This book was not what I was expecting. Going into this, I had been told that this was a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird. Someone apparently found the manuscript among Lee’s things and decided that it should be published. As an amateur writer, with the many stories that have hit the wayside or stuff that I simply didn’t like upon “completion,” I would be horrified if someone had published something of mine that I chose not to publish. Nevertheless, they say Lee gave her permission, but there’s a bit of controversy surrounding this. Turns out, the way Go Set a Watchman was advertised was wrong. It’s not a sequel, but a first draft of what To Kill A Mockingbird was going to be, until Lee’s publisher told her that she should write from the perspective of a young Scout, as opposed to a fully-grown Jean-Louise in this novel, which is where the story begins.
I’m going to put this out there now — I’m so glad Harper decided to go a different way with this draft. After I finished reading, I was not happy. Atticus was more or less a racist, and definitely not the man that To Kill a Mockingbird built him up to be, Jem wasn’t around (to which they briefly explained in a sentence — “he dropped dead one day”), and Calpurnia wouldn’t even give Jean-Louise the time of day. A lot of the formidable relationships that TKAM built were nowhere to be found. I was hoping that there would be some saving grace by the end of the book, but no. We were left flabbergasted, confused, and a little ashamed of what the Finch family had become. With a bunch of flashbacks thrown into the story, mostly of Scout when she was young, I was trying to see how this would play into the story as a whole, but it never amounted to anything. They even bring up the fact that Atticus has rheumatoid arthritis, which made me think, “Oh my god, he’s no longer the best shot in town,” but again, it went nowhere.
The one thing I absolutely LOVED about this novel was Scout (I refuse to call her Jean-Louise because she’ll always be Scout and that’s a fact). Even as an adult, she’s still a girl after my own heart. She knows exactly who she is and what she wants (or doesn’t want — sorry Hank). Just as Lee managed to do with TKAM, we, as the audience, are completely in agreement with Scout’s horror when she finds out about her dad’s misguided view of the town. We’re with her as she wanders aimlessly throughout Maycomb in a state of shock and are holding her hand as she lays into Atticus about his erroneous opinions. If this draft taught me anything, it’s that Lee and I both believe that Scout is the protagonist we need, whether it’s in this book or To Kill a Mockingbird.
The book itself ends on somewhat of an anti-climatical slump. As soon as I finished, I just sat there, with the book in my lap, very confused and annoyed — until I researched this book and discovered everything I mentioned above. While it’s interesting to know from a writer’s standpoint of how Harper Lee got from point A to point B in terms of writing the story we all know and love today, I don't think this should’ve been published. All it did was make me miss the Atticus I grew up with. In some ways, I wish that Harper Lee would’ve written a sequel — but one that is in line with the characters we know and love from TKAM, not this empty shell of a story. With confusing storylines and an even more confusing plot, Go Set A Watchman is one that I’m glad I read but one that I would not recommend to others who are hoping for a story that takes you back to Maycomb, Alabama with the lovable Scout and Atticus. On that note, I’m going to pick up my ratty and torn version of To Kill a Mockingbird and spend the weekend worrying about Boo Radley…
What did you all think of the book? Let me know in the comments below!
December's Book of the Month: Winter Stroll by Erin Hilderbrand
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