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Go set a watchmanSeveral people have asked me this morning my thoughts on Harper Lee’s new book, Go Set a Watchman. I must admit to feeling somewhat negative about the book.

There’s so much controversy surrounding the release of it. In one article I read about it, it mentioned that Lee actually wrote and submitted this book prior to writing and releasing TKAM. GSAW was rejected. I’m sorry I can’t site that source. Didn’t occur to me I might need it later. I’ve no clue if that’s accurate or not. But if that is truly the case, it might be why she didn’t want it published. Now she has no say in the matter.

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I’m very suspicious of the secrecy that surrounds her. Supposedly they are not even letting her see the friend that has been by her side for years. It seems a little off to me. And I read yesterday there was a third book they had found — don’t know about what — that they are planning to release. But what bothers me the most are the many inconsistencies in the book.

Many of the people who got to read the galley proof of this new book didn’t like it because it ends up making Atticus seems like a racist. I think before I buy it I will read other reviews. It feels kind of like having older relatives. Sometimes you just want to remember them the way they were… Know what I mean?  In her 50th anniversary (of the book) interview Lee said she only ever had one thing she wanted to say and she said it in TKAM. So I have to wonder about these other two books. I’m not in favor of them being published.

Here is a recent NPR article about the book: Harper Lee’s ‘Watchman’ Is A Mess That Makes Us Reconsider A Masterpiece.   And yet there was an interesting article about it in the New York Times yesterday. If you are interested in the controversy surrounding the book, these are two good articles to read.

So what are YOUR thoughts about it?