I didn't hear very many positive things about Harper Lee's newly released novel, Go Set a Watchman when my turn for our library's copy came around last week: "It was supposed to be a rough draft." "Nothing can compare to To Kill a Mockingbird." "Not everybody can enjoy this book." But still, I resolved to give it a fair chance and promptly checked it out.
I have enjoyed reading other books by young Southern ladies, such as Carson McCullers. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter captivated my attention as a young-20-something. I was moved by the author's sensitivity, the sense of loneliness and humanity, and the vivid description of empoverished life in the South, being a new transplant myself (I moved to North Carolina by way of South Africa then before that, Oklahoma, which is sometimes considered but definitely not, Southern). And of course, I read Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird in high school English class. We subsequently revisited it for The Big Read program at my public library several years later. Race relations are always a relevant topic, but now that I actually live in the South, and with the recent racially motivated murders in Charleston, I thought the release of Go Set a Watchman very timely.
This book is written from the point of view of 26 year old Jean Louise Finch, nee Scout, daughter of Atticus Finch, the famed fictional attorney who defended a black boy who was wrongfully accused of a crime. In Jean Louise's mind, her father could do no wrong. She was raised colorblind, never seeing or hearing mistreatment or derogatory words about people of different races. But, on her return trip home, this time she starts to see things from a grown up, her own grown up, perspective.
Lee writes with a genuine, open voice, an almost naivete that I wonder, is it really hers? The means by which Jean Louise comes to her realizations is through a beloved, if quirky, scholarly uncle who really sums it all up in this short paragraph on p. 237. She says, "'I don't understand men.' 'We-ll, some men who cheat their wives out of grocery money wouldn't think of cheating the grocer. Men tend to carry their honesty in pigeonholes, Jean Louise. They can be perfectly honest in some ways and fool themselves in other ways. Don't be so hard on Hank [on-again-off-again fiancee], he's coming along.'" Isn't that the way with most of us, though? We might demand fiscal conservancy from our politicians, but don't keep a tight financial ship at home. And what about the history of race relations in the South? Some thought themselves believing in equality, except when it came to their own children, their own towns. All sorts of crazy ideas were justified, like the "separate but equal" doctrine upheld by the Supreme Court from 1896 to 1954! This novel is important, because it places a beloved character in the context of real events upholding views that are seen today as backward, inflammatory, and quite unpopular. It's feminist because it gives complete credibility to the female narrator in a time period when women did not hold the esteem or power as men. The writing is descriptive, the story flows well, the themes are huge, and the characters well-known. I posit this to be a modern classic, arguably better Pulitzer prize winning Mockingbird. On par with John Knowles' A Separate Peace as a coming of age novel, it is a great choice to challenge the individual's values, their way of thinking, and really, their belonging in the greater society. A highly recommended read.
#harperlee #gosetawatchman #bookreview
I have enjoyed reading other books by young Southern ladies, such as Carson McCullers. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter captivated my attention as a young-20-something. I was moved by the author's sensitivity, the sense of loneliness and humanity, and the vivid description of empoverished life in the South, being a new transplant myself (I moved to North Carolina by way of South Africa then before that, Oklahoma, which is sometimes considered but definitely not, Southern). And of course, I read Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird in high school English class. We subsequently revisited it for The Big Read program at my public library several years later. Race relations are always a relevant topic, but now that I actually live in the South, and with the recent racially motivated murders in Charleston, I thought the release of Go Set a Watchman very timely.
This book is written from the point of view of 26 year old Jean Louise Finch, nee Scout, daughter of Atticus Finch, the famed fictional attorney who defended a black boy who was wrongfully accused of a crime. In Jean Louise's mind, her father could do no wrong. She was raised colorblind, never seeing or hearing mistreatment or derogatory words about people of different races. But, on her return trip home, this time she starts to see things from a grown up, her own grown up, perspective.
Lee writes with a genuine, open voice, an almost naivete that I wonder, is it really hers? The means by which Jean Louise comes to her realizations is through a beloved, if quirky, scholarly uncle who really sums it all up in this short paragraph on p. 237. She says, "'I don't understand men.' 'We-ll, some men who cheat their wives out of grocery money wouldn't think of cheating the grocer. Men tend to carry their honesty in pigeonholes, Jean Louise. They can be perfectly honest in some ways and fool themselves in other ways. Don't be so hard on Hank [on-again-off-again fiancee], he's coming along.'" Isn't that the way with most of us, though? We might demand fiscal conservancy from our politicians, but don't keep a tight financial ship at home. And what about the history of race relations in the South? Some thought themselves believing in equality, except when it came to their own children, their own towns. All sorts of crazy ideas were justified, like the "separate but equal" doctrine upheld by the Supreme Court from 1896 to 1954! This novel is important, because it places a beloved character in the context of real events upholding views that are seen today as backward, inflammatory, and quite unpopular. It's feminist because it gives complete credibility to the female narrator in a time period when women did not hold the esteem or power as men. The writing is descriptive, the story flows well, the themes are huge, and the characters well-known. I posit this to be a modern classic, arguably better Pulitzer prize winning Mockingbird. On par with John Knowles' A Separate Peace as a coming of age novel, it is a great choice to challenge the individual's values, their way of thinking, and really, their belonging in the greater society. A highly recommended read.
#harperlee #gosetawatchman #bookreview
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