awards, including Best Actor for Gregory Peck’s portrayal of Atticus Finch. The character of Atticus is said to have been based on Lee’s father. The popularity of Lee’s book in the 1960′s demonstrates a somewhat perfect timing in publishing history. To Kill A Mockingbird captured a moment of Southern and national history that would soon change, but her application of the broad themes of good and bad, fair and unfair, to the story created a timeless, universal novel. As an important piece of American literature, To Kill A Mockingbird demonstrates the fight for good over evil in the world, and advances the premise that one person can make a difference if he will only step forward and act on his deepest convictions. It is this literary-cultural duality that makes Lee’s work eternal. And, Shields adeptly captures this aspect of Lee, her life and work, in Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee. It is an intimately beautiful portrait where Shields artistically draws Lee as a presence larger than the time and culture she wrote about. In the end, his portrait succeeds as he introduces the reader to a Harper Lee that is as boundless and enduring as her novel. Sources: 1. Madison, Lucy. “Obama honors Meryl Streep, Harper Lee, Philip Roth, Quincy Jones and others with National Medals of Arts and Humanities.” CBS News Story online. March 2011. Http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_16... (March 7, 2011) 2. Kellogg, Carolyn. “Harper Lee to receive National Medal of Arts.” Los Angeles Times. March 2011.http://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertain...-20110301,0,5076637.story. (March 8, 2011) 3. Harper Lee Biography. “Harper Lee Biography.” Biography.com. March 2011.Http://www.biography.com/articles/har... (March 9, 2011) 4. The Associated Press. “Harper Lee Writes Rare Item for O Magazine.” Washington Post. June2006.Http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/c...26/AR2006062601039.html (March 8, 2011) 5. Charles J. Shields, Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee.(New York: Henry Holt and Co., LLC, 2006).Reprinted from Whippoorwill: an online literary journal, Spring 2011 issue. Original source at http://whippoorwilljournal.com/issue/...

A mysterious and elusive woman, Harper Lee, the author of "To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)," is the subject of this portrait by Charles J. Shields.A former English teacher, Shields set for himself the task of writing "Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee," this compelling biography based on hundreds of interviews, piecing together a picture of this Southern woman who began life in Monroeville, Alabama, the child of an attorney, whose mother suffered from a condition most likened to a bipolar disorder. Growing up, she was known to family and friends as "Nelle." Lee enjoyed a tomboyish existence in the neighborhood, where she first met and became friends with Truman Capote. Their relationship lasted many years, although in later years, a strain hovered over this friendship—perhaps due to her success and his envy.In her early years in NY, while she attempted to write her book and live the writer's life, she became a part of a small community of like-minded friends that included her agent, Maurice Crain, and others of similar interests. Throughout her life, they would be her support system and conduit to the literary world.At about the time her book was completed and just before its publication, Lee accompanied Truman Capote to Kansas as his assistant, to gather information on the killings of the Clutter family in Holcomb. Some say that her contribution to the eventual book, "In Cold Blood," was huge (yet unacknowledged).After the several years it took to complete "To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)," when it finally came out, Lee allegedly remarked that she hoped that some people would like it. She was definitely unprepared for its huge success, which included bestseller status almost immediately; a Pulitzer Prize; and, of course, the movie.Throughout this compelling portrayal of a fascinating writer, I could not help but long for something more about her life. More rich details of how she lives day-to-day. From all accounts, however, she blends almost seamlessly into the life of her small community. Occasional trips to NY became less frequent. For a woman who attained a great degree of fame and wealth, she certainly reportedly lives like an ordinary person—maybe less so, since she apparently strove diligently to maintain privacy and anonymity.And yet, in this biographical sketch, there were occasional accounts of interactions with people that might suggest a more sociable side lying just below the surface.For the most part, however, she seems to stay connected primarily with her family, her church friends, and others in the community. I liked reading descriptions of how she would be seen sitting alone at a table in a local restaurant, eating dinner, and enjoying her own company—or how her modest home is filled with books in every room. These tidbits reveal a contented person, despite what one might conclude. I especially enjoyed reading a comment she made to someone who asked her why she didn't write another book: "I had every intention of writing many novels," she reportedly said, "but I could never have imagined the success "To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)" would enjoy. I became overwhelmed." And in another instance, she was reported to have said something like...when you've reached the top, there's only one way to go.How intimidating this degree of success must have been for a woman with no pretensions, who had hoped to achieve her dream of writing a book (or several), and then, in one fell swoop, achieves the totally unexpected feat of becoming the creator of the most widely read American novel ever. To reach this level of success and then to live with it afterwards had to be the greatest accomplishment of all. In another quote from Lee that occurred a little more than a year after her book was published, she said: "People who have made peace with themselves are the people I most admire in the world."She seems to belong in that company of admirable people.Five stars.

What do You think about Mockingbird: A Portrait Of Harper Lee (2007)?

This was surprisingly both informative and a good read -- authors don't normally make good subjects for biographies. Maybe the fact that it is a reasonable length helped; too many biographies now are 500 pages. I particularly enjoyed the parts about Harper Lee in Kansas with Truman Capote. Still don't feel like I have an understanding of her as a person or even of her relationship to Monroeville but not surprising since she was not willing to be interviewed for the book and the people closest to her also were not either. Her New York editors and closest friends, deceased now for decades, seemed to be very important for her writing and the author speculates that without that support system, she found it difficult to write again. Biography, of course, of particular interest at the moment with the publication of To Set a Watchman. On page 201/202, Charles Shields says: "To Kill A Mockingbird is a superior book because it was written by a superior person who became a professional writer without inflicting her apprenticeship on the public in a trial book."
—Charlene

I think this is a solid biographical account of Harper Lee. I don't know that I really knew much about her beyond her having written an amazing novel and then stepping out of sight. I vaguely knew of her relationship with Truman Capote and their work together on In Cold Blood but I didn't have any context or details on it. This portrait of Harper Lee was enlightening in that respect but it still didn't go very deep into her life. Although I suspect that the lack of depth is due to the extreme privacy that Harper Lee lives her life in. Although the author was able to interview a lot of people about her, I'm not sure that he had the insider view that would have been necessary to make this book anything more than a satisfactory biography. It's solid. It's good. It's interesting. But, it didn't go as far as I suspect most of us would have liked. The most compelling things for me after reading this book -1. How much of her own life she used when writing To Kill A Mockingbird. I had no idea. I knew she grew up in a similar place but I had no idea how much she really leveraged!2. Her relationship with Truman Capote. Wow. He was something else! The story of their friendship and its projectory over their lives was fascinating.3. I found that I liked what I learned of Harper Lee much more than I'd expected - she appears (based on the account of her in this book) to be a feisty, intelligent, complex and kind woman. The kind of women that I like. A woman that I'd like to know. 4. I better understand WHY she may not have written another novel. Although that isn't solved per se, it is better understood after acknowledging her experiences with Mockingbird (the book and movie) and In Cold Blood. I can certainly understand her desire for privacy and her decision to remove herself from public life (for the most part). In the end, I wanted to go sit and have a cup of coffee with Harper Lee. She seems like a person that I would enjoy knowing. I have an even greater respect for her and the novel that she wrote. Her novel is an American classic for a reason. The writing of Charles J. Shields is clunky and ultimately made the reading experience drag on a bit. It took almost 10 days for me to get through it which is a very long time for me. Particularly since it isn't a long book. It just felt very dense and clunky to me. I enjoyed it, in the end, but getting there was sometimes a chore.If you love her novel and want to know more about her, her life, and perhaps get a glimpse into what she's chosen to do, this is definitely something you may enjoy. You have to push through the writing at times which isn't something that I would recommend to someone who isn't a fan of her novel or interested in her life.
—Amy

When To Kill a Mockingbird was first released, all "Nelle" Harper Lee hoped for was "a merciful death at the hands of reviewers." Humble expectations for a book that won the Pulitzer and is still the most popular novel of the 20th century. It must have been quite a challenge to write a biography of someone who refuses to be interviewed and has shared almost nothing private about herself over the years. Shields did well with this book, considering the limited information. He did a great deal of research and filled in the holes with details about the people who surrounded Nelle. I really admire Nelle for always just being who she wanted to be, regardless of social pressure. She smoked a pipe in college! Not the done thing for well-bred Southern young ladies in the 1940s! What a character.The most interesting parts of the book are further in, where it tells about her assisting Truman Capote with In Cold Blood and the period of time where she wrote/published/filmed To Kill a Mockingbird. She was far too loyal to Capote. In Cold Blood absolutely could not have been written without her assistance, and yet he refused to give her proper credit. What a Jerkin McGherkin!!I read large print edition, so don't freak out at the number of pages.
—Jeanette "Astute Crabbist"

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