Go Set a Watchman was the second book from Harper Lee that I read (considering she just published two books in her entire life, so this was surely the last book from her I could get my hands on). Originally, I was to read this book first before To Kill the Mockingbird because I just bought the book and the mere fact that the book is basically mine while the Mockingbird is my brother's. Then, my brother said that Go Set a Watchman was considered a lacklustre piece from the well-known Lee and that she should not have published it at all. I asked him had he read the Watchman but he said no; he just read others' reviews on the net (that's my bro, you just don't know what he reads). Thankfully, I read the Mockingbird first because the Watchman is a continuity from the Mockingbird (though Watchman was initially the draft of the Mockingbird. Well it's pretty confusing so mind yourself to check it on many websites that talk about these books).
The problem with me is if people tell me that a book, a movie, a restaurant, a person or anything is not good, then when I happen to get a chance to read, watch, eat or know them, I just naturally look for flaws. For this case, I blamed it on my brother; why he had to be such a Mr. Know-It-All? When I read Go Set a Watchman, I searched for flaws. And I found a number of them.
The thing I found most irritating in Go Set a Watchman was it was written in third person point of view while To Kill a Mockingbird was in first person. I guessed I would not mind it that much if I read the Watchman a little later after finishing the Mockingbird. The problem was, I read it almost immediately after the Mockingbird. It made the flow from the Mockingbird to Watchman to be awkward. Sometimes, I could sense that Lee also had quite a difficulty to adjust with her choice herself.
If you have read To Kill the Mockingbird, you probably revered Atticus Finch as a character bursting with charisma, intelligence and fairness. However, you might be of a different mind after reading Go Set a Watchman. Atticus's change of character would definitely break many of the Mockingbird's fans. I accepted that Atticus's stand towards coloured people could change, but for him to insult them like he never fight for them could never be more heartbreaking.
Ask any Mockingbird readers: what is the most memorable scene in the Mockingbird and they would answer the Tom Robinson's trial. However, this important trial had a different outcome in the Watchman. In the Mockingbird, Robinson was pronounced guilty of raping a white teenage girl (Robinson was a man of colour), but he was acquitted in the Watchman. I was like what the heck is going on here? I thought I was the one who remembered the verdict wrongly but it turned out that other online reviewers also question the same thing. So, it is not a surprise if you find articles/reviews that question who really writes Go Set a Watchman.
All in all, I agree that Go Set a Watchman is not a better work compared to To Kill a Mockingbird. However, although I had my discomforts while reading the book, I did not despise it entirely. I might reread it in some further future.
The thing I found most irritating in Go Set a Watchman was it was written in third person point of view while To Kill a Mockingbird was in first person. I guessed I would not mind it that much if I read the Watchman a little later after finishing the Mockingbird. The problem was, I read it almost immediately after the Mockingbird. It made the flow from the Mockingbird to Watchman to be awkward. Sometimes, I could sense that Lee also had quite a difficulty to adjust with her choice herself.
If you have read To Kill the Mockingbird, you probably revered Atticus Finch as a character bursting with charisma, intelligence and fairness. However, you might be of a different mind after reading Go Set a Watchman. Atticus's change of character would definitely break many of the Mockingbird's fans. I accepted that Atticus's stand towards coloured people could change, but for him to insult them like he never fight for them could never be more heartbreaking.
Ask any Mockingbird readers: what is the most memorable scene in the Mockingbird and they would answer the Tom Robinson's trial. However, this important trial had a different outcome in the Watchman. In the Mockingbird, Robinson was pronounced guilty of raping a white teenage girl (Robinson was a man of colour), but he was acquitted in the Watchman. I was like what the heck is going on here? I thought I was the one who remembered the verdict wrongly but it turned out that other online reviewers also question the same thing. So, it is not a surprise if you find articles/reviews that question who really writes Go Set a Watchman.
All in all, I agree that Go Set a Watchman is not a better work compared to To Kill a Mockingbird. However, although I had my discomforts while reading the book, I did not despise it entirely. I might reread it in some further future.
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