Farseer’s answer to “Was it really written by Harper Lee? Readers might be able to tell. Either way, it will make mill…” > Likes and Comments
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You have no idea that this is true.
The factual parts of my response are true, and common knowledge. There is no doubt that this is not a sequel, but an early draft, and that Lee rewrote it extensively and published the rewritten version as To Kill a Mockingbird. There's no doubt that characters and events were changed. See for example:
http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketco...
The opinion parts of my response are only true as far as opinions can be true. About the quality, the early reviews available define it as "lumpy", "clumsy", "meandering", "disorienting" and "an apprentice effort":
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/b...
It's also true that Lee never published this for all these years and now that she is very old and in a nursing home and her sister, who is the one who controlled her literary estate, is dead, they have unearthed this early draft and published it. It's also clear that they expect to make a lot of money (there are talks about 2 million copies). Those are facts. The following is an opinion, but I feel it is the only reasonable interpretation from those facts: this is a money-making stunt, not done for literary reasons. The almost total absence of early review copies supports this interpretation. They do not want the negative buzz of reviews before they start selling.
I'm liking this so far, even though a couple parts I'm like ehh, either boring or just don't like content. It really depends what your knowledge of & expectations going in if you like it or not. If you go into it looking for the perfection of TKAM--which is totally unrealistic--then you will be disappointed. I do wish some parts were updated & then they put the original, untouched version at the end.
I agree with your assessment. This reminds me of "franchise reboots" in the motion picture industry - the situation is different, but the motivation seems the same: profit over substance, vision, and continuity. The names are the same, but this is not the same story that Harper Lee released when she was young.
Also, it is CLEARLY an early draft in that there are even typos left in the book, a changing and confusing POV, and other elements indicating that she was awaiting an editor's recommendations for the finished book. This is not the finished book by any means. Most significantly, the characters are not finished.
It is of interest to look at the creative process, and for a "snapshot" look at the history of Alabama during a crucial time soon after Brown vs. Board of Education. But this Atticus is not the one she would later write: he is not the man who took on a lost cause because it was just. He is not the man who took it on because he couldn't face either his children or himself had he not done so. The crucial essence of the book she was yet to write is not here. It's just a long, barely edited sketch.
I wish it had been advertised as a "draft" rather than as "another book by Harper Lee." I recommend it for completists who are want anything they can get their hands on, but be forewarned: this is much like releasing a posthumous draft rather than an author wishing to release an old suppressed "book." It is not the latter. Unfortunately for the author, she is still alive, but is apparently not in condition to do anything about this - or she feels that since she is not immortal, might as well go ahead and release it now. It would be released eventually anyway.
We do have one question to ask, nonetheless: is this release "like killing a mockingbird"? Is it a cold-hearted exploitation of someone unable to defend herself?
Harper Lee only wrote one "book." Period.
Perhaps you should go read it. It is not a draft of To Kill a Mockingbird nor is it a prequel.
Read some background folks. She wanted this book out. Was not squeezed into it. She is very carefully guarded and taken care of. Anyway, all her money will go to charity. She's a simple woman and always has been. She never wanted to be an icon, or she would of rested on her laurels with her first iconic book. Everyone wants to believe she is some sad little woman that people are forcing to put out books. Not so.
I finished it last week. It does get better at the end. And the moral of the story is one we know well: your "tin gods" will fail you when your own conscience will not.
It is not a book about courage and daring in a dangerous world. In fact, it is about the opposite: you must accept what you cannot change and make your own peace with it.
I do believe she wanted it released. Might as well.
And then she died months after it was released.
But the rework she did was amazing. To go from GSAW to TKAM is worth celebrating.
I don't see how this could have been a draft of TKAM...that statement doesn't make sense to me as it is an entirely different story, set in the future lives of those in TKAM.
Not just the outcome of Tom's trial, but the whole rape episode... and that does weaken the story. This book broke my heart.
I have done research on this story, originally it was thought to be an early version of To Kill a Mockingbird, and it was. But after her first story became published she changed some of the plot in this story. So it is actually a sequel.
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Susan
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Jul 11, 2015 05:29PM
You have no idea that this is true.
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The factual parts of my response are true, and common knowledge. There is no doubt that this is not a sequel, but an early draft, and that Lee rewrote it extensively and published the rewritten version as To Kill a Mockingbird. There's no doubt that characters and events were changed. See for example:http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketco...
The opinion parts of my response are only true as far as opinions can be true. About the quality, the early reviews available define it as "lumpy", "clumsy", "meandering", "disorienting" and "an apprentice effort":
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/b...
It's also true that Lee never published this for all these years and now that she is very old and in a nursing home and her sister, who is the one who controlled her literary estate, is dead, they have unearthed this early draft and published it. It's also clear that they expect to make a lot of money (there are talks about 2 million copies). Those are facts. The following is an opinion, but I feel it is the only reasonable interpretation from those facts: this is a money-making stunt, not done for literary reasons. The almost total absence of early review copies supports this interpretation. They do not want the negative buzz of reviews before they start selling.
I'm liking this so far, even though a couple parts I'm like ehh, either boring or just don't like content. It really depends what your knowledge of & expectations going in if you like it or not. If you go into it looking for the perfection of TKAM--which is totally unrealistic--then you will be disappointed. I do wish some parts were updated & then they put the original, untouched version at the end.
I agree with your assessment. This reminds me of "franchise reboots" in the motion picture industry - the situation is different, but the motivation seems the same: profit over substance, vision, and continuity. The names are the same, but this is not the same story that Harper Lee released when she was young. Also, it is CLEARLY an early draft in that there are even typos left in the book, a changing and confusing POV, and other elements indicating that she was awaiting an editor's recommendations for the finished book. This is not the finished book by any means. Most significantly, the characters are not finished.
It is of interest to look at the creative process, and for a "snapshot" look at the history of Alabama during a crucial time soon after Brown vs. Board of Education. But this Atticus is not the one she would later write: he is not the man who took on a lost cause because it was just. He is not the man who took it on because he couldn't face either his children or himself had he not done so. The crucial essence of the book she was yet to write is not here. It's just a long, barely edited sketch.
I wish it had been advertised as a "draft" rather than as "another book by Harper Lee." I recommend it for completists who are want anything they can get their hands on, but be forewarned: this is much like releasing a posthumous draft rather than an author wishing to release an old suppressed "book." It is not the latter. Unfortunately for the author, she is still alive, but is apparently not in condition to do anything about this - or she feels that since she is not immortal, might as well go ahead and release it now. It would be released eventually anyway.
We do have one question to ask, nonetheless: is this release "like killing a mockingbird"? Is it a cold-hearted exploitation of someone unable to defend herself?
Harper Lee only wrote one "book." Period.
Perhaps you should go read it. It is not a draft of To Kill a Mockingbird nor is it a prequel.
Read some background folks. She wanted this book out. Was not squeezed into it. She is very carefully guarded and taken care of. Anyway, all her money will go to charity. She's a simple woman and always has been. She never wanted to be an icon, or she would of rested on her laurels with her first iconic book. Everyone wants to believe she is some sad little woman that people are forcing to put out books. Not so.
I finished it last week. It does get better at the end. And the moral of the story is one we know well: your "tin gods" will fail you when your own conscience will not. It is not a book about courage and daring in a dangerous world. In fact, it is about the opposite: you must accept what you cannot change and make your own peace with it.
I do believe she wanted it released. Might as well.
And then she died months after it was released.
But the rework she did was amazing. To go from GSAW to TKAM is worth celebrating.
I don't see how this could have been a draft of TKAM...that statement doesn't make sense to me as it is an entirely different story, set in the future lives of those in TKAM.
Not just the outcome of Tom's trial, but the whole rape episode... and that does weaken the story. This book broke my heart.
I have done research on this story, originally it was thought to be an early version of To Kill a Mockingbird, and it was. But after her first story became published she changed some of the plot in this story. So it is actually a sequel.
