Go Set a Watchman Reactions and Ruminations

13 Jul 2015

Go Set a Watchman is the book on everyone’s mind and social media feeds this week. On July 14th it will enter the hands of the general populace, after a lot of negative press following the pre-release of the first chapter on Friday July 10th. To get caught up on some of the buzz around Harper Lee’s new release, check out the following stories.

Harper Lee is 88, and has been a very private person for much of her life. There are questions concerning her mental health, and thus ability to approve the publication of her novel. Read The New York Times on Harper Lee’s Health↦ .

One of the players in the politics behind the publication of Go Set a Watchman is Harper Lee’s lawyer Tonja Carter. Jezebel thinks that she is a shady figure, that may be taking advantage of the ailing author. Read More ↦  

Records show that Go Set a Watchman is an early draft of To Kill a Mockingbird, that was drastically edited by Harper Lee and her editor at the time, Tay Hohoff. Which story the beloved Mockingbird or the dark, racist Watchman aligns more with Lee’s vision? Read More ↦ 

NPR reviewed the book over the weekend calling it “A Mess That Makes Us Reconsider a Masterpiece”. It appears that among literary circles, Go Set a Watchman was best left unpublished. Read More ↦ 

Where does this leave all of the children named Atticus after the character who was one of the most loved literary depictions of progressive politics. Read More ↦

The LA Times is asking people to rethink the racist Atticus in Go Set a Watchman as a character who evolved into the beloved that we meet in To Kill A Mockingbird. Read More ↦

Everyone close to Harper Lee, or Nelle as her confidants call her, says that Lee is excited about Watchman. Mary Murphy, director of Harper Lee: Hey Boo, released a web exclusive showing Lee recieving the book. Read More ↦

The numbers are in, Watchman sells 1.1 million copies in the first week alone, with 3.3 million in print. Read More↦

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