Discussion thread for Harper Lee's 2nd published novel Go Set a Watchman

[7_Sorrows]

The book was written before TKAM. The new book is set when Scout is an adult, so Atticus did not have a conversion (unless it was to the dark side.) I am guessing that since it (TKAM) was seen through young Scouts eyes, she only saw her father doing good and did not see his racist side.

Personally, I find the jump hard to believe. Not buying it, literally or figuratively.

so the new book has Atticus older or younger than he was in TKAM?

 

[Irishmom2]

so the new book has Atticus older or younger than he was in TKAM?

Older.

 

[7_Sorrows]

Older.

I guess I would be interested to know what made him change.

 

[WT1]

I guess I would be interested to know what made him change.

You need to understand this isn’t a sequel it is the original book and her publisher didn’t like it but liked the flash backs and she pulled from those and composed a whole other book.

I don’t think we should read this as companion novel but think of it as a different story in an alternate fictional universe if that even makes sense.

This is TKAM part 2 it’s more of an edgy reboot.

 

[Irishmom2]

I don’t think we should read this as companion novel but think of it as a different story in an alternate fictional universe if that even makes sense.

Thinking that way is the ONLY way I could read the new book.

 

[7_Sorrows]

You need to understand this isn’t a sequel it is the original book and her publisher didn’t like it but liked the flash backs and she pulled from those and composed a whole other book.

I don’t think we should read this as companion novel but think of it as a different story in an alternate fictional universe if that even makes sense.

This is TKAM part 2 it’s more of an edgy reboot.

so the publisher composed the novel?

yes I think I understand it is not a sequel. Amazing how the book To Kill A Mockingbird came from the draft of the work.

 

[sarah_j]

My theory is that Harper Lee never envisioned the original manuscript being published as a separate novel decades after TKAM,

Right !
If Harper Lee had ever wanted to have this manuscript published, she
would have had no trouble finding a publisher during the previous 50 yrs.
She obviously didn’t want this manuscript to ever be made public…
it will only detract from To Kill a Mockingbird.

I think it’s merely a money-making scheme by her publisher and whoever
is handling her affairs now.

I’m not going to read this.

 

[sarah_j]

so the publisher composed the novel?

yes I think I understand it is not a sequel. Amazing how the book To Kill A Mockingbird came from the draft of the work.

The publisher didn’t compose the novel.

What happened is that Harper Lee
brought her manuscript of Watchman to her publisher,
who didn’t like the story… but did like the characters.
So, the publisher encouraged Harper Lee to write another manuscript
using the same characters of Atticus, Scout, Dell, etc. but set
several decades earlier…when Scout and Dell were growing up.
Harper Lee took the publisher’s advice and TKAM was born.

The original manuscript was scuttled until now.

 

[7_Sorrows]

Right !
If Harper Lee had ever wanted to have this manuscript published, she
would have had no trouble finding a publisher during the previous 50 yrs.
She obviously didn’t want this manuscript to ever be made public…
it will only detract from To Kill a Mockingbird.

I think it’s merely a money-making scheme by her publisher and whoever
is handling her affairs now.

I’m not going to read this.

I agree. I think the publisher saw $$. Like you said, Harper Lee has had 50 years to polish it and publish it.

 

[3DOCTORS]

You need to understand this isn’t a sequel it is the original book and her publisher didn’t like it but liked the flash backs and she pulled from those and composed a whole other book.

I don’t think we should read this as companion novel but think of it as a different story in an alternate fictional universe if that even makes sense.

This is TKAM part 2 it’s more of an edgy reboot.

That’s kind of how I thought to approach it. I’m tight on money right now so unable to buy a copy till next month but I think I will. I peeked at it at the store yesterday and thought, okay, it’s got some material that reconnects to TKAM and that looks interesting. What can I say, I’m a fangirl and it’s canon in the sense of being by the original author, so I’ll be buying it - and if my name comes to the top of the library’s reserve list soon enough, possibly reading it sooner than that. :coffeeread:

And now there are rumors of a third novel . . . hmmm . . . nytimes.com/2015/07/14/business/media/a-new-account-of-watchmans-origin-and-hints-of-a-third-book.html?_r=0

 

[7_Sorrows]

That’s kind of how I thought to approach it. I’m tight on money right now so unable to buy a copy till next month but I think I will. I peeked at it at the store yesterday and thought, okay, it’s got some material that reconnects to TKAM and that looks interesting. What can I say, I’m a fangirl and it’s canon in the sense of being by the original author, so I’ll be buying it - and if my name comes to the top of the library’s reserve list soon enough, possibly reading it sooner than that. :coffeeread:

And now there are rumors of a third novel . . . hmmm . . . nytimes.com/2015/07/14/business/media/a-new-account-of-watchmans-origin-and-hints-of-a-third-book.html?_r=0

I think I would make sure Ms. Carter no longer had keys to the bank security deposit box. she seems to have free access to the manuscripts. I don’t find her trustworthy with her stories always changing!

 

[didymus]

That’s kind of how I thought to approach it. I’m tight on money right now so unable to buy a copy till next month but I think I will. I peeked at it at the store yesterday and thought, okay, it’s got some material that reconnects to TKAM and that looks interesting. What can I say, I’m a fangirl and it’s canon in the sense of being by the original author, so I’ll be buying it - and if my name comes to the top of the library’s reserve list soon enough, possibly reading it sooner than that. :coffeeread:

And now there are rumors of a third novel . . . hmmm . . . nytimes.com/2015/07/14/business/media/a-new-account-of-watchmans-origin-and-hints-of-a-third-book.html?_r=0

from the Onion, America’s finest news source:

http://i.onionstatic.com/onion/5074/9/16x9/800.jpg

 

[WT1]

That’s kind of how I thought to approach it. I’m tight on money right now so unable to buy a copy till next month but I think I will. I peeked at it at the store yesterday and thought, okay, it’s got some material that reconnects to TKAM and that looks interesting. What can I say, I’m a fangirl and it’s canon in the sense of being by the original author, so I’ll be buying it - and if my name comes to the top of the library’s reserve list soon enough, possibly reading it sooner than that. :coffeeread:

And now there are rumors of a third novel . . . hmmm . . . nytimes.com/2015/07/14/business/media/a-new-account-of-watchmans-origin-and-hints-of-a-third-book.html?_r=0

My Liberian wife would recommend getting on the waiting list for the book and read it for free!

 

[WT1]

so the publisher composed the novel?

yes I think I understand it is not a sequel. Amazing how the book To Kill A Mockingbird came from the draft of the work.

No Harper Lee wrote it, my response was poorly written and I apologize for the confusion it’s my fault.

 

[3DOCTORS]

I think I would make sure Ms. Carter no longer had keys to the bank security deposit box. she seems to have free access to the manuscripts. I don’t find her trustworthy with her stories always changing!

Does make you wonder about that, if all of a sudden there’s a rumor of a third book - and if that gets published would there be the rumor of a fourth? One hears all sorts of things about popular authors and sometimes it’s hard to ferret out the truth. We may never know.

As someone who writes myself, though not published yet, if I ever were a published author I would want to be in charge of any decision to publish something from an old file that I wrote in my early days. I’ve even gone through old files to weed out some real clunkers, and I probably need to do it again. After all, that’s what shredders are for!

 

[sallybutler]

I guess I would be interested to know what made him change.

I was in my twenties when I discovered my dad was racist. When I talked to my mom about it, she said he hadn’t changed. But she did not allow him to express certain things in front of us when we were little.

Some people also feel it is okay to say whatever they want as they get older. And others become like their neighbors in an effort to fit in. There are so many reasons people change, some good, some not so good.

 

[Irishmom2]

It will be interesting to hear feedback once someone has finished reading the book.

 

[DaveBj]

It will be interesting to hear feedback once someone has finished reading the book.

There are 513 reviews on the amazon.com site for this book.

 

[TypesAndShadows]

I was in my twenties when I discovered my dad was racist. When I talked to my mom about it, she said he hadn’t changed. But she did not allow him to express certain things in front of us when we were little.

Some people also feel it is okay to say whatever they want as they get older. And others become like their neighbors in an effort to fit in. There are so many reasons people change, some good, some not so good.

I would recommend everyone who enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird, and who has the free time, to read Go Set a Watchman: I’ve just finished it, and really enjoyed it and found it interesting. I think the only bit of backstory she really changed when she turned the backstory into the story is that originally Atticus seems to have won the rape case, whereas in TKAM he lost it, but I think that was a necessary change both narratively and in terms of the sense of the world. In GSAW the case is simply an example of Atticus being a certain sort of person, and Scout’s difficulty in seeing him as a real human (as opposed to the impossible, God-like perfection she sees in TKAM) is a major theme.

All the characters seem the same to me, and reading it actually confirmed for me that some of the interpretations I had of scenes in TKAM were probably those intended by Harper Lee.

Knowledge of some Gilbert and Sullivan improves the reading experience.

 

[3DOCTORS]

I would recommend everyone who enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird, and who has the free time, to read Go Set a Watchman: I’ve just finished it, and really enjoyed it and found it interesting. I think the only bit of backstory she really changed when she turned the backstory into the story is that originally Atticus seems to have won the rape case, whereas in TKAM he lost it, but I think that was a necessary change both narratively and in terms of the sense of the world. In GSAW the case is simply an example of Atticus being a certain sort of person, and Scout’s difficulty in seeing him as a real human (as opposed to the impossible, God-like perfection she sees in TKAM) is a major theme.

All the characters seem the same to me, and reading it actually confirmed for me that some of the interpretations I had of scenes in TKAM were probably those intended by Harper Lee.

Knowledge of some Gilbert and Sullivan improves the reading experience.

Thanks for your feedback! I’d be curious to know, also, if in GSAW there are the instances of Atticus’s character being remarked on by other adults with whom Jean Louise then converses. Such as, again, one of my favorite characters, Miss Maudie Atkinson. Or for a different take, someone like Miss Stephanie Crawford! And we know Bob Ewell was not a fan of Atticus for reasons of his own. But since TKAM was developed from GSAW, perhaps all of these characters weren’t in the latter. It gets rather confusing! I will be glad to have the chance to finally read it.