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A review by ketreads
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
emotional
hopeful
4.0
So... I thought this was a fantastic follow up to Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird but after reading up to find like-minded individuals, apparently this was terribly received by many.
While I understand this book was originally written but not published before To Kill a Mockingbird, which to some makes this less of a sequel than a draft for one, I found it took the original concept and managed to develop it even further. This may be because I read the original book in adulthood, and so don't have a big emotional attachment to the original cast.
I really loved the character of Scout in this. Going from a naïve young girl to a competent, forward-thinking woman. Having her return to her home town of Maycomb with the reader was a fantastic set up. The life she's become used to in the city, both societally and politically, is immediately challenged upon her return. We get a deeper look at Maycomb and it's inhabitants, such as how we one day are able to see our parents without rose-tinted glasses, and are able to now recognise the nuances we may have missed as children. I really loved the topic of fallibility in those you look up to, especially as it seems to relevant to todays political climate. Realising those you love and have always loved, may not be the people you thought them to be is a powerful topic.
I think this was a great sequel, though didn't hit as hard as the first due to pacing and other minor grievances.
While I understand this book was originally written but not published before To Kill a Mockingbird, which to some makes this less of a sequel than a draft for one, I found it took the original concept and managed to develop it even further. This may be because I read the original book in adulthood, and so don't have a big emotional attachment to the original cast.
I really loved the character of Scout in this. Going from a naïve young girl to a competent, forward-thinking woman. Having her return to her home town of Maycomb with the reader was a fantastic set up. The life she's become used to in the city, both societally and politically, is immediately challenged upon her return. We get a deeper look at Maycomb and it's inhabitants, such as how we one day are able to see our parents without rose-tinted glasses, and are able to now recognise the nuances we may have missed as children. I really loved the topic of fallibility in those you look up to, especially as it seems to relevant to todays political climate. Realising those you love and have always loved, may not be the people you thought them to be is a powerful topic.
I think this was a great sequel, though didn't hit as hard as the first due to pacing and other minor grievances.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
Minor: Slavery