Monday, April 28, 2008

Happy Birthday to Harper Lee


Sorry about the light posting these last few days - Life has been hectic. Should be returning to a normal pace now!

3 comments:

Donna said...

Harper Lee is such a mystery -- wrote one (great) novel, cloistered herself away all these years, refusing interviews.

Did you know that Capote would sometimes hint that he wrote most of To Kill a Mockingbird? I like Capote, but he could be such a cad :).

AnnPW said...

Now that you mention it, I think I had heard something along those lines. Very strange! Did you see "Capote"? I didn't, but I had friends who liked it. Phillip SH seems so perfect for that role!

I think I was about Jem's age when I saw To Kill A Mockingbird at the base theater with my parents, and the scene at the end when the kids are walking through the woods terrified me! Later, when I read the book - which adds so much richness to the story, with the characters of the maid Calpurnia, the aunt who comes to live with them, the poor drug-addicted Mrs. Dubose - I became an utter devotee.

And talk about an absolute confluence of just-right elements in a film! You have a great story transformed into a great script which perfectly captures the historic issues of the day - then add incredible cinematography and spot-on casting! Gregory Peck was born to play Atticus, no doubt about it, and look what Robert Duvall does with the role of Boo Radley!

I don't think I knew before watching this little YouTube that Harper Lee's mother was mentally ill. I wonder if that has anything to do with her own reclusiveness and/or inability to produce any more work.

Mike Thomas said...

I have to admit that the first time I heard the rumor that Truman Capote was the ghost writer for "To Kill a Mockingbird" I was inclined to believe it.
I mean after all, a woman writes one book that turns out to win a Pulitzer and then writes nothing else? And she grew up with Capote and was worked with him on "In Cold Blood" around that same time?
But then it doesn't make sense why Capote wouldn't want to take credit for a work like Mockingbird, plus the fact that it so closely mirrors Lee's childhood experiences.
So, we should all be so fortunate to have just one book in us that turns out so well.