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thingsreadinbed's review against another edition
4.0
Stream of consciousness review: I want more, but who doesn’t? Really left me seeing In Cold Blood differently (in that I believed that Harper asstd in research and now seeing the copious amount of work she did on it almost see her as a coauthor *please don’t let the lightning of the book gods strike me dead*). How interesting is this pair of friends/frenemies tho? We see a fictionalized childhood in TKAM through Scout and Dill and then through notes and letters see their working relationship in KS to collaborate and write ICB. I just can’t get enough. Definitely will revisit other Capote writings. Then the simple and shared dedication of ICB after Lee won the Pulitzer. How would things have been different if Capote had won the prize too or Lee had flopped? Also a huge fan of GSAW so seeing it’s birth and how it was formed was a great part of the book for me.
kipahni's review against another edition
2.0
This book must have been very hard for Mr. Shields to write given the reclusive nature of it's subject matter. However, I found that his jumpy writing to be somewhat boring and trivial. The majority of the book I found myself wondering what does this have to do with Harper Lee? The last three chapters are the only ones worth reading.
tracey_stewart's review against another edition
4.0
I read this a few years back, long before [b:Go Set a Watchman|24817626|Go Set a Watchman (To Kill a Mockingbird, #2)|Harper Lee|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1451442088s/24817626.jpg|44458285] came to public light, and below is a review I wrote of it for the message board I frequented at the time.
A friend of my mother's dropped it off at the house; she did that sort of thing occasionally, with an odd assortment of books. I was iffy about reading it - I know that Harper Lee avoids publicity, particularly reporters, like the proverbial plague, and in fact the introduction to the book confirmed that: she has been known to respond to written requests for interviews by sending back the letter with "Hell no!" written across the top. And the author said she didn't respond even to his attempts to fact-check. But he also said he was only using public information - past interviews from when she did do interviews, and first-hand accounts from people who knew her and know her. Also, he made a point of saying that though there were areas of Ms. Lee's story that he knew would interest a reader, if he couldn't find independent verification he did not include them.
In all, I thought it was thoughtful, respectful - actually, thoroughly biased toward Ms. Lee (Nelle Harper Lee, that is - she didn't want people mistakenly calling her "Nellie"), and well-written bio.
The author was an English teacher who taught Mockingbird for several years, and the questions students and others constantly asked - is she still alive? (Yes) Did she ever marry? (No) Then is she gay? (Don't know) And of course Why hasn't she ever written another book (It makes a great deal of sense now) - these questions nagged at him, and he finally decided to try and find out. He did a pretty decent job of it. The gist of the answer to the last question is ... it's not so much "why hasn't she written another book" as "how on earth did Mockingbird ever get written?"
I recommend this for all you other Mockingbird fans (and those who aren't and should be!)... but not for anyone who's a deep-dyed fan of Truman Capote. The author isn't one, and hasn't left me with a very favorable impression. At all.
A friend of my mother's dropped it off at the house; she did that sort of thing occasionally, with an odd assortment of books. I was iffy about reading it - I know that Harper Lee avoids publicity, particularly reporters, like the proverbial plague, and in fact the introduction to the book confirmed that: she has been known to respond to written requests for interviews by sending back the letter with "Hell no!" written across the top. And the author said she didn't respond even to his attempts to fact-check. But he also said he was only using public information - past interviews from when she did do interviews, and first-hand accounts from people who knew her and know her. Also, he made a point of saying that though there were areas of Ms. Lee's story that he knew would interest a reader, if he couldn't find independent verification he did not include them.
In all, I thought it was thoughtful, respectful - actually, thoroughly biased toward Ms. Lee (Nelle Harper Lee, that is - she didn't want people mistakenly calling her "Nellie"), and well-written bio.
The author was an English teacher who taught Mockingbird for several years, and the questions students and others constantly asked - is she still alive? (Yes) Did she ever marry? (No) Then is she gay? (Don't know) And of course Why hasn't she ever written another book (It makes a great deal of sense now) - these questions nagged at him, and he finally decided to try and find out. He did a pretty decent job of it. The gist of the answer to the last question is ... it's not so much "why hasn't she written another book" as "how on earth did Mockingbird ever get written?"
I recommend this for all you other Mockingbird fans (and those who aren't and should be!)... but not for anyone who's a deep-dyed fan of Truman Capote. The author isn't one, and hasn't left me with a very favorable impression. At all.
mizele20's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting story of Harper Lee's life. It ends before her death, so it didn't cover some things that I expected it to. While I see that she was not a recluse in every sense of the word, she certainly lived a reclusive lifestyle in her later years. There's a good bit about her relationship with Truman Capote and her part in writing In Cold Blood--something she didn't get much credit for.
novelesque_life's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 STARS
"To Kill a Mockingbird—the twentieth century's most widely read American novel—has sold thirty million copies and still sells a million yearly. Yet despite her book's perennial popularity, its creator, Harper Lee, has become a somewhat mysterious figure. Now, after years of research, Charles J. Shields brings to life the warmhearted, high-spirited, and occasionally hardheaded woman who gave us two of American literature's most unforgettable characters—Atticus Finch and his daughter, Scout.
At the center of Shields's evocative, lively book is the story of Lee's struggle to create her famous novel, but her colorful life contains many highlights—her girlhood as a tomboy in overalls in tiny Monroeville, Alabama; the murder trial that made her beloved father's reputation and inspired her great work; her journey to Kansas as Truman Capote's ally and research assistant to help report the story of In Cold Blood. Mockingbird—unique, highly entertaining, filled with humor and heart—is a wide-ranging, idiosyncratic portrait of a writer, her dream, and the place and people whom she made immortal." (From Amazon)
I enjoyed this biography on Harper Lee and her novel [b:To Kill a Mockingbird|2657|To Kill a Mockingbird|Harper Lee|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361975680s/2657.jpg|3275794]. At times the book did seem to lose it's focus and became just a trivia chapter.
"To Kill a Mockingbird—the twentieth century's most widely read American novel—has sold thirty million copies and still sells a million yearly. Yet despite her book's perennial popularity, its creator, Harper Lee, has become a somewhat mysterious figure. Now, after years of research, Charles J. Shields brings to life the warmhearted, high-spirited, and occasionally hardheaded woman who gave us two of American literature's most unforgettable characters—Atticus Finch and his daughter, Scout.
At the center of Shields's evocative, lively book is the story of Lee's struggle to create her famous novel, but her colorful life contains many highlights—her girlhood as a tomboy in overalls in tiny Monroeville, Alabama; the murder trial that made her beloved father's reputation and inspired her great work; her journey to Kansas as Truman Capote's ally and research assistant to help report the story of In Cold Blood. Mockingbird—unique, highly entertaining, filled with humor and heart—is a wide-ranging, idiosyncratic portrait of a writer, her dream, and the place and people whom she made immortal." (From Amazon)
I enjoyed this biography on Harper Lee and her novel [b:To Kill a Mockingbird|2657|To Kill a Mockingbird|Harper Lee|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361975680s/2657.jpg|3275794]. At times the book did seem to lose it's focus and became just a trivia chapter.
akingston5's review against another edition
As there aren't a lot of biographies about Harper Lee out there, this is really great. The issue with Harper Lee though, is to write about her life you must infer a lot or really see the details, as she is somewhat of a recluse, and this book does just that. While it weighs down in some places- particularly in the months surrounding her research with Capote for "In Cold Blood"- it's an interesting look at why she never did write a second novel. Worth the read.
judyward's review against another edition
3.0
I've always wondered why Harper Lee never published a second novel. This book is very interesting in discussing her early life and especially her work with Truman Capote during the research for In Cold Blood. But I wasn't satisfied with the lack of an answer for why there wasn't a follow-up book after To Kill a Mockingbird. Enjoyable biography.
laholmstro's review against another edition
3.0
Very insightful into the background of To Kill A Mockingbird as well as Harper Lee's background.