I'm a couple of days behind on the buddy read but when I saw all your comments, I knew that I just had to revisit the story -- and maybe even the movie, if I can find the John Wayne version on Netflix or Amazon.
This is one of the few books where I have seen the movie and read the book and am not complaining about the adaptation. Maybe because it was 40 years between seeing the movie and then reading the novel.
I don't tend to be a "deep" reader. Either I like a book or I don't and when I don't, I can't always tell you why -- nor am bothered by the fact that I can't necessarily justify my dislike. Which made it very strange that I kept asking myself if old Mattie Ross was a reliable narrator. Was her memory of events reliable? Is this really the way it happened? Or has the trauma of the events along with 25 years or more since the events have taken place scrambled her memory of what took place -- and keeping in mind that what we now understand about trauma and memory. I am still trying to decide.
I did enjoy the choice of narrator. Authors don't normally make good narrators but, wow, this author is an exception to the rule. Listening to Ms. Tartt, who was born and bred in Mississippi, do deep south is like listening to Matt Damon do Boston-Southie -- pitch-perfect and totally at home with the accent even though it is not their normal speaking voice.
Originally published on 1:58 am 22 April 2020 Booklikes