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5.83k reviews for:

Go Set a Watchman

Harper Lee

3.21 AVERAGE

challenging medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Reese Witherspoon is a terrible audiobook narrator. Maybe a better one would have left me with a better experience.

There are a lot of continuity errors from To Kill a Mockingbird that probably would have been caught by a careful editor. I honestly don't think Harper Lee would have wanted it published in this form and if she has been in a state to allow collaboration with an editor it would have been a better book.

All that being said, it was a book with a message I needed to hear as I am struggling with being on the opposite side of moral issues from most of my family. It is easy to slip into Scout's shoes and relate to the struggle of finding that so many people you have loved all your life are capable of believing reprehensible things and still feeling an obligation to love them.

Atticus being racist was terrible, but honestly I can’t judge too hard. There is a reason it wasn’t originally published

ms_amanda_w's review

4.0

I feel like I'll be sorting out my feelings about this book for a while. Like many "sequels" (can we even call this a true sequel?) I spent the first half feeling like I was finally reuniting with old friends. Admittedly, I was giddy. Once I calmed down a little a few things became obvious to me:
1. This is no TKAM. And that's ok. It's an enjoyable coming-of-age story that references TKAM a few times.
2. Scout is even more awesome as an adult than she was as a girl.
3. The subject of this novel makes people uncomfortable and I think that's ok, too. We learn that not everybody is who they seem to be and that no human should be idolized.
losersfiction's profile picture

losersfiction's review

2.0

I think there is something to be said for this book, though I largely agree with most of the other reviews on it. I found it interesting to see Atticus - the morally upright and righteous man of To Kill A Mockingbird - portrayed as a sadly mistaken old man. This interesting switch felt reminiscent of younger generations looking at boomers and being baffled at their bad takes on certain issues. Asides from that interesting ~twist~ (a not entirely merited, earned, or congruent one) there is not much else worth while in this book - thankfully it was pretty short.

bcba2025's review

2.0

The character development from "To Kill a Mockingbird" was interesting and fun to see. However, I do not know enough about the cultural context of this time for the book to be as impactful as its predecessor. The undertones of racism are straight forward in the first. The political references were beyond my knowledge, so I think I lost a lot of the plot.

trackingjsreads's review

0.5
medium-paced

Tfw the publisher exploits a sick author and releases the first draft of her only published work as a "sequel".
Just read To Kill A Mockingbird instead.
emotional reflective relaxing 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

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rossco108's profile picture

rossco108's review

5.0

What can be said about the dark side of Atticus Finch has been said by better writers than me. This is a book about the final lesson parents impart to their children, willingly or unwillingly – that they, too, are human. This is a necessary book, as necessary as "To Kill a Mockingbird," as one's view of the way we are is as necessary as one's vision for the way we ought to be.
aikonkon_47's profile picture

aikonkon_47's review

2.0
emotional reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

rgoswami's review

1.0

Disgusting. The only thing I can say about it is that I envy the people who never had to kill a mockingbird tarnished by this pathetic collection of basically unfinished plots.