To kill a mockingbird

There was a time in my life when I decided I would not read any of 'the classics', by which I didn't mean the ancient Greek or Roman texts, but the novels 'everybody should read'. I was going to be different, and original, and only read contemporary stuff that was different, and original.
At some point I realised that to know whether something is original, it might be nice to have read older stuff as well. Also, after reading some of 'the classics', I realised that they are classics for a reason: they actually are pretty good, and still relevant. Since then, I've been trying to mix new novels with classic novels, and have started on Yates and Steinbeck (somehow, I appear to have read more British than American classics, probably due to the British-oriented university I attended), and several 'classic' Dutch authors (Hermans, Mulisch), and acquired some other novels I still have to read.
Upon admitting that I had owned To kill a mockingbird for about a year, but still had not read it, several friends drew a collective intake of breath, so I decided that would be my next novel. I had absolutely no idea of what it was about, and the blurb on the back didn't really help me any further, so I was a complete blank slate going into it.
And again, this novel proved to be worthy of the caption 'classic'. It is one of those novels where everything comes together: plot, style, characters, themes. You just know that the character mentioned in the first line, as a side remark, will come back at the end of the novel to neatly complete the circle. It is completely understandable that this is one of the most important novels in American education, and that it has not been out of print since its appearance.
As you are probably all better familiar with the content than I was, I will just finish by sharing some interesting surprises I discovered while reading some background information on the novel (for me, the author is definitely not dead). First, I discovered that Harper Lee is in fact a woman. Second, I discovered that she is still alive (albeit 89 years old). Thirdly, that the novel is partly autobiographical, and that the Dill character is actually Truman Capote. Finally, that Harper Lee never wrote anything ever again, and has hardly ever spoken publicly about To kill a mockingbird after finishing it.
To me, all these extra tidbits of information just add to the novel's depth and complexity. Without them, the novel is great and brilliant and special as it is, but with them, it just gets an extra layer or shine. Although it does make me sad that there are no other novels by the same author to devour.
Ah well, now it's on to another contemporary novel (Dominion by C.J. Sansom) and then on to more classic literary education.