“Mockingbird” is a familiar title for most book lovers and movie buffs too: the 1962 film starring Gregory Peck won three Oscars. Lee’s novel of racial tension in a small Southern town also won the Pulitzer Prize and has become a staple on school reading lists.

The story is narrated by a young girl named Scout, whose lawyer father Atticus Finch has been chosen to represent a black man who is accused of raping a white woman in their small town of Maycomb, Ala. The trial sharply divides the people of the town, and Scout and her older brother Jem are often the target of insults and violence sparked by their father’s involvement in the defense. The children, along with their friend Dil, also form a tentative friendship with town eccentric Boo Radley, a recluse who has become somewhat of a scary small-town legend.

Lee

Despite its success, Lee wrote very little after “Mockingbird” and did not participate in developing the screenplay for the film. She did, however, help Truman Capote with the research for his book “In Cold Blood” (the two were childhood friends; some critics have suggested that Lee’s character Dil is based in part on Capote).

Race relations in the South will undoubtedly be a part of the Monday Book Talk discussion of the book at 6 p.m. on Oct. 31 in the Taylor Books art gallery. Discussion leader Carol Campbell is also interested in exploring readers’ thoughts on the reasons why the novel has such staying power and the lessons Lee was trying to impart in the story.

To contact Regina C. Davis, use e-mail or call 348-7936.