I have finished reading Go Set a Watchman.

While it is true that the writing is not of the quality of TKAM, GSAW is still a complete book that is well written. It deals with the theme of racism in a different way. Because Scout is now "Jean Louise", a 26 year old woman who has been living in New York City, her return to Maycomb County opens her eyes to the racism of some of the people she holds most dear. This book is very much about childhood illusions being shattered and losing the idea of the perfect parent whose actions and thoughts have hitherto governed our own. It's difficult to read because of the subject matter; the ideas about race are stated bluntly in the form of heated arguments.

To be sure, the book loses some of the plot lines and character development in favor of exploring themes of racism. It also loses the charm, innocence, and fantasy elements of Scout's voice in TKAM. Go Set a Watchman is more heavily weighted toward the importance of its themes and loses out on the crafting of the text. I was interested to note that there are no long passages in common between GSAW and TKAM. TKAM is closer to a completely different book than a rewrite.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a great book, a classic. Go Set a Watchman is a good book, and an important book for its discussion of racism (especially considering the year it was likely written), but it is not a classic in its own right. I would still recommend it, though, as it does stand on its own.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, it's a first novel/manuscript. I've read enough over the years to understand why they weren't published initially.

To me, one publisher's view on the initial attempt doesn't mean that it's a bad novel. The editor who asked her to change the book may have done so for many reasons, not necessarily the quality. And even if it isn't polished, I am intrigued enough by how Lee changed the initial idea into TKAM to read it. Harper Lee did a good enough job with TKAM for me to want to judge for myself the quality of the book, rather than depend on what some editor in the 1950s thought of it.

I'm planning to read it over the next week. We'll see if it was worth the time or not!

My god, what other reason could a publisher possibly have? And you have the evidence - the final book TKAMB was a success and continues to be one.

A central tenet of Go Set a Watchman is Jean Louise fighting against the horror of racism, both blatant and under the surface, in the South and within her own family. That may have been deemed too harsh and political for a book in the 1950s by a Southern, female author. I've read the first half now and it's intense.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, it's a first novel/manuscript. I've read enough over the years to understand why they weren't published initially.

To me, one publisher's view on the initial attempt doesn't mean that it's a bad novel. The editor who asked her to change the book may have done so for many reasons, not necessarily the quality. And even if it isn't polished, I am intrigued enough by how Lee changed the initial idea into TKAM to read it. Harper Lee did a good enough job with TKAM for me to want to judge for myself the quality of the book, rather than depend on what some editor in the 1950s thought of it.

I'm planning to read it over the next week. We'll see if it was worth the time or not!

My god, what other reason could a publisher possibly have? And you have the evidence - the final book TKAMB was a success and continues to be one.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, it's a first novel/manuscript. I've read enough over the years to understand why they weren't published initially.

To me, one publisher's view on the initial attempt doesn't mean that it's a bad novel. The editor who asked her to change the book may have done so for many reasons, not necessarily the quality. And even if it isn't polished, I am intrigued enough by how Lee changed the initial idea into TKAM to read it. Harper Lee did a good enough job with TKAM for me to want to judge for myself the quality of the book, rather than depend on what some editor in the 1950s thought of it.

I'm planning to read it over the next week. We'll see if it was worth the time or not!

Come back and post, please!

Anonymous wrote:No, it's a first novel/manuscript. I've read enough over the years to understand why they weren't published initially.

To me, one publisher's view on the initial attempt doesn't mean that it's a bad novel. The editor who asked her to change the book may have done so for many reasons, not necessarily the quality. And even if it isn't polished, I am intrigued enough by how Lee changed the initial idea into TKAM to read it. Harper Lee did a good enough job with TKAM for me to want to judge for myself the quality of the book, rather than depend on what some editor in the 1950s thought of it.

I'm planning to read it over the next week. We'll see if it was worth the time or not!

No, it's a first draft that was substantially revised and rewritten to become TKAM. I would rather read another author's final draft than Harper Lee's first draft.

Also, I don't get people who say that it shows that Atticus is "really" a racist. Atticus isn't "really" anything--he's a character, and apparently a different character in the two books who just happens to have the same name.

No, it will tarnish TKAM for me. I wonder if the popularity of TKAM will drop after this second book

Anonymous wrote:No, it's a first novel/manuscript. I've read enough over the years to understand why they weren't published initially.

I have read a lot of the speculation about the book, characters, whether it should have been published, etc. And I'll continue to follow it.

This and for the same reasons. The editor obviously did a fabulous job redirecting a younger Harper Lee for her rewrites which became To Kill A MockingBird.

I am happy to see the sketches drawn by Degas in the context of the statues he created, as the templates, and I'd be happy to look at sections of this early manuscript in that context, with analysis in an academic way. But I wouldn't be interested in reading it as a stand alone piece of fiction.

I have it and will start reading it in the next few days.

I love To Kill a Mockingbird and am so curious to read the initial attempt. I have my expectations set low and am reading more out of curiosity than to find another all time great book.

I am disturbed by the possibility that Harper Lee wasn't competent to decide whether or not to publish the book, but my curiosity in winning out.

I am not at all disturbed by the reports that Atticus Finch is portrayed as a racist. To be honest, in TKAM, I've always thought of Atticus more as a defendant of the law than a champion of blacks.

No, it's a first novel/manuscript. I've read enough over the years to understand why they weren't published initially.

I have read a lot of the speculation about the book, characters, whether it should have been published, etc. And I'll continue to follow it.

I'm almost done with it. It reads like a typical (unpublished) first novel, and I can see why Harper's agent directed her to make the changes she did in TKAM. The writing is engaging and it is interesting to see the fledgeling archetypes of the characters I know from TKAM, but there isn't much of a "story"/the plot is slow-paced. TKAM is better, but I'm really enjoying this book.

Note: I don't really like Jean Louise/Scout in Go Set A Watchman. She's 26, but still thinks and acts as a rough, childish tomboy, and she knows it but accepts this aspect of her character. If you first met her as a child in TKAM, you'll see that she did not mature or change much as an adult.

Atticus is elderly and there is a lot of detail about his physical decline. If I encountered him "in real life", I would be inclined to blame his racist ideas on dementia.

I am looking forward to it!

Yes. I will read it. TKAM is my all time favorite book.

Embarrassed to admit that first I need to read TKAM!

anyone planning to read it?