Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Summer Reading List: Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee


In 1961, Nelle Harper Lee won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. The novel? To Kill a Mockingbird which is revered and has been on most high school reading lists for many years. I taught it to sophomores in high school. The film version starring Gregory Peck is also a classic.

Not everyone considered the novel great literature. Flannery O’Connor called it a “child’s book” while Carson McCullers accused Lee of poaching on her literary preserves. Toni Morrison called it a “white savior” narrative “that reduced blacks to onlookers in their own struggles for equal rights.”

To Kill a Mockingbird may have proved controversial in its time; however, it appears that the newly released and much anticipated Go Set a Watchman will prove even more so. The heroic figure of Atticus Finch seems disappointingly reduced in stature as Scout, now an adult and using her given name,  returns to visit her father in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1950’s, 20 years after the era of Mockingbird. It seems ironic that Watchman actually preceded Mockingbird which was created at the suggestion of the editor who initially read Watchman.

Thomas Wolfe said you can’t go home again. Probably publisher HarperCollins should have left well enough alone. From the early reviews, I doubt Watchman will benefit the reputation of the author or the publisher.

I do think that authors should always strive to write new and better work however. We need to take a chance and write what is in our hearts and minds, dare to be different, and not fear criticism.

Right now, my latest novel Dark Moon Rising is available on pre-order from Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Z7824A4/
My published adult books have mostly been in the mystery genre. This novel is a tribute to the Gothic tradition in literature and has elements of romance, mystery and the paranormal. Will it be well-received? Only time will tell. Certainly, not well-known writers like myself don’t draw the reading audience of a Harper Lee. But hopefully enough readers will be interested.

Let’s start a summer reading list here today:

I’ve almost finished reading The Burning Room by Michael Connelly. It’s a well-written police procedural that I recommend it to those who read this genre. Simultaneously, I am reading Linda Lael Miller’s The Marriage Charm, an enjoyable contemporary romance.

What book(s) do you want to read this summer? Any book that you would particularly recommend to other readers?  If you are an author, have you written a book that you wish to recommend to readers?

26 comments:

  1. I'm still undecided if I will read "Watchman". As I've previously said, if I do, I'll probably need to read "Mockingbird" right behind it, to clear the bad taste from my mouth :) Lord, I love Atticus as he is and really want him to stay there in my thoughts. The one positive I feel from this is, we will see how deft the writer's pen can be, causing us to love or hate with one fell swoop. In that, I think it shows our craft's wonderful power to control the voyage of the reader.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, Loretta,

    "Watchman" is definitely on my summer reading list. I think it's important to read and compare the two novels by Harper Lee.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The issue that I have is that Harper Lee made it clear she didn't want this book published, and now has "allegedly" recanted from her nursing home and decided to release it, although some are arguing that she didn't know what she was doing. Now there are reports this is the original version, before it was edited by the Mockingbird publisher, and not a sequel as initially reported. The whole thing just sounds suspicious to me. Lastly, I would be horrified if the unedited novel that I wrote in high school were released after my death or if I were in a nursing home. I guess every writer needs to clarify his or her wishes regarding those piles of unfinished or unedited projects.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Lily,

      I read what you did. It may be that Lee has been taken advantage of. Hard to tell for certain.

      Delete
  4. Jacqueline,
    I'm looking forward to reading "Dark Moon Rising" and there are several other books on my Summer reading list.
    My fourth Malone mystery, "Mistaken Identity," was released in late June and I hope readers will add it to their list. After all, it is about a murder on the beach. LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pat,

      I just started "Mistaken Identity" and it is the perfect summer novel--I see it even takes place in July.

      Delete
  5. Jacquie, thanks for this post. I've been reading a lot about Go Set a Watchman. I'm undecided about whether I'll read it. I've just finished a terrific women's novel, Lawyer for the Dog by Lee Robinson. It's about a lawyer appointed by her ex-husband judge to represent a dog in a high profile divorce case. I found it truly engaging.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Paula,

      "Lawyer for the Dog" sounds like a good read. Thanks for putting it on our summer reading list.

      Delete
  6. I agree with you about Lee's new book, Jacquie. I don't think it will do her reputation any good, and I question the agent and publisher's motives. This is why I delete, shred, toss any stories/novels that I have decided are not up to the standard I want. If I can't get it right, I'm not keeping it. I will never have Harper Lee's concerns, but I can still make sure that only the best remains.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan,

      You are probably right about this. I question whether Lee ever really meant for this "new" book every to be published.

      Delete
  7. I'm probably the only person in North America who hasn't read To Kill A Mockingbird, so the publication of Go Set a Watchman doesn't have the same impact for me as it seems to have on those who love the first novel. I doubt I'll read "Watchman," but the furore over it has me interested in reading the first book.

    TKAM will have to wait for a while, though, because I have Jacqueline's The Bad Wife on my TBR list , and I've just added Patricia's Mistaken Identity to my Kindle.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Allan,

      Selfishly, I'd love you to read THE BAD WIFE. It's the 4th Kim Reynolds mystery and I believe in certain ways the most important. Like you, Patricia Gligor's MISTAKEN IDENTITY is one of my summer reads--actually what I'm reading next. I enjoyed the previous novels in her series, much in the style of Mary Higgins Clark, another all-time favorite mystery/suspense writer.

      Delete
  8. I do not plan to read the new book from Harper Lee. It's clear that she did not want it published, since she had many, many years when she could've released it. Publication of it now is a sheer money grab and I will not contribute my hard-earned money to feed the greed. For those of us who are authors and have books we hope will never see the light of day sitting around, it's a good reminder to shred the printed manuscript or wipe it off our hard drive forever.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Karen,

    I agree that Harper Lee did not intend for this book to be published. But I still think it's worth reading. Just because she is an important author in American literature.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I enjoyed this post, Jacquie, especially the second paragraph, where you mention a few quotes from writers about TKAM. Very interesting. I'm especially looking forward to reading CAUGHT READ-HANDED by Terrie Farley Moran and PEACHES AND SCREAM BY Susan Furlong.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi, Gail,

    Yes, those are definitely books I would like to read as well. Thanks for placing them on our summer reading list.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'll be reading Watchman right after I finish re-reading Mockingbird. I'd like to come to my own conclusions about Atticus and his attitude. I'll be honest, the amount of bickering going on about race in this country is making me depressed. I went to a reading of Mockingbird at my local Barnes & Noble last night, and no one was there to read with me. It was terribly disappointing. Here I was ready to read a book that highlights the evils of racism, and no one wanted to participate? Where were all the people who've been shouting, "We need to change hearts and minds to end racism!"?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for commenting. I am surprised no one showed up at the B&N store.

      Delete
  13. A most provocative comment, Jacquie. I will read Lee's first novel, I expect, since this afternoon our local bookstore, who has been kind to me throughout my writing career, is offering refreshments (esp drinks mentioned in Watchman) in hopes of selling copies of the book. So I will buy it, read it, and yes, form my own opinion of Atticus. Then I'll re-reread Mockingbird and with considerable interest, I hope, see how one book led to the other.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nancy,

      Somehow my response to your comment wasn't matched up. So I'll place it here and risk repeating myself. Let us know the opinions you form from reading and comparing the two novels. You have excellent literary insights.

      Delete
  14. Years ago several editors said they had worked for months on TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, but got no credit from the author when it was such a success. To a person, they refused to help when she came with another manuscript. I loved their joint effort.

    I just read THE KILLING OF KAREN SILKWOOD. Written by a news reporter in newspaper style, it was fascinating, but I am an Oklahoman. I recommend it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sharon,

      I saw the film based on the book starring Cher many years ago. It was powerful and disturbing.

      Delete
  15. Let us know opinions you form from reading and comparing the two novels. You have excellent literary insights.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Watchman is on one of my book club's lists. We shall see if it lives up to Lee's literary rep. Reading dark Moon asap! Nice post.

    ReplyDelete
  17. We received the July 27th issue of TIME Magazine a few days ago and I started reading it. On p.55, in the Books section there is a review of Watchman by Daniel D'Addario. It's also well-written. I think Watchman will have appeal to those interested in how a rejected book--raw material in effect--was used to create an outstanding novel. Something negative turned into something positive. As I've often observed, good editors should be highly valued by writers.

    ReplyDelete