Anybody else waiting for the midnight release of Go Set A Watchman?

[pamela]

I am. I'm excited.

[TeeYiYi]

1. I enjoyed the 20 minute video...

... "Beyond To Kill a Mockingbird: The lost novel of Harper Lee" at this link.

TYY

[pamela]

2. Thanks, I haven't seen that yet.

I watched a good PBS special the other night that I just heard is going to be updated to include some GSAW info.

I've been disturbed about the big spoiler released but now I'm intrigued by it. I'm looking forward to discussing it with DUers but not sure how to handle it without spoilers. Of course, with the news coverage it has been receiving it's not much of a secret.

[WinkyDink]

3. For what sounds like a first draft? IDTS!

[pamela]

4. It's pretty good so far.

I'm on Chapter 5. It's not as riveting as TKAM but it's definitely Harper Lee's voice and prose. But, yeah, it could use some editing.

[avebury]

5. I am liking so far but can tell why the original

publisher might have become interested in Harper Lee writing a book about Scout's childhood. Reese Witherspoon is providing a good narration for the audio book. It is not up to the standards of To Kill A Mockingbird, but does remain an enjoyable read.

[pamela]

6. I am loving it.

Yes, it's definitely not as good as TKAM-not as lyrical.

But damn, this is powerful. So unbelievably timely. I really hope people will read this and talk about it. I was born in the south in the early sixties and moved to Maryland at age 7 but visited my southern relatives often. I get this book completely. I lived this book in some ways-the confusion and disillusionment-hearing words come out of the mouths of people I loved and respected that made me think they had been possessed. Loving them and hating them at the same time.

Really powerful book. The Capurnia scene honestly made me gasp. I had to reread it a few times to fully grasp what I was reading.

I'm kind of glad it wasn't edited because the rawness of it contributes to the power. I think an edited book would have toned down the language too much and would dilute the message. I feel like I'm time-traveling while reading this. I'm halfway through but I have to keep stopping to absorb it.

[dixiegrrrrl]

7. Haflway thru....

Totally makes sense that an editor in mid-1950's would have told her to work on the stories set in the Depression small town
instead of THIS story!

Esp. down here in Maycomb, which truly is in the middle of nowhere, lost in time in many ways.

[pamela]

9. You live there?

That's so cool. I plan to visit there some day. I'll bet it has been exciting this week. I'd love to hear what the people from around that area think about it.

[avebury]

8. I am almost done with the book and I must admit

that I love the book. It is a different book then TKAM and it is not really fair to try to try to rate the new book with TKAM.

Go Set A Watchman is a power book in its own right and so relevant with the country that we live in today. I agree that the scene with Capurnia was amazing. I loved the conversation that she has with Atticus towards the end of the book. I recently read TKAM for the first time (having seen the movie several times) and it made this book all the more powerful having read about her childhood and then jumping forward in time to just after Brown Vs the Board of Education.

Go Set A Watchman literally yanks the band aid off of what was a troubled time period in the south.

[pamela]

10. I know, right?

Every qualm I had before reading it went right out the window. I don't even mind what happened with Atticus. It's consistent with the Atticus in TKAM in that we were seeing him through Scout's eyes back then and we understand her disillusionment now. Her father, A.C. Lee, went through a similar trajectory in regards to race-he had always treated blacks fairly and taught Nelle that, went through a period where he got involved with segregationists and then, with the influence of Nelle and Alice, became something of an equal rights advocate.

I'm glad the book wasn't heavily edited now because I think the rawness is part of its power. Unedited Harper Lee is still ten times better than most of what gets published. I also believe that she probably did want this released. She's such an amazing woman and I think this book really reinforces that. I'm glad her editor originally suggested she focus on the childhood parts but I have to wonder, in the early 60's, if part of that wasn't because a male hero was more marketable than a female hero.

[avebury]

11. I think that Go Set A Watchman is a book that was very much

ahead of the time period in which it was written (which was not that many years after Brown Vs the Board of Education). I think that, had it been published at the time it was written it might have received a rough reception because so many people were clueless on the subject of racial issues and the book is pretty blunt about the portrayal of the south.

That is why I think the Editor asked for a book focused on Scout's childhood. And actually, issuing TKAM years ago, to me makes Go Set A Watchman much more powerful because there is such a difference between the two books. Scout grows up very naive about the reality of the relationship between whites and blacks and then experiences a complete cuture shock when she sees her hometown for what it really is in the second book.

Given what has been going on in this country the last few years, it seems like not much has changed where it comes to race relations.

ETA - TKAM is more subtle while GSAW is pretty blunt.

[dixiegrrrrl]

12. I agree with you about the timing of the book back then.

And yet all the more wonderful that it was released NOW, in a similar time of the same issues.