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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
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:
Complicated
I am disappointed. To Kill a Mockingbird is such a great novel that I had high hopes for Go Set a Watchman. I was definitely let down.
Scout has returned to Macomb for her annual visit. She is in for a rude awakening when she sees that her father, Atticus, and her beau, Hank, are members of the council that want to go against the NAACP. Scout is "color blind." She is deeply disturbed when she realizes her closest family is not. That is basically what this entire novel was about.
I get that this is probably spot on for a lot of white people. They may be oblivious to how things really are and this is probably a fair representation of that. However, I feel like this novel ruined the love I had for Atticus from To Kill a Mockingbird. This entire novel was really unnecessary. If you're going to add on to a classic you need to make it BETTER, not worse!
The only thing I really enjoyed about this book was that I listened to it on audio and it was read by Reese Witherspoon and I adore her. Other than that, I enjoyed the story about Scout wearing false bosoms to a dance. It made me laugh. But the overall book was disappointing.
Scout has returned to Macomb for her annual visit. She is in for a rude awakening when she sees that her father, Atticus, and her beau, Hank, are members of the council that want to go against the NAACP. Scout is "color blind." She is deeply disturbed when she realizes her closest family is not. That is basically what this entire novel was about.
I get that this is probably spot on for a lot of white people. They may be oblivious to how things really are and this is probably a fair representation of that. However, I feel like this novel ruined the love I had for Atticus from To Kill a Mockingbird. This entire novel was really unnecessary. If you're going to add on to a classic you need to make it BETTER, not worse!
The only thing I really enjoyed about this book was that I listened to it on audio and it was read by Reese Witherspoon and I adore her. Other than that, I enjoyed the story about Scout wearing false bosoms to a dance. It made me laugh. But the overall book was disappointing.
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I can't say that I fully understood everything. But, the book was great. A worthy sequel to the previous book. To Kill A Mockingbird was from Scout's perspective. Go Set A Watchman was from Jean Louise's perspective. Things got a little confusing at the end, but the last pages straightened out everything.
It was kind of a relief knowing that Atticus is a human after all. He is a great father and a great man, but he has some mistakes too. The emotions and things Harper Lee produced are rare to find in books. I need to re-read both books to get a better understanding.
It was kind of a relief knowing that Atticus is a human after all. He is a great father and a great man, but he has some mistakes too. The emotions and things Harper Lee produced are rare to find in books. I need to re-read both books to get a better understanding.
I think had I held as much significance to the character of Atticus Finch as many others I would have found this book much less thought-provoking and more grotesque, however I enjoyed it and felt there were a lot of ideas brought up around realising parents are flawed humans as well.
While I enjoyed this book, I think Lee was wise to take her editor's advice and rework Watchman into Mockingbird. I found myself better able to relate to Jean Louise in this book than Mockingbird, and enjoyed that aspect of the book. Watching her coming into herself throughout the book was wonderful. While I think Mockingbird got Lee's point across more clearly, Watchman has some political themes that were left out of Mockingbird. I also thought Watchman had some hilarious scenes (my favorite being the falsies scene)! All in all, Watchman is definitely worth a read!
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Taken for what this book is, it's not a bad book. But, seeing as it's an unedited first draft, it's not polished and there's some bits that are confusing to the reader.
I've read a lot of criticism about this book because it doesn't live up to To Kill A Mockingbird. To be quite honest, I read To Kill A Mockingbird over 30 years ago, so although I remembered that I liked it (since I actually finished it as an assigned reading book), I don't remember much about it.
You can see why her original editor told her to go back and develop the stories about her childhood. That's where the story and humor really shine.
Much of the criticism I read is that Atticus is a racist in this book, where as he was a champion of civil rights in To Kill A Mockingbird. I think it's explained quite well (although it needs editing), that To Kill A Mockingbird is through the eyes of a child and she sees her dad through that lens and not as a whole person. Go Set A Watchmen is actually her coming to terms with how she viewed her father from a childish point of view to her becoming an adult and seeing him as a fully formed person, with flaws and all.
Taken from the time the book is set in, Atticus' viewpoints and attitudes are understandable (if not likeable) and I don't think he was so much a racist as a product of his time, place & circumstances. He valued the law over everything and I think if the book had been edited, this would have come through more clearly.
I've read a lot of criticism about this book because it doesn't live up to To Kill A Mockingbird. To be quite honest, I read To Kill A Mockingbird over 30 years ago, so although I remembered that I liked it (since I actually finished it as an assigned reading book), I don't remember much about it.
You can see why her original editor told her to go back and develop the stories about her childhood. That's where the story and humor really shine.
Much of the criticism I read is that Atticus is a racist in this book, where as he was a champion of civil rights in To Kill A Mockingbird. I think it's explained quite well (although it needs editing), that To Kill A Mockingbird is through the eyes of a child and she sees her dad through that lens and not as a whole person. Go Set A Watchmen is actually her coming to terms with how she viewed her father from a childish point of view to her becoming an adult and seeing him as a fully formed person, with flaws and all.
Taken from the time the book is set in, Atticus' viewpoints and attitudes are understandable (if not likeable) and I don't think he was so much a racist as a product of his time, place & circumstances. He valued the law over everything and I think if the book had been edited, this would have come through more clearly.
This book was truly heartbreaking. A coming of age story with grown up, Scout. Revisiting these characters, it was alarming to witness how human they were.
I’ll be thinking about this one for a while.
emotional
informative
inspiring
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:
Complicated