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A review by protoman21
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
5.0
I am one of the people who counts To Kill a Mockingbird as one of my all-time favorite books, and was flabbergasted and thrilled to find out that a long lost manuscript from Harper Lee was being published after so many years. Even better, it was a prequel/sequel to Mockingbird with Scout all grown up returning home to visit the beloved Atticus Finch. This is going to be big!
In the beginning of the book, Scout comes home and that is exactly what it feels like for the reader as well. She might be called Jean Louise now, but she’s still our Scout and her feisty attitude shines through in her every interaction. You can see how her life in New York fits her and shapes her perception of her home. However, things just don’t fit exactly the way they used to and her view of the changed town is quickly reflected in the people as well.
In a way, this is the definitive coming of age story. The whole point of the novel is not to tackle racism or states’ rights or tell a cute love story, but to show how a young woman becomes her own person. In many ways, she grew up color blind, but she was also blind to see the hypocrisy in people that she loved.
Many people will see this novel as the fall of Atticus Finch, and yes, that is part of the story, but it is really the rise of Jean Louise Finch into her own person. Some will argue that one’s childhood heroes do not need to be destroyed in order for you to become your own person, but I think that Lee presents a very convincing argument that that is exactly the case. Scout comes home and despite herself, she actually is considering marrying Henry and moving back to Maycomb. She can’t let go of the past, partly because she glorifies Atticus and sees him as an example of perfect living. If he is happy in Maycomb, then how could any other place be better? But this isn’t an example of a kid kicking a dog to make it run away for its own good. Atticus sees what is happening and sits back and lets Jean Louise find her own way back to him. She rages at him and he stands his ground without diminishing her or placating her. He knows that she disagrees with him, but he doesn’t try to change her mind, he simply explains his own position and trusts her to make up her own mind and become her own woman.
I am astounded at how well timed the release of this book turned out to be. I read a lot online these days about privilege and here Lee tackles the topic over fifty years ago and it still resonates today. Jean Louise only sees Henry as an equal and doesn’t realize that he had to fight much harder for everything he has and that he has to live a cautious life and not risk making a mistake and have everything he worked for taken away from him, where she has the advantage of starting out with advantages that can’t be taken away. I appreciated this point by itself, but seen in the larger context of the novel it strengthens the rest of the story. Jean Louise is not just blind to color and class, but blind to see herself as she truly is. It is only at the end that she is able to start fresh and not just be a combination of Atticus, Jem, Calpurnia, Henry and all of Maycomb, but be her own true self.
Much of the issues relating to racism are going to be difficult to read for many people. I feel like the passage of time between when this book was written and when it was published is felt most here. What would be considered historical fiction today was written by Lee as contemporary fiction and language and attitudes that we consider shocking today was a poorly kept secret back then. Even Jean Louise says uncomfortable things while championing the equal treatment of black people. The difference being that she might comment on their current disadvantages, but she never sees that as a deficiency of character. Lee may be making a point here that longstanding ideas are hard to let go of since parents pass on their views to their children, and Atticus may not be able to change himself, but he encourages Jean Louise to break free from him and see a new world.
I urge people to read this book with an open mind. It may not be the enduring classic that To Kill a Mockingbird is, but it is a story worth telling and a chance to read another work by Lee whose use of language and smooth storytelling is right up there with the best ever.
In the beginning of the book, Scout comes home and that is exactly what it feels like for the reader as well. She might be called Jean Louise now, but she’s still our Scout and her feisty attitude shines through in her every interaction. You can see how her life in New York fits her and shapes her perception of her home. However, things just don’t fit exactly the way they used to and her view of the changed town is quickly reflected in the people as well.
In a way, this is the definitive coming of age story. The whole point of the novel is not to tackle racism or states’ rights or tell a cute love story, but to show how a young woman becomes her own person. In many ways, she grew up color blind, but she was also blind to see the hypocrisy in people that she loved.
Many people will see this novel as the fall of Atticus Finch, and yes, that is part of the story, but it is really the rise of Jean Louise Finch into her own person. Some will argue that one’s childhood heroes do not need to be destroyed in order for you to become your own person, but I think that Lee presents a very convincing argument that that is exactly the case. Scout comes home and despite herself, she actually is considering marrying Henry and moving back to Maycomb. She can’t let go of the past, partly because she glorifies Atticus and sees him as an example of perfect living. If he is happy in Maycomb, then how could any other place be better? But this isn’t an example of a kid kicking a dog to make it run away for its own good. Atticus sees what is happening and sits back and lets Jean Louise find her own way back to him. She rages at him and he stands his ground without diminishing her or placating her. He knows that she disagrees with him, but he doesn’t try to change her mind, he simply explains his own position and trusts her to make up her own mind and become her own woman.
I am astounded at how well timed the release of this book turned out to be. I read a lot online these days about privilege and here Lee tackles the topic over fifty years ago and it still resonates today. Jean Louise only sees Henry as an equal and doesn’t realize that he had to fight much harder for everything he has and that he has to live a cautious life and not risk making a mistake and have everything he worked for taken away from him, where she has the advantage of starting out with advantages that can’t be taken away. I appreciated this point by itself, but seen in the larger context of the novel it strengthens the rest of the story. Jean Louise is not just blind to color and class, but blind to see herself as she truly is. It is only at the end that she is able to start fresh and not just be a combination of Atticus, Jem, Calpurnia, Henry and all of Maycomb, but be her own true self.
Much of the issues relating to racism are going to be difficult to read for many people. I feel like the passage of time between when this book was written and when it was published is felt most here. What would be considered historical fiction today was written by Lee as contemporary fiction and language and attitudes that we consider shocking today was a poorly kept secret back then. Even Jean Louise says uncomfortable things while championing the equal treatment of black people. The difference being that she might comment on their current disadvantages, but she never sees that as a deficiency of character. Lee may be making a point here that longstanding ideas are hard to let go of since parents pass on their views to their children, and Atticus may not be able to change himself, but he encourages Jean Louise to break free from him and see a new world.
I urge people to read this book with an open mind. It may not be the enduring classic that To Kill a Mockingbird is, but it is a story worth telling and a chance to read another work by Lee whose use of language and smooth storytelling is right up there with the best ever.