What do you think?
Rate this book
Go Set a Watchman: A Novel By Harper Lee | A BookMarked' Summary and Analysis
Go Set a A Novel By Harper Lee | A BookMarked' Summary and Analysis
**FREE download with Kindle Unlimited!**
"...A historic literary 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..."
What You Will
- Chapter By Chapter Analysis
- Visual Map and guideline to the Book
- Complete Summary & Analysis of Essential Points
- Character and Theme Analysis
- A Short Informative Author Biography
- Discussion Questions for both Readers & Book Clubs
**FREE download with Kindle Unlimited!**
"...A historic literary 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..."
What You Will
- Chapter By Chapter Analysis
- Visual Map and guideline to the Book
- Complete Summary & Analysis of Essential Points
- Character and Theme Analysis
- A Short Informative Author Biography
- Discussion Questions for both Readers & Book Clubs
20 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 8, 2015
24 people are currently reading
224 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
September 11, 2015
My experience of this book was rather the reverse of most first novels I have read or novels which seemed promising but have needed a strong editor before seeing the light of day. Usually such books begin strong, but the author has not known how to bring their novel to a satisfying close.
Watchman is very uneven in the beginning and if Harper Lee's editor had seen promise in this telling, she would have had Harper completely rewrite the first portion of the book. Gradually, however, Lee finds her voice as a writer and the later portion of the book reads more smoothly and begins to feel somewhat polished. It becomes an interesting view of the Southern white culture feeling threatened and their defensiveness, resistance, and not knowing how to let go of the attitudes that must change without losing everything which they continue to value.
On another level it is a young adult, coming-of-age story - that of "Scout" learning that she must recognize and accept the flaws and shortcomings of her idealized father and develop an independent conscience and identity of her own.
Not a great book, but one I found interesting and worth reading.
Watchman is very uneven in the beginning and if Harper Lee's editor had seen promise in this telling, she would have had Harper completely rewrite the first portion of the book. Gradually, however, Lee finds her voice as a writer and the later portion of the book reads more smoothly and begins to feel somewhat polished. It becomes an interesting view of the Southern white culture feeling threatened and their defensiveness, resistance, and not knowing how to let go of the attitudes that must change without losing everything which they continue to value.
On another level it is a young adult, coming-of-age story - that of "Scout" learning that she must recognize and accept the flaws and shortcomings of her idealized father and develop an independent conscience and identity of her own.
Not a great book, but one I found interesting and worth reading.
September 16, 2015
A little hard to follow.
October 28, 2015
I expected to hate this book. After all the hoopla, concern about whether Nelle did indeed sanction the publication, and wondering if this book was edited as well as it could have been, I put off reading it at first. To read it felt potentially disloyal to my passion for TKAM and its characters. I listened to Reece Witherspoon's excellent reading of the audio-book, which enhanced my experience of the book.
If an author other than Harper Lee's name was on this, and there hadn't been so much hype, readers might have responded more positively. If there were no Atticus legend to defend, readers might not have railed against the wrongful image of this man. If we didn't already feel connected to/familiar with Lee's semi-fictional small Alabama town, we might have enjoyed how Lee depicted this setting. Her attention to detail, humor and irreverence are delightful.
Jean Louise's character, though flawed and occasionally overwritten, was at least believable as a young woman who saw the wider world and, returning to her childhood home, felt betrayed by who and what she thought she knew.
Atticus was possibly more believable in this book than in TKAM. I say this as someone who as a child wanted Gregory Peck/Atticus Finch as my uncle. Like countless others, I idolized his strength, moral character and perfect parenting. As an adult who understands the civil rights movement differently than my childhood self did, and now has close white and African-American "southerner" friends who have shared with me their personal experiences of that time, I find the Atticus in GTAW all too real and believable. And given the prevalent racism in today's American society, I fear there are still plenty of people who consider themselves "good" even though they perpetuate hateful racism in their daily lives.
I'm glad I listened to WATCHMAN, and have a feeling that the adult Jean Louise may stick with me as much as her younger, more innocent self, Scout, has accompanied me through numerous readings of the novel over many decades.
If an author other than Harper Lee's name was on this, and there hadn't been so much hype, readers might have responded more positively. If there were no Atticus legend to defend, readers might not have railed against the wrongful image of this man. If we didn't already feel connected to/familiar with Lee's semi-fictional small Alabama town, we might have enjoyed how Lee depicted this setting. Her attention to detail, humor and irreverence are delightful.
Jean Louise's character, though flawed and occasionally overwritten, was at least believable as a young woman who saw the wider world and, returning to her childhood home, felt betrayed by who and what she thought she knew.
Atticus was possibly more believable in this book than in TKAM. I say this as someone who as a child wanted Gregory Peck/Atticus Finch as my uncle. Like countless others, I idolized his strength, moral character and perfect parenting. As an adult who understands the civil rights movement differently than my childhood self did, and now has close white and African-American "southerner" friends who have shared with me their personal experiences of that time, I find the Atticus in GTAW all too real and believable. And given the prevalent racism in today's American society, I fear there are still plenty of people who consider themselves "good" even though they perpetuate hateful racism in their daily lives.
I'm glad I listened to WATCHMAN, and have a feeling that the adult Jean Louise may stick with me as much as her younger, more innocent self, Scout, has accompanied me through numerous readings of the novel over many decades.
September 6, 2015
This was a thought provoking book. Having read "To Kill a Mockingbird" the character of Scout is known. Seeing her return to her hometown and become shocked at how things had moved along in her absence. The questions she wrestles with, the assumptions that she lived by are all up for grabs. Great story of a woman returning home with her eyes forced wide open.
October 1, 2015
Harper Lee's alleged prequel to To Kill a Mockingbird gives readers thought-provoking insights into the prevalent attitudes and inclinations in a small southern town in the 1950's post Brown vs Board of Education. Despite its slow pace and unremarkable style, it is worth the read.
September 5, 2015
Sorry but this one doesn't compare to "TKAM"...it was disappointing on so many levels, however, I am glad it got published just for the closure other works by Harper Lee.
September 7, 2015
Mockingbird was far more enjoyable. Atticus was less admirable, as were practically everyone in this prequil
September 12, 2015
Disappointing, arguments too obtuse.
March 6, 2016
This just didn't grab me and I abandoned it.
February 3, 2016
Once I stopped comparing it "To Kill a Mocking Bird" and looked at it from it's own merit I really thought it had a great "voice"
December 26, 2019
Got about a third of the way into the book and felt irritated and bored. What is the point of this?! Nothing is happening except that Jean Louise is home from NY and has a boyfriend. The dialogue is too long and doesn't add much to the character development and little to the story. Reading other peoples' reviews I think has saved me additional boredom, frustration and disillusionment. Atticus has a racist attitude??!!! I don't want to hear that! Anyway, onward to my next book ...
July 28, 2023
I am so glad that I ignored all the naysayers and went ahead and read this book. This story is not about Atticus Finch being a racist. It is about a girl who has a rude awakening to reality. A now grown up Scout has realized that she has to take her father off the pedestal she put him on and see him for who he really is. This is so relatable to many young girls and boys. I also loved adult Scout. She was an absolute cheeky delight to read!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 25, 2019
Enjoyed reading some of Scout’s perspective again, but really didn’t care much for the thesis. Rather than going off half-cocked, why doesn’t she just talk plainly to people instead of bumbling around in misinformed ignorance.
December 7, 2019
I loved the continuation of the characters. The performance on the audiobook by Reese Witherspoon was great.
February 12, 2020
This was my second time trying the book. I listened to it this time. I have mixed emotions as I compare it to “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
June 5, 2021
Hard to follow To Kill A Mockingbird.
August 17, 2025
Too much dialogue for me
March 15, 2016
Go Set A Watchman Book Review
“Go Set A Watchman” written by Harper Lee, takes place in the mid-1950s in the small town of Maycomb Alabama. The main character Scout, travels from New York City to Maycomb on a train to visit her 72-year-old father Atticus Finch. Atticus, who’s mobility is limited due to rheumatoid arthritis, lives with Alexandra his sister, who has taken the roll as apprentice at his law firm. Also Scouts future husband, Henry Clinton lives with Atticus. Scout and Henry visit Finch’s Landing, which is the estate of Scouts grandmother. While she has been gone, Scouts grandmother and the rest of her family sold it to a local hunting club. Nobody told Scout about this, and she is deeply saddened by it. However, what upsets her even more could happen to be the fact that her world hasn’t changed, she feels that it is never what she thought it was. Scout is shaken when she finds a racist pamphlet in her father’s office. Scout also hears her Aunt defending racists beliefs. Then on top of it all she sees both Atticus and Henry at a Maycomb Citizens’ Council meeting, which is basically a smaller version of the KKK. When Scout goes to sleep at night, she has many different dreams about her childhood which consist of her playing with her friend Dill, who now lives and Italy. Also she has dreams about her brother Jem as well, who now rests in the cemetery. Scout hears about an incident where a black man hit a white man, who was drunk and stumbled in front of his car. Atticus chooses to depend the black man because he happens to be Calpurnia’s grandson, Calpurnia was the Finch family’s former cook. During the trail, Atticus sticks to what he thinks the whole time. He believes what he reads in the racists pamphlet, and disagrees with the Supreme Court decision on integration. Atticus has concerns about black people taking power and holding government positions. Even though scout agrees with her father that the Federal government shouldn’t overrule the States Rights, she can’t tolerate his racists attitude. Scout says her father to be no better and Hitler, also she says she despises him and everything he stands for. Toping it all of she curses him out more or less. In retaliation, Atticus tells Scout she is a “bigot” and he isn’t because he challenged Scouts opinions and she wouldn’t listen to him. Atticus then tells Scout how important it is for her to listen to people with different viewpoints even if they involve slavery being “incidental” to the Civil War, also that black people or simply inferior to whites. Surprisingly enough Scout decides to listen to her father. Atticus does say that he is proud of Scout for standing her ground, even though that’s how Scouts uncle depicts the word bigot to mean. Scout ends up saying she loves her father very much. In the end things sort of work things out in one way or another. I believe one of the most interesting quotes in the book to be “Gentlemen, if there’s one slogan in this world I believe, it is this: equal rights for all, special privileges for none”. What I think makes this quote so interesting is that Atticus is the one who said it. In the book, Atticus had a racists attitude, so how could he possibly believe this? The book is worth a read just to try to comprehend why this may be. I would also recommend reading this book if you enjoyed “To Kill A Mockingbird” also written by Harper Lee.
“Go Set A Watchman” written by Harper Lee, takes place in the mid-1950s in the small town of Maycomb Alabama. The main character Scout, travels from New York City to Maycomb on a train to visit her 72-year-old father Atticus Finch. Atticus, who’s mobility is limited due to rheumatoid arthritis, lives with Alexandra his sister, who has taken the roll as apprentice at his law firm. Also Scouts future husband, Henry Clinton lives with Atticus. Scout and Henry visit Finch’s Landing, which is the estate of Scouts grandmother. While she has been gone, Scouts grandmother and the rest of her family sold it to a local hunting club. Nobody told Scout about this, and she is deeply saddened by it. However, what upsets her even more could happen to be the fact that her world hasn’t changed, she feels that it is never what she thought it was. Scout is shaken when she finds a racist pamphlet in her father’s office. Scout also hears her Aunt defending racists beliefs. Then on top of it all she sees both Atticus and Henry at a Maycomb Citizens’ Council meeting, which is basically a smaller version of the KKK. When Scout goes to sleep at night, she has many different dreams about her childhood which consist of her playing with her friend Dill, who now lives and Italy. Also she has dreams about her brother Jem as well, who now rests in the cemetery. Scout hears about an incident where a black man hit a white man, who was drunk and stumbled in front of his car. Atticus chooses to depend the black man because he happens to be Calpurnia’s grandson, Calpurnia was the Finch family’s former cook. During the trail, Atticus sticks to what he thinks the whole time. He believes what he reads in the racists pamphlet, and disagrees with the Supreme Court decision on integration. Atticus has concerns about black people taking power and holding government positions. Even though scout agrees with her father that the Federal government shouldn’t overrule the States Rights, she can’t tolerate his racists attitude. Scout says her father to be no better and Hitler, also she says she despises him and everything he stands for. Toping it all of she curses him out more or less. In retaliation, Atticus tells Scout she is a “bigot” and he isn’t because he challenged Scouts opinions and she wouldn’t listen to him. Atticus then tells Scout how important it is for her to listen to people with different viewpoints even if they involve slavery being “incidental” to the Civil War, also that black people or simply inferior to whites. Surprisingly enough Scout decides to listen to her father. Atticus does say that he is proud of Scout for standing her ground, even though that’s how Scouts uncle depicts the word bigot to mean. Scout ends up saying she loves her father very much. In the end things sort of work things out in one way or another. I believe one of the most interesting quotes in the book to be “Gentlemen, if there’s one slogan in this world I believe, it is this: equal rights for all, special privileges for none”. What I think makes this quote so interesting is that Atticus is the one who said it. In the book, Atticus had a racists attitude, so how could he possibly believe this? The book is worth a read just to try to comprehend why this may be. I would also recommend reading this book if you enjoyed “To Kill A Mockingbird” also written by Harper Lee.
December 18, 2015
Throughout reading the book "Go Set a Watchmen" by Harper Lee, my option on the plot and how well its theme was conveyed has drastically changed. In the beginning of the book, the story was very slow and somewhat tedious. It mainly consisted of the main character, Jean Louise Finch, visiting her father Atticus in Maycomb after leaving for New York after she became an adult. During her visit we are introduced to Henry Clinton, Jean Louise's love interest, who is currently working for her father as a lawyer. During this first half of the book Harper uses lots of flashbacks to explain much of Jean Louise's life after the ending of her previous book "To Kill a Mockingbird". While it was nice to get some more background information on the character's lives after the previous book, to me it seemed to take away from what was happening in the present. However, the second half of the book in my opinion redeemed the beginning of the book and then some. During the second half we are introduced to the main conflict of the plot, racism and how it has affected Maycomb. After seeing her father and boyfriend at a town council meeting, a common place in the mid 19th century South to gather support for segregation, Jean Louise begins to fight an internal battle with herself. She believes that Atticus, the one person in the word that she has completely trusted since childhood, had betrayed her by attending a pro-segregation meeting. Throughout the rest of the book Jean Louise tries to comprehend his actions, leading to a confrontation between her, Atticus, and Uncle Jack at the end of the book. Here is where emotions begin to run wild as Jean Louise loses all control and labels both men very inappropriate titles. However, the most emotional part comes after as Uncle Jack explains how this whole series of events had finally allowed Jean Louise to gather her own conscience. He explains that Jean Louise's conscience, or "Watchmen", has been tied to her father's ever since she was a little girl. This was because she didn't see Atticus as a human, but an individual who could do not wrong. When she saw her father at that town meeting, she couldn't process what she was seeing as it contradicted all that she had known about her father. Jean Louise had to finally accept what she had seen at the meeting, and therefore create her own individual conscience. This ending created so much emotion for me because of how Lee perfectly wrote the confirmation between father and daughter, and showed just how different Jean Louise was compared to other Southerners. Just like its predecessor, "Go Set a Watchmen" will have a lasting impact on me in regards to the idea of individuality and the affect that those closest to you have on your perception of the world.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
December 21, 2015Kill a Mockingbird VS Go Set a Watchman
The book to kill a mockingbird was a great ,well written story about coming of age written by Harper Lee in her prime.Its predecessor Go Set a Watchman can not have the same said about it.Even though it is written by the same author is doesn't have the same small town feeling in it that allowed to Kill a Mockingbird to be formed into the will written clasic.During it I kept wondering if this is the same Atticus as the kind loving and caring one I read about prior.Still the book did have some times and aspects that made me chuckle ,but at other times that made me wish for the old characters and their actions to be back.To me it always felt like more of a nucense to read not a book to read for comfort.
To go set a Watchmen takes place in Maycomb, Alabama just like to Kill a Mockingbird but there are some differences.Now Jean lewis Finch is grown up and dealing with a racist version of Atticus.Atticus is no longer a vision of hope and equality in the deep south but a common racist that believes what others think.He has a distaste for African Americans and is close minded on his thoughts.There are other major changes that are included including Jem's death.Jem was a main character that added light and innocence into a dark town filled with racism.The book was similar but its plot was completely different then to kill a mockingbird.One of my favorite quotes that came from this book would have to be”Loves the only thing in this world that is unequivocal”.This is true everything else has so much doubt in it such a racism and sexism but love is something that lasts for ever.To me to kill a mocking bird was able to talk about a big issue better then Go set a watchmen was able to do .
If you have yet to read go set a watchmen or to kill a mocking bird I would have to recomend reading to kill a mocking bird.To go set a watchmen isnt a bad book but compared to what she wrote afterwards it seems like its written by another author.I would recomend the book to someone who reallt liked to kill a mocking bird and is willing to compair them both.I would not recomend it to someone who isnt aware with harper lees writting becuase to me this is the worst out of them all.This is a book that I would have to rate it a seven out of ten.
The book to kill a mockingbird was a great ,well written story about coming of age written by Harper Lee in her prime.Its predecessor Go Set a Watchman can not have the same said about it.Even though it is written by the same author is doesn't have the same small town feeling in it that allowed to Kill a Mockingbird to be formed into the will written clasic.During it I kept wondering if this is the same Atticus as the kind loving and caring one I read about prior.Still the book did have some times and aspects that made me chuckle ,but at other times that made me wish for the old characters and their actions to be back.To me it always felt like more of a nucense to read not a book to read for comfort.
To go set a Watchmen takes place in Maycomb, Alabama just like to Kill a Mockingbird but there are some differences.Now Jean lewis Finch is grown up and dealing with a racist version of Atticus.Atticus is no longer a vision of hope and equality in the deep south but a common racist that believes what others think.He has a distaste for African Americans and is close minded on his thoughts.There are other major changes that are included including Jem's death.Jem was a main character that added light and innocence into a dark town filled with racism.The book was similar but its plot was completely different then to kill a mockingbird.One of my favorite quotes that came from this book would have to be”Loves the only thing in this world that is unequivocal”.This is true everything else has so much doubt in it such a racism and sexism but love is something that lasts for ever.To me to kill a mocking bird was able to talk about a big issue better then Go set a watchmen was able to do .
If you have yet to read go set a watchmen or to kill a mocking bird I would have to recomend reading to kill a mocking bird.To go set a watchmen isnt a bad book but compared to what she wrote afterwards it seems like its written by another author.I would recomend the book to someone who reallt liked to kill a mocking bird and is willing to compair them both.I would not recomend it to someone who isnt aware with harper lees writting becuase to me this is the worst out of them all.This is a book that I would have to rate it a seven out of ten.
Read
December 19, 2015Much has been written about Harper Lee's "Go Set A WatchMan." Controversy over how this book was discovered; the book that was not to be published or perhaps a failed sequel... But like many of you, because it was written I had to read it and now am I sorry I didn't leave well enough alone.
While "To Kill a Mockingbird" was written in 1960, I would not read it until six years later in high school. It touched my heart, my spirit and ignited a strong interest in activism. The book changed me.
When the remarkable movie starring Gregory Peck was released in 1962, I was not permitted to see it. My parents said it was too graphic for a 12 year old. In hindsight, I was fortunate to be introduced to the book first; a book filled with so many memorable quotes, that even today, I cannot forget what Atticus Finch said, "If you just learn a single trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it." It appears more than a generation later, our world has not learned this lesson.
My son was interested in theater and some 20 years ago or so he played the part of Dill in the community theater version of "To Kill A Mockingbird." The lessons he learned at an early age, while living in a perfectly homogenous city in Orange County were foundational for him.
At any rate, I am not going to spoil this one for you, but know---you can't go home again. People change and so does the landscape. Views are tainted. Just like Scout, I became disillusioned, confused and didn't see things fitting together well at all.
Harper Lee is approaching 90 years of age, and has most of the good days behind her. Her sight, hearing, and memory nearly gone. But I can't help recalling something I heard her say once in an interview, "Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what." Ms. Lee is a woman of courage.
While "To Kill a Mockingbird" was written in 1960, I would not read it until six years later in high school. It touched my heart, my spirit and ignited a strong interest in activism. The book changed me.
When the remarkable movie starring Gregory Peck was released in 1962, I was not permitted to see it. My parents said it was too graphic for a 12 year old. In hindsight, I was fortunate to be introduced to the book first; a book filled with so many memorable quotes, that even today, I cannot forget what Atticus Finch said, "If you just learn a single trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it." It appears more than a generation later, our world has not learned this lesson.
My son was interested in theater and some 20 years ago or so he played the part of Dill in the community theater version of "To Kill A Mockingbird." The lessons he learned at an early age, while living in a perfectly homogenous city in Orange County were foundational for him.
At any rate, I am not going to spoil this one for you, but know---you can't go home again. People change and so does the landscape. Views are tainted. Just like Scout, I became disillusioned, confused and didn't see things fitting together well at all.
Harper Lee is approaching 90 years of age, and has most of the good days behind her. Her sight, hearing, and memory nearly gone. But I can't help recalling something I heard her say once in an interview, "Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what." Ms. Lee is a woman of courage.
December 9, 2015
Go Set A Watchman- The Sad Story of Jean Louise Finch
In Harper Lee’s highly anticipated novel, Go Set A Watchman, Scout Finch returns to her hometown from New York to visit for two weeks. But what she learns there is crazy. The only people she truly trusted had turned on her, and she felt sick because of it. Filled with flashbacks and heartbreak, Scout’s journey home isn’t what she expected it to be.
Many people hyped this book too much after To Kill A Mockingbird. But they all forget one thing, Watchmen was written before Mockingbird, so of course things would be different. Like everyone else out there, I expected this novel to be great, but it wasn’t the best book I have ever read. A lot of parts ran dry to me, and that is just because I wasn’t prepared well enough for the story. At some points, you truly have to be mature and knowledgeable to fully understand what is going on. “The time your friends need you is when they’re wrong, Jean Louise. They don’t need you when they’re right—” This quote shows how Scout was not needed on her trip home, and that annoyed me. But while I was able to get the jist of things, like Atticus being more racist, I didn’t quite understand the whole of that part. Also, I found myself questioning the story a lot because to me, facts seemed to contradict themselves between Watchmen and Mockingbird. And because I did that, I wasn’t able to understand the story as much as I wish I could.
While Harper Lee is a fantastic author, I would not suggest this book to anyone until they are at least eighteen. She made this book dry and had people questioning how she could’ve published an amazing book, then continue to get this published. While this story was okay, the characters in the story are how the reader should be. Teenage for Mockingbird and adult for Watchmen.
In Harper Lee’s highly anticipated novel, Go Set A Watchman, Scout Finch returns to her hometown from New York to visit for two weeks. But what she learns there is crazy. The only people she truly trusted had turned on her, and she felt sick because of it. Filled with flashbacks and heartbreak, Scout’s journey home isn’t what she expected it to be.
Many people hyped this book too much after To Kill A Mockingbird. But they all forget one thing, Watchmen was written before Mockingbird, so of course things would be different. Like everyone else out there, I expected this novel to be great, but it wasn’t the best book I have ever read. A lot of parts ran dry to me, and that is just because I wasn’t prepared well enough for the story. At some points, you truly have to be mature and knowledgeable to fully understand what is going on. “The time your friends need you is when they’re wrong, Jean Louise. They don’t need you when they’re right—” This quote shows how Scout was not needed on her trip home, and that annoyed me. But while I was able to get the jist of things, like Atticus being more racist, I didn’t quite understand the whole of that part. Also, I found myself questioning the story a lot because to me, facts seemed to contradict themselves between Watchmen and Mockingbird. And because I did that, I wasn’t able to understand the story as much as I wish I could.
While Harper Lee is a fantastic author, I would not suggest this book to anyone until they are at least eighteen. She made this book dry and had people questioning how she could’ve published an amazing book, then continue to get this published. While this story was okay, the characters in the story are how the reader should be. Teenage for Mockingbird and adult for Watchmen.
December 17, 2015
I tried to avoid the hype about this book but that was difficult. I found the novel a little slow and choppy at first but then it flowed nicely.
This is a story of a young woman going home and really seeing it for what is is for the first time. That's a painful lesson.
It's also a window into a period of time that was painful for our Nation. The history of the years leading up to the 1950's Civil Rights era were laid bare. America still has not come to terms with the history in my opinion.
For Scout, a young and newly enlightened, child of the South it was hard for her to go home and find her childhood vision of her dad shattering.
There is pain during periods of change and growth, both in society and in personal lives. I hope this book becomes a national favorite as well. This is a topic that needs exploring and understanding. The history is still raw in so many ways.
Was Atticus a racist? He was a man of his times; he tried to be fair and just. He loved the law, his family and community. By our judgments today the answer would be a resounding yes. If we lived in that period, I believe the answer would not be so easy. Atticus thought he was doing the right thing by the coloreds, or Negros,of his time. Not having been born a Southerner I cannot imagine his internal struggle ...North vs. South, White vs. Black...I don't think Atticus saw himself as anything but a protector (a preserver of peace and justice). Hard as it may be for some, Atticus actually represents one of the good guys, in my opinion. His evolution was incomplete but he was good.
Now I feel free to read other reviews.
Highly recommended.
This is a story of a young woman going home and really seeing it for what is is for the first time. That's a painful lesson.
It's also a window into a period of time that was painful for our Nation. The history of the years leading up to the 1950's Civil Rights era were laid bare. America still has not come to terms with the history in my opinion.
For Scout, a young and newly enlightened, child of the South it was hard for her to go home and find her childhood vision of her dad shattering.
There is pain during periods of change and growth, both in society and in personal lives. I hope this book becomes a national favorite as well. This is a topic that needs exploring and understanding. The history is still raw in so many ways.
Was Atticus a racist? He was a man of his times; he tried to be fair and just. He loved the law, his family and community. By our judgments today the answer would be a resounding yes. If we lived in that period, I believe the answer would not be so easy. Atticus thought he was doing the right thing by the coloreds, or Negros,of his time. Not having been born a Southerner I cannot imagine his internal struggle ...North vs. South, White vs. Black...I don't think Atticus saw himself as anything but a protector (a preserver of peace and justice). Hard as it may be for some, Atticus actually represents one of the good guys, in my opinion. His evolution was incomplete but he was good.
Now I feel free to read other reviews.
Highly recommended.
December 5, 2015
It would be impossible for this book to match Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird in power, grace and significance. There are only a handful of such books each century. Nonetheless,Go Set a Watchman is a worthy companion as we meet Scout (now Jean Louise) as a 26-year-old who has come back to her home town of Maycomb for a two-week vacation from New York where she now lives. Many of the characters we grew to know and love in the original book are back, though some have passed on.
In a way Lee has written another coming of age story with racism as the main vehicle for the growth and change in Jean Louise. Lee also effectively portrays the inner logic of a racist society even as she condemns it.
The slapping scene is a shock, especially since it is not at all censured in the storyline or by the narrator. In a way, this makes sense for a book written in the 1950s. Male dominance over women was to be expected at that time. So even while seeing so clearly the problems of the power dynamics between blacks and whites, Lee is blind to the same dynamics at work between men and women of the era.
The title comes from Isaiah 21:6 in which the Lord tells the prophet in a vision to set a watchman on the walls. After many days and nights the word comes that Babylon has been destroyed. The image is used for making sure our conscience is in place, ready to alert us to any attack that might come on our ideals, our beliefs, our values. We must work and be willing to sacrifice to make sure they are not compromised, even in the face of those we hold dearest to us.
In a way Lee has written another coming of age story with racism as the main vehicle for the growth and change in Jean Louise. Lee also effectively portrays the inner logic of a racist society even as she condemns it.
The slapping scene is a shock, especially since it is not at all censured in the storyline or by the narrator. In a way, this makes sense for a book written in the 1950s. Male dominance over women was to be expected at that time. So even while seeing so clearly the problems of the power dynamics between blacks and whites, Lee is blind to the same dynamics at work between men and women of the era.
The title comes from Isaiah 21:6 in which the Lord tells the prophet in a vision to set a watchman on the walls. After many days and nights the word comes that Babylon has been destroyed. The image is used for making sure our conscience is in place, ready to alert us to any attack that might come on our ideals, our beliefs, our values. We must work and be willing to sacrifice to make sure they are not compromised, even in the face of those we hold dearest to us.
January 6, 2016
Go Set a Watchman, by Harper Lee is an emotional look into our southern’s history, located in a small town Maycomb, Alabama. The main character, Jean Louise and her father Atticus Finch are both strong willed, intense roles that connect with a potential lover for Jean Louise, Henry, and two powerful aunts and uncles that have a large impact on Jean Louise and her visit back home. Growing up in a small town, the Finch family is a well know, respected family that Atticus and Calpurnia, the family's black housekeeper when they were children, raised with manners and the idea that all races are created equal. When Jean Louise finds an interesting pamphlet about a certain race having too much power, she loses all trust in her beloved, lawyer father. As an independent woman, Jean Louise defies all social norms and refuses to get married due to her desire to explore during her twenties and not spend her time spent answering to someone else. The racial concept of this book has a strong pull that causes potential turmoil with Jean Louise and her family, and how her hometown has changed since the last time she had visited. With flashbacks, and emotional scenes, Lee is able to paint a picture of how things were in the 1950s, and what it would be like to be defiant towards what everyone else thinks is acceptable and normal.
November 4, 2015
I had fairly high expectations for this book, because of how much I loved "To Kill a Mockingbird." Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed. When I first saw the book, the cover pulled me in because it looks mysterious and sort of lonely. I enjoyed reading about Harper Lee in her twenties, as well as when she was a child. I also liked reading about segregation and how it affected how people thought and acted. However, I didn't like reading chapters that went at a fast pace and were very exciting, and then some that were extremely slow and somewhat uninteresting. I would reccomend this book to an older audience than To Kill a Mockingbird," because it has more mature concepts like marriage, finding where you belong, and relationships with family members as an adult, which younger people wouldn't be able to relate to. Overall I thought "Go Set a Watchmen" was a good book, it was just a little extensive and dull at times.
January 8, 2016
Excellent! I know that a lot of readers were disappointed in Atticus' disposition. However, Dr. Finch makes a good case to Jean Louise(Scout), so does Henry. We all would like to believe that there is just good and evil; South and North...but when you are dealing with people, nothing is just black and white, no pun intended. My parents often tell me that in their southern town during the Civil Rights Movement, they went virtually untouched. Life went on as usually, even though the movement would eventually have wide scale ramifications. Surely, however, even as life went on, there were probably whites who felt threatened. Atticus, too, was a product of his environment. Additionally, parents learn from their children. Times change and even when someone is elderly, there is the potential to change.
September 26, 2015
Reading this novel, I found the seeds and green shoots of To Kill a Mocking Bird scattered throughout it. Bless Harper Lee’s editor for suggesting that she rewrite this story. While an interesting and readable tale in and of itself, Watchman lacks the power and the compelling humanity of the eventually rewritten Mocking Bird. Lee had the mynah bird’s ear for her town of Maycomb and the eagle’s eye for Southern life in the fifties. She creates it well here as Scout returns home from New York and confronts the racism growing in her community. But it cannot compare to the power of the story that she eventually rewrites. Reading both adds to our understanding of how Harper Lee reached deeper to find the better story.
December 30, 2015
You can imagine how it happened.
Harper Lee is in her nineties in a nursing home and someone new is handling her estate... ie. money. That person and perhaps her advisors decided there was a bundle to be made from repackaging a draft as a new novel they'd discovered.
This work is full of first-time-out mistakes. As someone who writes, my heart aches for Harper Lee at the thought of this draft(because this is most certainly what it is) being published as her completed work. Shame on you, Harper Collins and anyone else involved with the publication.
Don't be fooled. And don't waste your money or sully the reputation of the Author by purchasing this novel in any form. If you MUST read it, get it from the library.
Hope that it goes away soon, like shingles.
Harper Lee is in her nineties in a nursing home and someone new is handling her estate... ie. money. That person and perhaps her advisors decided there was a bundle to be made from repackaging a draft as a new novel they'd discovered.
This work is full of first-time-out mistakes. As someone who writes, my heart aches for Harper Lee at the thought of this draft(because this is most certainly what it is) being published as her completed work. Shame on you, Harper Collins and anyone else involved with the publication.
Don't be fooled. And don't waste your money or sully the reputation of the Author by purchasing this novel in any form. If you MUST read it, get it from the library.
Hope that it goes away soon, like shingles.
September 23, 2015
Thanks, Darcy for suggesting I read this book independent of To Kill A Mockingbird. Appreciating it for its own merits was good advice. I'm glad I read the book and it didn't shatter into tiny pieces, my opinion of Atticus, as many suggest. Glimpses of the powerful book that became a classic are all through this earlier work. Scout is the focus here. Coming of age, and seeing our parents with all their faults and still managing to love them anyway, was timely for me. I appreciated the good discussion we had in our Logan book club.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews