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jti1945's review against another edition
4.0
This book is fascinating. In part a simple series of stories about small town southern life through eyes of 26 year old Scout now living in New York City. But also a fascinating view inside racism in the south from the southerm perpective, with all the history, fear and indoctrination through the generations. In some ways a better book than To Kill a Mockingbird. It will not make an exciting movie, I'm afraid.
brcloyd's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the book. It did feel unpolished but I thought it gave me some insight into 1950s America that was placed in that era (not from a contemporary historian). I think maybe people expected too much for the book, but I read it more as an unpolished manuscript than a well crafted novel. I'm okay with that.
iswim41's review against another edition
3.0
As I got closer and closer to finishing I was getting really confused, and then Scout unleashed herself. Interesting to be reading this from a past, in today's political mess with Trump.
runekeon's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent sequel loved it. I Wish Harper Lee had written more so much deep understanding and talent.
madladym's review against another edition
2.0
ehh, this was just ok. It certainly wasn't what I'd expected or wanted it to be. The ending was too cliche and too simple. It needed more oomph. Disappointing at the least.
odelolly's review against another edition
3.0
This book is not in the same realm as To Kill a Mockingbird (which happens to be my favorite novel, even named a gerbil after my two fav characters). It's a little rambling, and uncomfortable...but the uncomfortable parts make you think.
"I was taught to never take advantage of anybody who was less fortunate than myself, whether he be less fortunate in brains, wealth, or social position; it meant anybody, not just Negros. I was given to understand that the reverse was to be despised. That is the way I as raised, by a black woman and a white man."
"I was taught to never take advantage of anybody who was less fortunate than myself, whether he be less fortunate in brains, wealth, or social position; it meant anybody, not just Negros. I was given to understand that the reverse was to be despised. That is the way I as raised, by a black woman and a white man."
angelface777's review against another edition
4.0
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee, the decades later sequel of To Kill a Mockingbird wasn't exactly what I was expecting out of the sequel, but I see where she was coming from with it.
Scout is now a 26 year old woman living in New York, and she comes and visits her family in Maycomb once a year for 2 weeks. The only characters that we really know are Atticus and Aunt Alexandra, but we also get to meet Uncle Jack (the other Finch sibling) and Henry (a kid who grew up with them basically right after the whole Boo Radley incident).
I believe Harper Lee's goal with the novel wasn't exactly the same as her first. To Kill A Mockingbird was about Scout as a child trying to understand how sometimes the world was cruel, but Atticus wasn't... That kind of changes in Go Set A Watchman. The line between right and wrong and black and white changed in her years away from Maycomb, and Scout learns she is far from a product of her environment.
I wasn't exactly excited about some things that happened, but the point of the story was; Sometimes the people you love and idolize the most need to be looked at in a different light, you might not always know what lies beneath the surface.
Scout is now a 26 year old woman living in New York, and she comes and visits her family in Maycomb once a year for 2 weeks. The only characters that we really know are Atticus and Aunt Alexandra, but we also get to meet Uncle Jack (the other Finch sibling) and Henry (a kid who grew up with them basically right after the whole Boo Radley incident).
I believe Harper Lee's goal with the novel wasn't exactly the same as her first. To Kill A Mockingbird was about Scout as a child trying to understand how sometimes the world was cruel, but Atticus wasn't... That kind of changes in Go Set A Watchman. The line between right and wrong and black and white changed in her years away from Maycomb, and Scout learns she is far from a product of her environment.
I wasn't exactly excited about some things that happened, but the point of the story was; Sometimes the people you love and idolize the most need to be looked at in a different light, you might not always know what lies beneath the surface.
jamuckley's review against another edition
4.0
"Go Set a Watchman," Harper Lee's sequel to her classic novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird," was a fascinating picture of the South in the 1950s. I think it has some pertinent discourse of the current state of racial tensions in America today some 70 years later.
While Lee's writing in her sequel does not compare to her masterpiece there is much in the way of themes and perspective to glean from the book. The story centers around Jean Louise "Scout" Finch's return to Maycomb after college and spending some years in New York City. The Alabama of her childhood is gone and it is replaced with vastly different ideals that she believed were there in her youth.
Lee's sequel produced some powerful feelings and emotions regarding what is right and wrong and the different perspectives of various townspeople. While Lee doesn't specifically espouse one approach or view over another, she instead encourages the reader to have opinions and beliefs and also keep an open ear to hear and listen to others.
While I understand the point of "Go Set a Watchmen," I also thought the ending was a little weak because of her ultimate conclusions.
While Lee's writing in her sequel does not compare to her masterpiece there is much in the way of themes and perspective to glean from the book. The story centers around Jean Louise "Scout" Finch's return to Maycomb after college and spending some years in New York City. The Alabama of her childhood is gone and it is replaced with vastly different ideals that she believed were there in her youth.
Lee's sequel produced some powerful feelings and emotions regarding what is right and wrong and the different perspectives of various townspeople. While Lee doesn't specifically espouse one approach or view over another, she instead encourages the reader to have opinions and beliefs and also keep an open ear to hear and listen to others.
While I understand the point of "Go Set a Watchmen," I also thought the ending was a little weak because of her ultimate conclusions.
justapeach's review against another edition
1.0
This is so clearly not a sequel nor was it written with the intention of being so. This is the rough draft of To Kill a Mockingbird, it breaks my heart that people have ignored (myself included) that the author never intended for there to be a sequel. You can see where her editor proposed that she switch the focus of the story. This book is a result of greed from someone the author trusted and should not have seen the light of day..
The story itself is unremarkable but will have you question if Atticus was the hero we saw in To Kill a Mockingbird.
The story itself is unremarkable but will have you question if Atticus was the hero we saw in To Kill a Mockingbird.