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Go Set A Watchman - 1st chapter released and NYT review

Young_LoveYoung_Love member
Tenth Anniversary 10000 Comments 500 Love Its Name Dropper
edited July 2015 in Nest Book Club
Ok, you guys. The 1st chapter of Go Set A Watchman was released.

Also the NYT reviewed it. (some spoilers, I guess)

I haven't read the chapter, but after reading the review...I can't. The more I have learned about and thought about this book, the more my mixed feelings have turned really, really negative. And now this review?

I pre-ordered it when it was first announced, but now I think it will just go on my shelf unread.

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Re: Go Set A Watchman - 1st chapter released and NYT review

  • Here's another article from the NYTimes: ‘Go Set a Watchman’ Could Alter Harper Lee’s Legacy

    (Also some spoilers)

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  • RevJenRevJen member
    Ninth Anniversary 25000 Comments 500 Love Its First Answer
    I was never sure about this but I don't think I'm going to order or read it now.

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  • RevJen said:
    I was never sure about this but I don't think I'm going to order or read it now.
    I went ahead and cancelled my pre-order. 

    I just can't help but think that there's no way Harper Lee would want this. There have been statements from her that she's totally ok with it, but they are just "statements" released by her lawyer, not her actually speaking to a live person. 

    The whole thing makes me feel so gross.
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  • j*&p*j*&p* member
    Tenth Anniversary 5000 Comments 250 Love Its Name Dropper
    I don't think I can read this either. I was already feeling unsettled about it with all of the talk about it being unclear whether Harper Lee herself really wanted it out there. It feels like there was this finished earlier draft of To Kill a Mockingbird tucked away and too many people pressured her to put it out there.   
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  • Nope.  Ain't gonna do it...

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    90 books in 2015?
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  • I did a pre-order too. I am thinking I wont read it now either. 
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  • I'm blown away by hearing these reviews, and they have only served to pique my curiosity about the book.  I can not wait to read it.

    It's interesting to me that this was really the original version of TKAM that she wrote, only to be told to rewrite it from young Scout's perspective.  I adore TKAM, and I'm uncomfortable with the idea of Atticus becoming something different in my mind than what I have always viewed him as, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to read the new book.

    And do you guys really think that this is not what Harper Lee wants?  I'm curious about why you think that, and if there is something that I've missed about this whole thing (admittedly, I haven't been following the whole story too closely for the last few months, just patiently awaiting the release).  She's alive - it's not like this is going on after her death and someone is misinterpreting her wishes or something.  I get the feeling that she's intentionally putting it out before she dies so that no one could misconstrue her actions that way.  It seems to me like she wants to see her original book published as written, and given some of the racial tension in the US recently, she thought now might be a good time to do it.  Maybe it was someone else's idea to begin with, but ultimately it would be her decision, no? (admittedly, I also know very little about publishing)  Sure, no one has heard anything directly from her mouth, but that's been the case for 50 years.  She doesn't give interviews, and never has.  Statements from her attorneys and publishers is the closest it gets.
  • I was so excited when this was first announced. Now I've just become really disenchanted with the entire thing. Given Harper's age and her choice to live her life privately for the last however many years, there's something about this that feels off.

    TKAM is one of my favorite books of all time and Atticus Finch is probably in my top 3 of most beloved fictional characters. I'm okay not reading it. 

    To answer your question @SusieBW - There's far too much of a media circus surrounding it for me to feel like it's all on the up and up. I actually don't think this is what she wants at all. In fact I think if she really wanted to release it, she would have totally pulled a Beyonce and released it with no publicity and let everyone lose their minds over it once it was available and been done with it.
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  • MrsC7MrsC7 member
    Seventh Anniversary 5000 Comments 500 Love Its Name Dropper
    Ditto @pinkybooklover09 on being disenchanted. I just don't see how GSAW adds value to the TKAM legacy. There is a reason the manuscript sat in a vault for so many years. 
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  • To answer your question @SusieBW - There's far too much of a media circus surrounding it for me to feel like it's all on the up and up. I actually don't think this is what she wants at all. In fact I think if she really wanted to release it, she would have totally pulled a Beyonce and released it with no publicity and let everyone lose their minds over it once it was available and been done with it.
    I could see that.  Maybe I just haven't paid enough attention to the background these last few months to really form an opinion.  But I'm still looking forward to reading the book.
  • @susieBW
    Harper Lee has said for pretty much her entire life that she would never publish anything ever again; that she said everything she wanted to say with TKAM. Her sister was her lawyer and her spokesperson and her advocate and she guarded Harper Lee's wishes and her privacy fiercely. 

    Her sister passed away recently. A few months later this manuscript was "found" and fast-tracked to publication with little-to-no editing. It's essentially a first draft, that was changed DRASTICALLY for publication. I can't think of a single writer I know who would be happy with a first draft of theirs being published, especially one that essentially negates what made the published version such a classic and seems to undermine the entire lasting message of the published version. 

    While she is alive, there have been quite a few reports of Harper Lee's failing health/memory and how she will sign anything that is put in front of her. Followed by the new lawyer-issued statements that everything is fine and she's super into this. 

    Funny that this all happens, everything that goes against what she seems to have been about her entire life, as soon as her fiercest advocate dies and she seems to be having trouble doing things on her own.

    It's just all very gross to me.
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  • @Young_Love
    Thank you for the background.  I had no idea about her sister being her attorney and her passing and the timing of everything.  That does seem a bit sketchy. 

    I know she always said that she wound never publish anything else, but I guess I just assumed that there must have been some reason for her to change her mind now.  Like I said, it seemed to me that with her advancing age and poor health, maybe she wanted to see this published under her watch rather than risking having it happen after her death.  The timing as you explained it is definitely questionable, though.

    It would be great if she were moved to speak up about it, but based on her history, I can't ever imagine that happening.  Interesting.
  • RevJenRevJen member
    Ninth Anniversary 25000 Comments 500 Love Its First Answer
    And I just saw something briefly about a third manuscript?  I didn't read the article so I'm not sure what they're talking about.  If I find it again, I will.

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  • abs05abs05 member
    Ancient Membership 500 Comments 25 Love Its Name Dropper

    That all sounds very icky. 

    To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my all time favorite novels.  I have no desire to read anything that might tarnish that.

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  • RevJen said:
    And I just saw something briefly about a third manuscript?  I didn't read the article so I'm not sure what they're talking about.  If I find it again, I will.
    OMG WHAT.

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  • MrsC7MrsC7 member
    Seventh Anniversary 5000 Comments 500 Love Its Name Dropper
    edited July 2015
    @RevJen The CNN link is broken, but Newsweek and EW are both reporting the same story. Her lawyer, Tonja Carter, nauseates me with this vaguebook shilling.


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  • OMG YOU GUYS THIS IS SO SKETCHY. 

    It seriously makes me uncomfortable. 
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  • Well, this article pretty much touches on everything that I was thinking about this whole situation. 
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  • MrsC7MrsC7 member
    Seventh Anniversary 5000 Comments 500 Love Its Name Dropper
    "Go away! Harper Lee" pretty much sums it up.
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  • RevJenRevJen member
    Ninth Anniversary 25000 Comments 500 Love Its First Answer
    I can't even. How do you sleep at night knowing you're taking advantage of an elderly person?

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  • @susieBW
    Harper Lee has said for pretty much her entire life that she would never publish anything ever again; that she said everything she wanted to say with TKAM. Her sister was her lawyer and her spokesperson and her advocate and she guarded Harper Lee's wishes and her privacy fiercely. 

    Her sister passed away recently. A few months later this manuscript was "found" and fast-tracked to publication with little-to-no editing. It's essentially a first draft, that was changed DRASTICALLY for publication. I can't think of a single writer I know who would be happy with a first draft of theirs being published, especially one that essentially negates what made the published version such a classic and seems to undermine the entire lasting message of the published version. 

    While she is alive, there have been quite a few reports of Harper Lee's failing health/memory and how she will sign anything that is put in front of her. Followed by the new lawyer-issued statements that everything is fine and she's super into this. 

    Funny that this all happens, everything that goes against what she seems to have been about her entire life, as soon as her fiercest advocate dies and she seems to be having trouble doing things on her own.

    It's just all very gross to me.


    Absolutely, 100% THIS.

    This whole story has not left the news here (her home state) since it was announced. This woman has lived such a private life all these years and people she's known for years can't even visit her without her lawyer's approval. It's sick and I feel awful for what her money hungry lawyer is putting her through. 

    Her sister was her fiercest advocate and not even 4 months after Alice passed away, this book was "found." 

    It has been made clear numerous times that this was an earlier draft of TKAM. Through revisions and editing the final product was ultimately TKAM.

    So yeah, I can't say that this is something Harper Lee wants especially after SO many years of never wanting to publish another book again, for her to finally decide she wants to publish an earlier draft of her novel.

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