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sparksbooks's review against another edition
5.0
If you don't think of this as a sequel to TKAM then you'll enjoy it a lot more. I was really fascinated by the progression of Scout's character; it certainly was a bit of a roller coaster ride for her. Though some characters get a little bit tainted and some get killed off - this really upset me more than it should have - from TKAM, I really enjoyed this book. I don't really think any differently about those characters. It makes me want to reread TKAM.
libliz's review against another edition
3.0
The best review I've read of this book yet from Andy Crank, UA professor, for the LA Review of Books--https://lareviewofbooks.org/review/unkillable-mockingbird. The crux of it below:
"Readers felt the same confusion and anger at Atticus that Scout feels in Watchman when she spies on her father (from the same balcony she saw him defend Robinson as a child) as he introduces a race-baiting hack to speak to the white citizen’s council. Minutes later, the twenty-six year old woman stumbles about in a daze, her emotional life overcome by betrayal, thinking to herself that “the one human being she had ever fully and wholeheartedly trusted had failed her […] publically, grossly, and shamelessly.” Clearly, Mockingbird fans could sympathize with her disillusionment.
However, if Scout and Lee’s readers shared a similar frustration and outrage in the beginning of the book, the difference was that by the end of the novel Scout finally comes to terms with her naïve misreading of Atticus as a moral paragon. Harper Lee’s fans, however, refused to follow the young woman’s lead. Scout’s shock at Atticus’ actions is mitigated by her status as his daughter — her disillusionment is part of the end of that inevitable process in which children learn that the adults they once worshipped are people — people who sometimes commit tremendous errors in judgment. But there was no assuaging public disgust over what had become of their hero: their investment in Atticus was too big to fail.
For sure, readers felt betrayed — not by Atticus, but by Lee herself. Many tried to grapple with what they saw as the central question of the novel, which was not, “How do the realities we learn about our parents as we age affect our childhood fantasies of them?” but instead, “How do we forgive Harper Lee for ruining our Atticus?”
But Lee was doing something different with Watchman that, even now, few appreciate. Lost in the cacophony of disappointment over the new novel’s portrayal of Atticus is this fearful symmetry of Lee’s renewed relevance. In 1960, during the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement, when white America needed a voice to help articulate fundamental truths about disenfranchisement and inequality, it was Harper Lee who spoke loudest and most clearly. And now, in 2015, an era of white self-congratulation; in a time when we celebrate the victorious dawning of a new, post-racial age, even while black bodies pile up at the hands of those charged with serving and protecting them; in a context in which the confederate flag and myths of southern exceptionalism still get debated as though they haven’t already been discredited decades ago; in a time when we are still fighting the fight for equal rights for minorities and women — we once again hear Lee’s insistent voice speaking directly and poignantly to white America.
Perhaps the most fitting result of all the controversy over Watchman is that Harper Lee is back where she belongs, prompting a painful but needed national conversation. It is Lee, who, for a second time, exposed the meandering discourses of equality and integration as empty rhetoric, valued only insomuch as they soothe white consciences, even when they obscure fundamental truths about racial progress."
"Readers felt the same confusion and anger at Atticus that Scout feels in Watchman when she spies on her father (from the same balcony she saw him defend Robinson as a child) as he introduces a race-baiting hack to speak to the white citizen’s council. Minutes later, the twenty-six year old woman stumbles about in a daze, her emotional life overcome by betrayal, thinking to herself that “the one human being she had ever fully and wholeheartedly trusted had failed her […] publically, grossly, and shamelessly.” Clearly, Mockingbird fans could sympathize with her disillusionment.
However, if Scout and Lee’s readers shared a similar frustration and outrage in the beginning of the book, the difference was that by the end of the novel Scout finally comes to terms with her naïve misreading of Atticus as a moral paragon. Harper Lee’s fans, however, refused to follow the young woman’s lead. Scout’s shock at Atticus’ actions is mitigated by her status as his daughter — her disillusionment is part of the end of that inevitable process in which children learn that the adults they once worshipped are people — people who sometimes commit tremendous errors in judgment. But there was no assuaging public disgust over what had become of their hero: their investment in Atticus was too big to fail.
For sure, readers felt betrayed — not by Atticus, but by Lee herself. Many tried to grapple with what they saw as the central question of the novel, which was not, “How do the realities we learn about our parents as we age affect our childhood fantasies of them?” but instead, “How do we forgive Harper Lee for ruining our Atticus?”
But Lee was doing something different with Watchman that, even now, few appreciate. Lost in the cacophony of disappointment over the new novel’s portrayal of Atticus is this fearful symmetry of Lee’s renewed relevance. In 1960, during the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement, when white America needed a voice to help articulate fundamental truths about disenfranchisement and inequality, it was Harper Lee who spoke loudest and most clearly. And now, in 2015, an era of white self-congratulation; in a time when we celebrate the victorious dawning of a new, post-racial age, even while black bodies pile up at the hands of those charged with serving and protecting them; in a context in which the confederate flag and myths of southern exceptionalism still get debated as though they haven’t already been discredited decades ago; in a time when we are still fighting the fight for equal rights for minorities and women — we once again hear Lee’s insistent voice speaking directly and poignantly to white America.
Perhaps the most fitting result of all the controversy over Watchman is that Harper Lee is back where she belongs, prompting a painful but needed national conversation. It is Lee, who, for a second time, exposed the meandering discourses of equality and integration as empty rhetoric, valued only insomuch as they soothe white consciences, even when they obscure fundamental truths about racial progress."
alisarae's review against another edition
3.0
Questions I answered by reading this book:
1. Did Harper Lee prepare this book to be published?
No.
2. Is Atticus racist?
Yes.
2b. Is racist Atticus like an alternate universe Atticus, or has he always been racist?
He has always been racist and the book does a good job of explaining it.
3. Do I like adult Scout?
Ehhhhhhh. She is the same age as me and yet supremely naïve. I found it hard to believe. See #1.
4. Will I regret reading this? Will it change my enjoyment of TKAM?
No. TKAM is not tainted and I don't regret reading this. I'm glad I made true on my promise to not read it until after Ms Lee's passing, though. See #1.
1. Did Harper Lee prepare this book to be published?
No.
2. Is Atticus racist?
Yes.
2b. Is racist Atticus like an alternate universe Atticus, or has he always been racist?
He has always been racist and the book does a good job of explaining it.
3. Do I like adult Scout?
Ehhhhhhh. She is the same age as me and yet supremely naïve. I found it hard to believe. See #1.
4. Will I regret reading this? Will it change my enjoyment of TKAM?
No. TKAM is not tainted and I don't regret reading this. I'm glad I made true on my promise to not read it until after Ms Lee's passing, though. See #1.
racytay's review against another edition
4.0
Great story that describes the horrors of racism. I felt like the story ended too soon, however, or otherwise I would have given this book 5 stars.
bhavya25's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
johngolden's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
aeniestas's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
4.0
jessicathedestroyer's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book. I makes you really think about how your perspective changes as you get older and how things may seem one way when you are younger but as you age you see how maybe it wasn't exactly how you thought. I would defiantly recommend.
panicbutton's review against another edition
Made it to chapter 2. Stopped when they said Jem died. Looked up the synopsis after to confirm, read it, and decided not to finish it. As much as growing up and realizing your parents are human is a right of passage, having Atticus Finch become a racist and Calpurnia defending a drunk driver who killed a man isn’t something I want as cannon.
abhishekjain's review against another edition
2.0
DO NOT READ THIS BOOK!
This is an acid. It will burn all your good memories you have associated with the prequel/sequel (a debate still exists) - To kill a mocking bird. I think this is Harper Lee's great mistake to have let this book been published. It turns you inside out. I felt like Jean Louise in the book and you do not want that.
This book is one big pain to read. The girl you loved so much comes out as an arrogant b**ch and you are constantly annoyed by her and the actions. The characters become shallower as you read more and more. Either the content of the book is so complicated that I have missed the point entirely or the first book was a fiasco. All the characters are so brutally corrupted and murdered in this book that you feel why did you read Harper Lee's in the first place. The world is brutal enough and you do not need another book to tell you that the people in the world are all bigots. I love this book because it is related to the former. That is all. I despise everything about this book.
And yeah the rating is a hate-rating. Read at your own risk!
This is an acid. It will burn all your good memories you have associated with the prequel/sequel (a debate still exists) - To kill a mocking bird. I think this is Harper Lee's great mistake to have let this book been published. It turns you inside out. I felt like Jean Louise in the book and you do not want that.
This book is one big pain to read. The girl you loved so much comes out as an arrogant b**ch and you are constantly annoyed by her and the actions. The characters become shallower as you read more and more. Either the content of the book is so complicated that I have missed the point entirely or the first book was a fiasco. All the characters are so brutally corrupted and murdered in this book that you feel why did you read Harper Lee's in the first place. The world is brutal enough and you do not need another book to tell you that the people in the world are all bigots. I love this book because it is related to the former. That is all. I despise everything about this book.
And yeah the rating is a hate-rating. Read at your own risk!