The Best Book Ever Written

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Classic Fiction

I get asked all the time which book is my favorite of all.  When you've read as many books as I have, that should be a hard question to answer.  But, it isn't.  Because no book even comes close to this one.  This one is my favorite, each and every time I read it.  And, every time I read it I see some new gem that sparkles like a literary diamond.

The story is set in 1930's Alabama and the setting and characters are portrayed with razor-sharp clarity.  It doesn't depict the South; it is Southernness.  The story centers around a young girl named Scout, her brother Jem and their father Atticus (whom I am madly in love with).  Atticus is the town's defense attorney and has been tasked with defending a black man accused of raping a local white girl.  Atticus is bound to do his duty he does it the best he can, certain the young black father is innocent.

This book shows the very worst and best of every human emotion-love, hate, ignorance, oppression, bigotry, hope, despair-all without apology.  After the roller coaster emotional ride, it finally leaves the reader feeling like a bandage was just ripped from the heart.

Read it again and again.  And, just when you think it has no more lessons to teach you; read it one more time.