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A review by tracey_stewart
Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee by Charles J. Shields
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.