Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

So what do you do when you buy the most talked about book of 2015, but are scared to read it because you don't want the perfection of the only other book by the author to be tainted? Yip! You put it off for a bit, and then bite the bullet!

I went into Go Set a Watchman thinking I would really hate every minute of it. I had heard things, things I did not like the sound of, things about characters I had respected being completely different, things about a certain other character being dead. Yip, I went into this expecting to hate it. And I didn't.

Go Set a Watchman is set nearly twenty years after To Kill a Mockingbird. Once again, I am sitting wondering how to say anything without spoiling things. If you are anything like me, I like going into a book knowing as little as possible. But talking about a book, by saying as little as possible, is near IMpossible. So what can I say? Yes, this book is about Scout, now mostly known as Jean Louise. Yes, someone is dead, and no, after reading To Kill a Mockingbird I did not feel that was touched on nearly enough to my satisfaction. But then, this was technically written before To Kill a Mockingbird - but I will get into that later. Some characters are very different. Pedestals are knocked down. Maybe it is a good thing? Maybe it is good to realise that men are fallible, no matter who they are. Some old favourites do not feature. There is no Boo; Miss Maudie was only mentioned as having existed (I think it was her at least, it was definitely one of the neighbours); Mrs Dubose returned from the dead. And then there is a new character who apparently grew up with Jem and Scout. Those were the unsettling parts - parts that either went against canon or my expectations.

But this book was written before To Kill a Mockingbird. This is where Harper Lee got her ideas, and for that, I thought this was a fascinating read. I liked seeing the raw characters, before they were honed and shaped into the characters I know so well. It is a 'rough' book though. It could do with some editing. But as Harper Lee did not want this book made public, I can't hold that against her. In fact, from the perspective of a wannabe writer, I found that it was not the final draft very enlightening too.

I was really concerned that this book was going to taint To Kill a Mockingbird for me but if last year's G10 class couldn't do it, nothing could I don't think it has. Although I think I might view some characters as being a bit more human than I always have, and I will probably always mourn another one.

I am glad I read it after all.