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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
So many readers saw only the race struggles in this book. If you are one of them, there is so much you missed.
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
One of the worst books I've ever read. Destroys one of the great heroes of American fiction. Total garbage don't bother
Literally just finished it. Still processing. I'm glad I read it; like others I was apprehensive because of my love for TKAM. If you put this in perspective, considering all the variables (when it was written, the fact that it was written before TKAM, the truth of real life), it doesn't taint my affection for and admiration of Atticus Finch. He is still heroic to me and I will always be glad I named my son after him.
If I could give it 3.5 I would, if for nothing but nostalgia... I spent a good deal of my reading time with a furrowed brow and not quite knowing what to think.
challenging
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
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Go Set a Watchman
When I first heard about this book Go Set a Watchman, and the controversy around it, I wasn’t in a hurry to read it. I had liked the original story featuring these characters, To Kill A Mockingbird, but it wasn’t my favorite book ever, and I wasn’t camped outside a bookstore waiting for its release.
So, I didn’t hurry, and I waited on the library’s wait list for the audiobook. The audiobook is probably the way to go, as Reece Witherspoon does a good job, and there is pleasant music on the audio. But any way you look at it, a book featuring racism on parade and frequent use of the n-word will have unpleasant results.
Is this actually a sequel, or was it written first?
A friend of mine thought it was good and wanted to discuss an article that she’d read in The New Yorker (I think) with a theory that it wasn’t really written first, but was actually a traditional sequel. The public story is that GSAW was written first, and a publisher or editor focused on the author on Scout’s flashbacks to her childhood, particularly about the time during his father’s legal defense of a black man on trial for rape which he was likely physically incapable of committing, and thus TKAM was written and published instead.
My friend agreed with the article and thinks that this story couldn’t possibly have happened first, as Scout’s journey “makes no sense” without the earlier story. I don’t think that GSAW “had” to be written afterwards because Scout’s journey to realization that her dad isn’t who she thought he was “only” makes sense only if you’ve already experienced the story set 20 years earlier. Yes, it makes more impact for readers who are familiar with the first story, as it is much farther for Atticus to fall this way, but this story could stand alone. It isn’t terrible, but it isn’t something I would have really sought out or want to re-read. Coming to terms with who your parents really are is a theme even without a overly idealized image of Atticus that Scout displayed in TKAM.
Has this book ruined the name “Atticus” for me?
No, but I am not one of those lawyers who actually named their child Atticus or claim that TKAM was the entire inspiration for their career.
Was this book worth reading?
The writing is decent, and the story is compelling, but the themes are rough. It’s interesting that a book about race relations sat on the shelves for decades but is published now, when race is again a very controversial topic in America. However, I like to read books for enjoyment, and it wasn’t particularly enjoyable. I read plenty of less enjoyable stuff for work. When the universe grants me a job where I get to read novels for a living, then I won’t have that excuse, but as for now, if a book isn’t pleasurable, then I find that a rather unsatisfying waste of time. So, two stars for this book.
When I first heard about this book Go Set a Watchman, and the controversy around it, I wasn’t in a hurry to read it. I had liked the original story featuring these characters, To Kill A Mockingbird, but it wasn’t my favorite book ever, and I wasn’t camped outside a bookstore waiting for its release.
So, I didn’t hurry, and I waited on the library’s wait list for the audiobook. The audiobook is probably the way to go, as Reece Witherspoon does a good job, and there is pleasant music on the audio. But any way you look at it, a book featuring racism on parade and frequent use of the n-word will have unpleasant results.
Is this actually a sequel, or was it written first?
A friend of mine thought it was good and wanted to discuss an article that she’d read in The New Yorker (I think) with a theory that it wasn’t really written first, but was actually a traditional sequel. The public story is that GSAW was written first, and a publisher or editor focused on the author on Scout’s flashbacks to her childhood, particularly about the time during his father’s legal defense of a black man on trial for rape which he was likely physically incapable of committing, and thus TKAM was written and published instead.
My friend agreed with the article and thinks that this story couldn’t possibly have happened first, as Scout’s journey “makes no sense” without the earlier story. I don’t think that GSAW “had” to be written afterwards because Scout’s journey to realization that her dad isn’t who she thought he was “only” makes sense only if you’ve already experienced the story set 20 years earlier. Yes, it makes more impact for readers who are familiar with the first story, as it is much farther for Atticus to fall this way, but this story could stand alone. It isn’t terrible, but it isn’t something I would have really sought out or want to re-read. Coming to terms with who your parents really are is a theme even without a overly idealized image of Atticus that Scout displayed in TKAM.
Has this book ruined the name “Atticus” for me?
No, but I am not one of those lawyers who actually named their child Atticus or claim that TKAM was the entire inspiration for their career.
Was this book worth reading?
The writing is decent, and the story is compelling, but the themes are rough. It’s interesting that a book about race relations sat on the shelves for decades but is published now, when race is again a very controversial topic in America. However, I like to read books for enjoyment, and it wasn’t particularly enjoyable. I read plenty of less enjoyable stuff for work. When the universe grants me a job where I get to read novels for a living, then I won’t have that excuse, but as for now, if a book isn’t pleasurable, then I find that a rather unsatisfying waste of time. So, two stars for this book.
I think this book would have been better as a story on its own. "To Kill A Mockingbird" would have been better left as a stand-alone. Watchman is funny in some parts and it definitely made me feel really strongly about the things it brought up but it feels too forced at some parts still.