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Friday, February 19, 2016

To Remember a Mockingbird

Another of the greats has fallen victim to the merciless march of time; Harper Lee is dead.

I was somewhere in my early 20s when I first read To Kill a Mockingbird, mostly because, in the comics, Clark Kent said it was his favourite novel. I was transfixed by the book; it hit me in the heart like few other works have.

I have not yet been able to bring myself to read Go Set a Watchman, mainly because of the controversy surrounding its publication. I'm sure one day I'll crack it open, if only to see if it's really as disappointing as critics say, but I haven't reached that place yet. And even if Go Set a Watchman isn't as good as To Kill a Mockingbird, so what? Most human beings can only dream of leaving behind a literary legacy as fine as Lee's.

"It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived."

Edited to add: Umberto Eco died today as well. What a dark day for literature. 

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