Book's detractors miss the point

by Peter Epp, Sun Media

Harper Lee's classic 'To Kill A Mockingbird' is the not best book I've read, but sure ranks up there with my all -time favourites-John Steinbeck's 'The Grapes of Wrath', and Ken Follett's 'Pillars of the Earth'.

With that said, that trustees with the Toronto District School Board would consider banning Mockingbird because of Lee's use of the N word shows just how little we've learned since her novel was published almost 50 years ago.

For those who haven't had the pleasure of reading the novel, Mockingbird is the semi-fictional tale of a small town in the American South, circa 1936. One of the town's lawyers, Atticus Finch, is asked to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, against charges of raping a white woman.

Finch provides an extraordinary case, not only proving Robinson's innocence but also exposing the deep-seated bigotry that exists in the Amercan South. Yet Robinson is found guilty by an all -white jury. While being transported to prison, he escapes and is shot dead.

The novel became a literary sensation when first published and won a Pulitzer Prize, along with numerous prizes and honours. Mockingbird is thought to be one the best known and most widely read novels that deal with racism and intolerance. In 1999, it was voted Best Novel of the Century in a poll by Library Journal.

Most people would be moved to tears reading its pages. The fictional Finch is shown to hold the best of human qualities, particularly as a defender of justice and human rights. Harper's use of the language, filtered through the eyes of a six-year -old girl, exhibits the kind of raw ugliness of racism that children often recognize before adults do.

And yet Lee's use of that awful perjorative for the American South's most visible minority continues to offend. She uses the N word 48 times. And the word IS offensive, perhaps more so today than in 1960 when Mockingbird was published, and far more so than in 1936, when the fictional Atticus Finch is asked to defend a black man and is vilified for exposing a deep-seated injustice that haunts the South.

But to ban this book would also be an injustice...to literature, education, to the cause of racial tolerance.

What could the Toronto District School Board possibly gain by banning an Amercan classic that attemps to uphold the virtues of civil rights and universal brotherhood?

The school board earlier this month received a complaint from a parent about the Lee novel, and if the complaint proceeds under the board's policy for learning resource complaints, a review committe would issue a written report recommending whether the book is appropriate.

Let's hope that the controversy over Mockingbird will be enough to pique the natural interest of those Toronto students who might be denied access to this fine piec of modern literature through their schools.

After all, Lee's novel (she only wrote one) continues to sell well and can be found in most public libraries.

Book list

This is our whole book list, the best I can put together. There are a few boo boos in spring 2007, (missing a book) and Gullivers' Travels is misplaced I believe. Everything else is accurate.

For newer members, who are not interested in what happened 3 years ago, the book choices for this November, December, January and February are listed at the bottom.

Cheers

2006

September-'Pride and Prejudice'- Jane Austen
October-'The Picture of Dorian Grey'- Oscar Wilde
November-'Rebecca'-Daphne DuMaurier
December- 'Tom Jones'- Henry Fielding


2007

January- 'Gone with the Wind'-Margaret Mitchell
February- 'Turn of the Screw'- Henry James
March-'Scarlett Pimpernel'-Baroness Orczy
April-'Gulliver's Travels'-Jonathan Swift
May-
June- 'Jane Eyre'-Charlotte Bronte
July-'My Family and Other Animals'-Gerald Durrell
August-'Birds, Beasts and Relatives', 'Garden of the Gods'-Gerald Durrell
September- 'Emma'-Jane Austen
October-'The Moonstone'-Wilkie Collins
November-'The Rice Mother'-Rani Manicka
December-'A Christmas Carol'-Charles Dickens

2008

January-'Anne of Green Gables'-Lucy Maud Montgomery
February-'The Dwelling Place'-Catherine Cookson
March-'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'-Victor Hugo
April-'To Kill a Mockingbird'-Harper Lee
May-Reading Circle
June-'Watership Down'-Richard Adams
July-'Mamma Mia', the movie
August-'All Creatures Great and Small'-James Herriot
September-'Persuasion'-Jane Austen
October-'The Secret Life of Bees'-Sue Monk Kidd
November-'Clan of the Cave Bear'-Jean Auel
December-'Pillars of the Earth'-Ken Follett

2009

January-'Bootjack Mary, Ahead of her Time'-Bonnie Brantom Stevenson
February-'The Burning Shore'- Wilbur Smith
March- 'Les Miserables'- Victor Hugo
April-'My Sister's Keeper'- Jodi Picoult
May- 'Angels and Demons'- Dan Brown
June-'Water for Elephants'-Sarah Gruen
July- 'A Thousand Splendid Suns'- Khaled Hosseini
August- 'Tuesdays with Morrie'- (watched at the Imperial)-Mitch Albom
September- 'Sense and Sensibility'- Jane Austen
October- 'The Crucible'- Arthur Miller
November-'Mariana'-Susanna Kearsley
December-The Wife's Tale- Lori Lansens

2010

January-Peyton Place- Grace Metalious-
February- For Whom the Bell Tolls- Ernest Hemingway

At the Book Keeper

"Marianna" by Susanna Kearsley has arrived at The Book Keeper ahead of schedule! They have 6 copies put aside for us.

Nicole wonders if anyone would mind if we go back to Mondays instead of Tuesdays. She has another commitment for Tuesdays.

Watched a great movie at a great venue, Carol's basement. Thanks Carol. 'Sense and Sensibility' never sounded so good. .........Catherine was not lost, she was home from Hilton Head but in bed with a 'head'ache.

See you October 13th @ John's for 'The Crucible".

*

Sense and Sensibility Movie night

*


Sunday, September the 20th is good with Carol for a movie. She says either matinee or evening is good with her.

I wonder if evening would be easier for Carol? How about showing up at 7, we'll bring some dessert, perhaps a bottle of wine, watch the movie and be gone by 10? If Donna and I are lucky we might be able to stay awake til then. What do you think Carol?

If anyone prefers a different time, please let me know. If you don't hear back from me, presume it's a date. We'll see you then.


*

Sense and Sensibility

I found this description of our upcoming book. I really like it.

"It is the story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, who represent sense and sensibility, respectively. When both appear to be deserted by the young men they had intended to marry, the stage is set for a delicious comedy of manners that not only showcases Austen's perception, humour and incomparible prose but offers a splendid glimpse of upper and middle class English society of the early 19th century."


This is our 4th Jane Austen book and is the beginning of our 4th year. Time flies. One of these days we should compile a list of all the books we (book club) have read together.


See you Tuesday night at Coffee Lodge Finch, 7 pm.


*

"Tuesdays with Morrie" at the Imperial

*

Here are the pictures from this afternoon. What a great bonus to have met the 'whole' cast at Ups and Downs. Getting additional insight into the characters from the people who played them was certainly the icing on the cake.

I'm going to try and sort this blog out so that you can all post here, not just me....Stay tuned.

"Tuesdays with Morrie" with the Bookclub ladies on Sunday

*
*
Hello all,

Just a reminder to those who are going, that "Tuesdays with Morrie" is this Sunday at 2.00. Carol got our tickets (thanks Carol) and will meet us at the theatre. Please come a bit early so she won't wait a long time for us to show up.

Our July meeting went well at John's. "A Thousand Splendid Suns" was well worth the read, quite an eye opener for some of us.

I'll be calling Limbo to see if they are open Sunday afternoon so we can go there for a martini and perhaps supper. If they aren't open and if it is nice perhaps we can go somewhere where we can sit outside. Paddy's, Stokes Bay or even Ups n Down's. If anyone has any suggestions, don't hesitate to let us all know.......... I think the show will be done before 4, a bit early for beverages and supper. I'm sure we'll figure something out.

Donna has informed me that she is next in line for Catherine's copy of the book, which I will give her tomorrow. Could someone bring a copy to the show in case we want to look something up later? Thanks.

See you on Sunday.

*