Rating: 
Summary: It could have been good, but...
Review: Atticus is one of those books that start so great, and then it deteriorates as it progresses. One example of the book declining is the climax. Everything builds up to that exact time, and if the climax is weak, so is the book. Atticus' climax was pretty weak. Atticus is like the Prodigal Son in many was, like how Scott, Atticus' son, runs off to see the world. Scott is also the son of a fairly wealthy man. He also blows his money on people and short-term pleasures, like drugs and alcohol. When Atticus hears of his son's death, he goes down to Resurrection, Mexico, to bring Scott's body back home for a burial. Atticus finds more about his son in Mexico, and this then leads into the completion to the story of the Prodigal Son. I really didn't enjoy this book, but it could have been because it was rather slow to begin with or because there wasn't anything after the climax. I feel that there were a few weak points in the book, for example, in the last chapter, it flashes back to Scott's stay in Mexico. This really showed Scott's life, but it didn't leave any area for the reader's imagination. I felt it wasn't necessary to tell everything that happened while Scott was in Resurrection. I really couldn't recommend this book to anyone and it really isn't a murder mystery either, so it was in some ways, disappointing. On a scale from 1 - 10, ten being the highest, I'd give it a 6. It was interesting, but really not worth the time.
Rating: 
Summary: A Rather Slow Novel
Review: The novel Atticus, written by Ron Hansen, has recieved much praise from crittics. I, however, felt differently about the book. I felt that the novel was slow and, at most points, boring. I did not find Atticus to be a "superbly written novel" as the Miami Herald did, but rather more of a chore to read. Reading it was not like reading a book such as The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexander Dumas. A book like Dumas's pulls me in on the first page. I was only "pulled into" Atticus for about fifty pages. The other two-hundred pages I just wanted the book to end.My primary reason for not enjoying the novel was Scott's diary. I had just started to enjoy the book, and then this part began. The diary was very detailed, and told about what had happened in Scott's life over the previous several months. The diary did answer the questions I had developed while reading the book, but there was too much detail. I practically fell asleep while reading this part. I also felt that the whole idea was not plausible. Scott's story seemed too fictional for even a novel. The speed of the novel was also something I disliked. The novel starts out slowly at Atticus's house. Atticus, Scott, and Frank (Atticus's two sons) are sitting around talking about Scott's problems. The point of the dialog was to show how inferior Scott feels compared to his father and older son, a complaint that I did not really care too much about. The novel does start to pick its pace up after about one-hundred pages. I found the part of the novel where Atticus was attempting to solve the mystery of his son's suicide quite interesting. Atticus used detective like strategies to nearly solve the mystery. I even found myself trying to solve the mystery. But then the novel switches to a detailed diary of Scott's life. I was curious to know what happened, but I did not care about every single detail. I would have rather found out what happened through a dialogue opposed to a monologue. My feelings toward this novel are bias becuase I had to read it over the summer for school. But I am sure that even if I read it because I wanted to, I would not have liked it. I do not really enjoy slow mysteries where everything changes in an instance. I would rather read an adventure book that grabs me on the first page and keeps me interested until the last.
Rating: 
Summary: Atticus
Review: Atticus is a touching story that portrays a father's love for his son. In the book, Atticus, the father, travels to Mexico after Scott, his son, commits suicide. As the story of Scott's death unfolds, Atticus becomes suspicious. He investigates the death as if his son were murdered. Before his death, Scott thought of himself as a "screw up" who didn't deserve his father's love. He blames himself for his mother's death, which is not his fault. The fact that Atticus investigates Scott's death proves his love for his son. The ending provides a great twist that makes the book the wonderful novel that it is. Also, the style of writing that Hansen uses, telling the future without the reader knowing the past, proves his greatness as an author. The theme of this book is the same message portrayed by the the bible parable "Prodical Son." That lesson is forgiveness. I compare this book to the parable and would consider it a modern day "Prodical Son." All in all, I rate this book a 4 and would recomend it to any reader.
Rating:
Summary: Adan's Review of the novel Atticus
Review: Like an onion, the novel Atticus has layers. If the reader just digs right in, without thinking, and takes a big bite out of the onion then he or she will be left with a bitter impression. But if the reader takes the time to slowly peel away the layers of the novel then he or she will be left with a more lasting, but still bitter, impression about the novel. Atticus is a very complicated book that has been written in a way that I have never seen before. The story begins with a third person view, seeing everyone and everything. But as the story progresses the third person view stays the same but u only know what Atticus knows. Then the story makes a late turn and now the reader is reading Scott's journal!
Atticus' and Scott's way of life is very different. Atticus is a father, a husband, and a grandfather. So Atticus is practical, predictable, and careful. Atticus has a family to run, he has a house to run, he even has a business to run! Now Scott is the complete opposite of his father Atticus. Scott is a party animal! He spends most of his nights drinking, painting, and chasing after a woman that he can never hope to get. Scott has little or no responsibilities. He lives in Mexico, far away from his old farm home. Scott is unpredictable, as he shows when he makes decisions. Like taking drugs, Atticus finds drugs in Scott's house. Atticus is very reliable. For example, Atticus goes all the way to Mexico to bring back the body of his dead son. While Scott is irresponsible. For example, Scott leaves to go to live in Mexico not telling his father for months.
The conflict between father and son is a strong focus in the novel. But if the reader is not careful he or she can loose sight of this conflict. A reader's concentration can be diverted in the mass of plot twists. The death of Scott's mom leads to his insanity. Scott's insanity leads to his attitude towards life. His attitude towards life leads to his suicide, and then his suicide leads to, well I don't remember! I'm not going to tell you the whole story!
Atticus is a well written novel. It is written through a third person perspective, so the reader can see all. But what is interesting about the novel is that it is like a puzzle. Even though the reader knows all he or she only receives chunks of information at a time. Scott's insanity is not even explained until half way through the book. The perspective of the reader changes through out the novel. The reader begins to see Atticus' perspective and then attention of the reader changes to Scott. By doing this, the author, Ron Hansen, allows the reader to understand the story from Atticus' perspective and Scott's perspective.
Rating:
Summary: another great piece from Ron Hansen
Review: A rancher who lives in the mountains refuses to accept the idea that his son, who lives in Mexico, has commited suicide. Through the rough times in Mexico, he manages to find out the truth to the puzzle of his son's death. After reading the book, you should wonder how far someone will go for his parents love. This book was indeed one of the best books ive read, and i strongly suggest this book to all readers my age and older.
Rating:
Summary: Atticus Book Review
Review: Atticus was a great story having drawn, a great father and son realationhip. I also think in the story it shows feelings about forgiveness, responsiblity, and blame. Hansen's style of writting is not "beating arouns the bush" so to speak. It takes him only a few words and sentences to say what the real meaning of his work is. Overall I rate this book at 4 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Atticus
Review: In the book Atticus, at the beginning of the story, it starts out slow to where I can not follow. I felt very bored with all of the flashbacks and the extra desriptions such as One Sock. it had no importance, however it was in the books contents. However, the book picked up stars when the twist of his son living came into play. After the twist in the novel it became very interesting and enjoyable. By the end of the book I was happy with the novel because it did not leave me hanging. The book sums up the entire story at the end, which I think is important to all good literature. For a bonus star, the end helped me understand what I hadn't before. For example, the ending helped me understand why Scott faked his suicide.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good book...
Review: The book "Atticus" by Ron Hansen, in many different sections of the story has lots of evidence suggesting good suspenseful writing. For example, when the story starts out in a slow, yet effective scene where Atticus and his family meet for the Christmas season. This is a good sense of writing because of how Hansen slowly gets the reader into the mood to want to find out what will happen after all of this "happy time". Also, this shows that there will be a transition to a scene with a far different mood. In addition, the story begins to pick up the pace when Atticus leaves for Mexico to pick up his son's body, but begins to suspect something odd. This part of the book is the rising point in the book because it is where all of the preschool suspense is being raised up into a far more adult-like state. Also, this part of the book opens up many suggestions, suspicions, and theories to the reader. Overall, I think that this selection shows a superior amount of good writing.
Rating:
Summary: It was slow but picked up a little
Review: The Book Atticus was slow in the beginning and near the end it picked up in interest. ATTICUS it a story about a father who finds out that his son has commit suicide, down in Mexico, and now Atticus the father has to go down and claim the body. In this first part of the book the story moves slowly using many details on how Atticus gets down to Mexico and what he dose when he first gets there. At this point the reader sees the Atticus is kind of a detective and is thinking about the death of his son and suspects murder. The book goes on like this for a while then Atticus hits the nail on the head and there is a surprise. The reader now gets a change of pace and is reading a diary of passed events written by Scott, Atticus' son. In this diary the reader gets a chance to make sense of many of the questions they have formed throughout the book. I enjoyed the ending of the book not only because it explained a lot but also because it would have been bad if Atticus was just left there hanging, when other people who now might care for him, knew.
Rating:
Summary: Attention Grabber From the very beggining!
Review: Atticus was one of my most favorite books I have ever read. It inthreades you into it at the very beggining. You couldnt put it down even if you wanted too. Atticus takes off from Colorado to retrieve his sons body from Resureccion. You begin to think of why he commited suicide, he seemed like such a happy boy. Then Ron Hansen throws the reader off again. Atticus suspects he was murdered! Through all these twists and turns in the book you find it hard to stop reading. The author doesnt stop there...
A couple more twists and turns and the ending presents itself. I
couldnt of found a better book to read (other than Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings). It was a good book over all and I rate it four stars.
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