Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

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Go Set a Watchman

July 14, 2015 / 288 pages / Fiction

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An historic literary event: the publication of a newly discovered novel, the earliest known work from Harper Lee, the beloved, bestselling author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, To Kill a Mockingbird.

Originally written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman was the novel Harper Lee first submitted to her publishers before To Kill a Mockingbird. Assumed to have been lost, the manuscript was discovered in late 2014.

Go Set a Watchman features many of the characters from To Kill a Mockingbird some twenty years later. Returning home to Maycomb to visit her father, Jean Louise Finch—Scout—struggles with issues both personal and political, involving Atticus, society, and the small Alabama town that shaped her.

Exploring how the characters from To Kill a Mockingbird are adjusting to the turbulent events transforming mid-1950s America, Go Set a Watchman casts a fascinating new light on Harper Lee’s enduring classic. Moving, funny and compelling, it stands as a magnificent novel in its own right.

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An historic literary event: the publication of a newly discovered novel, the earliest known work from Harper Lee, the beloved, bestselling author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, To Kill a Mockingbird. Originally written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman was the novel Harper Lee first submitted to her publishers before To Kill a Mockingbird. Assumed to have been lost, the manuscript was discovered in late 2014. Go Set a Watchman features many of the characters from To Kill a Mockingbird some twenty years later. Returning home to Maycomb to visit her father, Jean Louise Finch—Scout—struggles with issues both personal and political, involving Atticus, society, and the small Alabama town that shaped her. Exploring how the characters from To Kill a Mockingbird are adjusting to the turbulent events transforming mid-1950s America, Go Set a Watchman casts a fascinating new light on Harper Lee’s enduring classic. Moving, funny and compelling, it stands as a magnificent novel in its own right.

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I enjoyed this book more than I expected to based on the criticism I'd heard prior to reading. It, of course, pales in comparison to To Kill A Mockingbird, and a large part of that is because it lacks an editor's touch. However, I very much enjoyed the story itself and liked having a continuation of Scout's story.

Grade: A– / ebwhite / Oct 22, 2015

Jean Louise Finch is still very much the "Scout" of To Kill a Mockingbird, even at the age of 26. She's been living in New York for 5 years and only visits Maycomb, Alabama, annually. Though technically an adult, Jean Louise still has a lot of growing up to do. She rolls into town on her own terms, wearing pants and no makeup, much to the chagrin of Aunt Alexandra, and expects everything to be about the same as she left it. Scout's memories of home are memories of Atticus, her fair-minded fa

Grade: A / bookappeal / Oct 25, 2015

I loved it. That is all.

Grade: A / Susieq2 / Apr 1, 2016

Starts out excruciatingly slow, and is marred by poor editing (Is the school headmaster Mr Tuffett or Ms Muffett?) It picks itself up a bit in the final third and becomes a nice but somewhat uninspiring read. Mild spoilers: Others have mentioned how their biggest disappointment is the relegation of Atticus from God Almighty to Regular Joe. I don't see that at all. All through Mockingbird I looked at Atticus as a decent role model for fathers and people in general, but felt very clearly that h

Grade: D / panoramix / Nov 25, 2019

The whole situation with this book is weird and smells a little fishy to me. For starters, there is no author's note. But there is an entire page at the end all about the font that was used in this book. Now, I can understand that Harper Lee is in an assisted living facility right now, and perhaps she doesn't have the energy to create an author's note. Perhaps, also, she is not in the right state of mind, either. And if she's not in the right state of mind to write an author's note, is she i

Grade: D / Knitted / Jan 2, 2017

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