What Is There To Say?????????????????????????

                                      For my 98th book of the year, and with all the anticipation of seeing Celia in the show, which I have written about, I thought it was time to give the novel another read. Without guessing, I would say this is at least my eighth reading of it, and it holds up beautifully.

                                        Its narrative structure, poetic lyricism, and complete mastery of the use of the English language remains unsurpassed. So, does, the story, and the characters.  Nothing can replace it, and nothing ever will.  Hear that, Aaron Sorkin???????????????

                                        I paid more attention to Atticus this time, and while he is not an ogre, he is strict in raising his children. And Jem confronts him on occasion.  So, all this fuss about what Sorkin has done to Atticus...well, it is right there in Harper Lee. She made him a good man of decency, but not some saint!!!!!!!!!!

                                          For the first time I read it with a tinge of sadness.  And this comes from having read "Go Set A Watchman."  As the novel wound down, I knew that Jem only had fifteen years left to live.  In the other novel, Lee reveals Jem had a weak heart, inherited from their mother, who died of the same thing when they were children.  Jem would succumb to a sudden heart attack at the age of 28, and the thought of this saddened me.  Had I never read the other book--yet, how could I not--I would never have known this.

                                            If you have not read this classic, it is time you did.  If you have, reread it before seeing the Broadway show.

                                             It puts most fiction writing, let alone Aaron Sorkin, to shame!!!!!!!!!!!