Go Set a Watchman Review

Go Set a Watchman

Harper Lee

HarperCollins

July 2015

4/5

Quotes:

“She was almost in love with him. No, that’s impossible, she thought: either you are or you aren’t. Love’s the only thing in this world that is unequivocal. There are different kinds of love, certainly, but it’s a you-do or you-don’t proposition with them all."

“You deny them hope. Any man in this world, Atticus, any man who has a head and arms and legs, was born with hope in his heart. You won’t find that in the Constitution, I picked that up in church somewhere. They are simple people, most of them, but that doesn’t make them subhuman.”

“But a man who has lived by truth—and you have believed in what he has lived—he does not leave you merely wary when he fails you, he leaves you with nothing.”

                  When I first heard that Harper Lee was releasing a sequel to her beloved To Kill a Mockingbird, I panicked. Was this something that Lee truly wanted to do? Her sister, who cared for her estate had recently passed away, and I worried the older woman was being taken advantage of.

                Now that I’ve read Go Set a Watchman, however, I understand why Harper Lee’s lawyers and publishing agent pushed for its release: the book is nothing short of yet another masterpiece. Though it’s an early draft of the novel with spelling and grammatical errors, Watchman brilliantly resurrects our favorite characters and tackles the topic of racism.

                We are reintroduced to Scout Finch, who is now 26 years old and living in New York. She is coming home to Maycomb, Alabama for two weeks to visit her aging father Atticus. During her stay, we see Scout (now referred to as Jean Louise, her given name) play around with a potential lover, visit and reminisce about old friends, and learn about the NAACP and just how her town feels about it.

                While the book contains good points as well as bad, I overall found this to be an easy read and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. I did not mind the way Atticus was portrayed. In Mockingbird, he was a hero and the one we cheered on in court as he defended an African American man. In Watchman, Atticus is said to hold racist beliefs. I wasn’t bothered by this in the slightest. Atticus never says outright that he hates African Americans or believes they shouldn’t be citizens. Which is why people shouldn’t let this tidbit dictate whether they read the book or not. Other chapters and characters in the novel make it a notable read and definitely one that everyone needs to see in today’s time and age regardless of if they like the newer Atticus.

                I recommend this book to anyone wanting another perspective on the topic of racism. Like Mockingbird, this novel makes plenty of excellent points on the treatment of African Americans and how equality can be achieved. Even if one is unsure this book will live up to the hype of the prequel, it will definitely come pretty darn close.