The novel that just keeps on giving

If you're a fan of the book (1960) or film version (1962) of To Kill a Mockingbird, I can highly recommend the recent documentary Hey, Boo: Harper Lee & To Kill a Mockingbird, by Mary McDonagh Murphy. I caught up to it on Netflix streaming and found it very well done. (The documentary’s DVD cover is at left.)

Writers especially will enjoy the interviews with the likes of Wally Lamb, Anna Quindlen, Richard Russo, Scott Turow, Allan Gurganus, Rick Bragg and Lee Smith. Among other literary issues the film discusses are a real case of good, old-fashioned writer jealousy, and the possibility that hitting a grand-slam home run on your first novel, as Harper Lee did, may not be the best thing for a writer. (Mockingbird has since sold some 30 million copies worldwide.)

Of course, the notoriously publicity-shy Ms. Lee herself would not give an interview for the film, but the director worked hard to make up for her absence. Fans of the film will particularly enjoy the interview with Mary Badham, the actress who played Scout at age 10.  

-- Ron Kovach, senior editor, The Writer

Comments

Kayleen wrote re: The novel that just keeps on giving on Wed, Feb 22 2012 4:54 PM I will plan to watch this and re-read the novel. It might be an interesting show to recommend to the middle schoolers where I work who like more advanced literature. Thanks!