Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee
With so much hype about Go Set A Watchman, I'm going to get right to the point. It's been years since I read To Kill a Mockingbird, and I remember it fondly. But please forgive me if I don't recall every minute detail of the story. For that reason I can read Go Set A Watchman how it was intended, as the first novel.
Jean Louise Finch has left Maycomb County and moved to New York City. She returns home to visit her aging and arthritic father, Atticus. What she finds is a slow, Southern way of life, so different from what she's become used to. Scout always loved home but this time she sees it without the benefit of rose colored glasses.
There's a line in the novel about Atticus, and I'm paraphrasing, that he made everyone feel like his friend. He's a highly respected man, living in the south where the roots of segregation run deep. He knew how to play the game. Jean Louise uncovered a side of him, he'd never chosen to reveal to his children. It's called growing up.
I loved this book. Harper Lee's prose glides across the page effortlessly. I could feel the hot humid days, snicker at Aunt Alexandra's disgust at Scout's modern ways and sit uncomfortably on the hard church pew. Jean Louise and Atticus are both strong, vivid characters with or without To Kill a Mockingbird. The world has waited for more from Miss Lee for decades. Here it is and in my mind, it was worth waiting for.
With so much hype about Go Set A Watchman, I'm going to get right to the point. It's been years since I read To Kill a Mockingbird, and I remember it fondly. But please forgive me if I don't recall every minute detail of the story. For that reason I can read Go Set A Watchman how it was intended, as the first novel.
Jean Louise Finch has left Maycomb County and moved to New York City. She returns home to visit her aging and arthritic father, Atticus. What she finds is a slow, Southern way of life, so different from what she's become used to. Scout always loved home but this time she sees it without the benefit of rose colored glasses.
There's a line in the novel about Atticus, and I'm paraphrasing, that he made everyone feel like his friend. He's a highly respected man, living in the south where the roots of segregation run deep. He knew how to play the game. Jean Louise uncovered a side of him, he'd never chosen to reveal to his children. It's called growing up.
I loved this book. Harper Lee's prose glides across the page effortlessly. I could feel the hot humid days, snicker at Aunt Alexandra's disgust at Scout's modern ways and sit uncomfortably on the hard church pew. Jean Louise and Atticus are both strong, vivid characters with or without To Kill a Mockingbird. The world has waited for more from Miss Lee for decades. Here it is and in my mind, it was worth waiting for.
No comments:
Post a Comment