Go Set a Watchman in Around the World in 80 Books

Oct 07, 2023 Seulky rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction-general

First, my rating of this book isn't based on how well-written it is or not. It's based on how the author tackles both archetypes of people during a specific time period of U.S. history and the (rather heroic and loved) perception of the characters from her previous book, To Kill a Mockingbird. In both books, we are Scout. We see what she sees and feel what she feels. In this book, she navigates a return home and, unsurprisingly for most young adults, is shocked out of her self-centered world vie First, my rating of this book isn't based on how well-written it is or not. It's based on how the author tackles both archetypes of people during a specific time period of U.S. history and the (rather heroic and loved) perception of the characters from her previous book, To Kill a Mockingbird. In both books, we are Scout. We see what she sees and feel what she feels. In this book, she navigates a return home and, unsurprisingly for most young adults, is shocked out of her self-centered world view into a view of a world solely filled with complex flawed people. (I mean self-centered here from a developmental point of view because Scout has yet to perceive fully the world from other peoples' perspectives.)

Second, the writing is not the same style or craft of To Kill a Mockingbird - if I did't know about the speculation around this (see Mr. T. Capote), then I would wonder if she learned a different style, was trying a different style, or might not been the author of both books. Who knows, but it's noticeable.

Third, and this goes to the first and the second, although the author's delivery isn't as nuanced as it could have been, she is very pointed in taking us on a journey with Scout who learns that the adults around her are not as two-dimensional as she believed. I also suspect (whether intentional or not) that Lee rather enjoyed setting her fans back on their heels when Scout discovers what Atticus is up to - what good is it to make anyone a hero or a god on a pedestal? Maybe this was Lee's way of setting right her first book, that Atticus was never a hero with no flaws, but a deeply moral man acting in a deeply racist world. If we accept Atticus is the exception to this (as it seems to have been from Scout's perspective both as child and adult), this perception removes our ability to learn how to live with our own flaws and the flaws of others, and that sometimes those flaws are so disgusting to a person that it leaves us mute to any compassion or perspective. As it did for Scout. I was delighted in how Lee strips Scout (and thus, the reader) of her illusions. Unlike some of the noise out there, I don't think this fundamentally changed Atticus as the person he was but rather showed him as the person he always was both complex and flawed. He still had his compass. He still tried to navigate using that compass, even if the path seemed the wrong one to readers. I also love how Lee used the word bigot because we all have the capacity to be bigots, hypocrites, self-centered, childish.

If reading this (or the book) makes you uncomfortable, all I suggest is consider what pedestal you are standing on while experiencing your discomfort and I'll be doing the same. ...more

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Jun 03, 2015 Astrid Lim rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: america, literature, series, classic, race, book-club

I'm quite disappointed with this book. Somehow I imagined myself would be walking down the memory lane to the charming Maycomb County with the ever lovable Scout and her brother Jem. Turned out, the journey was very different than I thought it would be. Scout (now 26 years old and called by her real name, Jean Louise) - is no longer fun, innocent, and charming. She's very rigid, a bit boring and unsympathetic. Atticus is a racist, but that's not the worst of all. The worst thing about this book ...more

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Sep 17, 2015 Jillian rated it it was ok

What a disappointing book. I don't know where to begin. Not only was it circular, unclear and uneventful but lacked any real emotional depth or meaning. In some instances, I found myself shocked at how empty these pages were. The only reason it has two stars was because I made it to the end. I absolutely love To Kill a Mockingbird, and this doesn't hold a candle. The only interesting moments are flashbacks, but what upset me was that this future that these characters have together (post mockingb ...more

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Nov 24, 2024 knittingmami rated it did not like it

After reading Harper Lee's unedited words in Go Set a Watchman, can we please stop reading to Kill a Mockingbird in schools? Good riddance. ...more

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Jun 05, 2017 Jana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: x2017-reading-challenge

Read for 19. A New York Times best-seller
This book gave me lots of things to think about!

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Nov 05, 2016 Ra rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook

Pointless. You can tell that this was a rejected draft. Full of long drawn out discussions, opinions and personal angst. Only one worthy quote: prejudice, a dirty word and faith, a clean one, have something in common; they both begin where reason ends, or something similar. I am not even going to bother looking it up. Mercifully the book was short. Another dead giveaway that it was most probably the drivel culled out of the more famous book.

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