Go Set a Watchman

This was very disappointing and boring. I can understand why Harper Lee never published it!

The first half was very good.

I had read To Kill A Mockingbird in HS and never got to read the second sequel. I was very pleased with this book and would definitely read this again. Scout and Atticus have always been my favorites but to read about her uncle and aunts side is really interesting. Overall a great book and I look forward to reading it again.

Not on par with the other.

The pre-publication reviews of this book played up the notion that Atticus Finch was a racist vs the humanitarian character portrayed in ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’. This was clearly marketing hype that should be discounted. Harper Lee uses this novel to reconcile ‘Scout’s’ personal prejudices about the South gained from living in New York with the realistic views of her father & uncle still living in her home town. Scout comes to the realization that her family’s views reflect her own.

so good. So so good. Just wow . One star deducted because . My heart is broken and I wish Jean Louise was happy.

Trash

I feel a lot like the adult Jean Louise. WIth her, I watched as the God of Atticus became human. I think it must be hard for a lot of people to realize that their idols are fallible. Harper Lee could not have known when she wrote it that To Kill a Mockingbird's characters would become such literary icons and that we, as a culture, would find in Atticus the perfect parent/mentor/pastor/friend. He was not only her moral compass, but our society's. And it turns out, he was just a man who was a product of his culture and upbringing. I was nervous to read the book. I expected, from everyone's ranting, to find him burning crosses on the front lawn. Instead, we found something much harder: someone we love and admire who hasn't lived up to our ideals. I understand the rant, but I really appreciated the book. The best parents raise their children to think for themselves. To go into the world with a clear sense of what is right and the knowledge that they will always be loved and will always have a home -- even if it's not a home to which the child can ever really return. My family gave this to me. My father was my Atticus, and, I've learned through generations of family and friends, he was theirs as well. And I left home. And I learned how different we are. And I learned, even more, how alike we are. And I learned the he probably wasn't as perfect as I thought. And I learned that the REASON we should love people is for their humanity, because -- as I was raised to believe -- in that humanity is their godliness. I know that as certainly as I know that love. I think it's a good book.

I loved To Kill A Mockingbird, but Go Set A Watchman ruined it for me because of its contradicting way that it talked about Atticus and how he was a very racists man.

I think this book should never have seen the light of day. Whoever talked her into releasing this did not have her best interests in mind. This seems to me to be a first draft of something she "might" have published. The style of writing does not come close to To Kill a Mockingbird. The language used is simple rather than complex. Characters were not developed. She comes off as a naïve bumpkin who is against segregation. She does not share the flare or wisdom of Scout. She seems like an empty shell. This should never have been published.