Go Set a Watchman

Stunning book. I was nervous about reading this because To Kill A Mockingbird was just perfect but my fears were unfounded. The magic us still there. It follows Atticus into his 70's now and centres around his daughter and her experience of coming home. Has a lot of relevance today in that not only does it discuss race post segregation but also how it feels to fit into society as a strong willed woman not willing to accept the status quo. Just perfect.

There is good reason why Harper Lee never published this, it is a draft for the published book "To Kill a Mockingbird" ,or part of it is. This travesty is a complete mockery of the book, H.L. did not sell out to the establishment as the woman in this "version" does and I doubt that H.L. ever consented to this being published. It looks like the work of greedy relatives and unscruplous publishers. It is filth.

When I started reading I thought the book was going to be about Jean Louise leaving Maycombe County permanently behind because of the parochialism of Hank her expected partner and Jem replacement. In a way it is but it goes beyond that to include the Biblical tower of strength that is Atticus. And then, incredibly, it goes even beyond that to Jean Louise herself who finally realises, with the help of her uncle, the truth about herself.Neatly written and intimately entwined with To Kill a Mockingbird this book speaks further about race in the South and the resonance of a heritage that goes beyond the Civil War to Anglo-Protestant archetypes. It is gently written and provides an apologia, for why the south is like it is. It couldn't be more timely with recent moves to ban the Confederate flag and crimes of hate. Disapprove of the South if you like but if you want to understand the South then read on.

Before I read this book I re-read To Kill A Mockingbird, and I also read with some alarm how disappointed some readers were that Atticus was revealed as a racist. It is a book of its time, and I suspect it might be written a bit different now. It was written at the awakening of the civil rights struggle of the 1960s ( a battle which didn't begin then and hasn't ended yet, but a pivotal moment). There was debate about how it might turn out, and we can't impose our hindsight on Atticus. The scene where Scout sees and hears the meeting and decides Atticus is in opposition to black civil rights turns her perception. Later, I think through her conversations with Articus and Dr.Finch this is given context. I won't detail this and spoil it, but the point is similar to the one the BBC used for allowing Nick Griffith to appear on Question Time in 2010. Better to give him a platform writhing the system and defeat the arguments, than let him fester on the sidelines and become a rallying point for extremists. Atticus was a lawyer. To see right done you have to bring the extreme views into the arena. If by racist we mean that we would treat someone differently because of their race, then Atticus does not fit the bill.I enjoyed the novel. Chapter 9 was a wonderful character sketch of Atticus. I for one liked to see the innocent Scout as an adult, and this loss of innocence was a key point in the novel.

To Kill A Mockingbird is a very highly rated book in my mind, and as has already been pointed out in previous reviews and the media, this book is very different to its predecessor/sequel.We start with a grown up Scout, now going by her actual name of Jean-Louise, returning to Maycomb after a long absence. Unfortunately Atticus has become jaded and seems bitter toward black people; a complete U turn from the lawyer who defended Tom Robinson against a whole town full of internalised racism.A book well written, as expected from Harper Lee, but maybe better unreleased, as it had been for fifty years previous to this.