Author Harper Lee
Country United States
Genre Fiction
Publication Date July 2015
Pages 278
I am not one to pass strong judgements but guess a book review blog wouldn't be worth much if one didn't do that. And hence, my two cents worth on this book is that it's highly avoidable and definitely not worth your time and money. Just as some things are best left unsaid; I would venture that some books are best left unwritten. Once written, they unfortunately do significant disservice (especially to their highly acclaimed prequel) and that's exactly what has happened here.
Harper Lee's much hyped and awaited book 'Go Set a Watchman' builds on the same themes as the original and strives to weave together a compelling story. The characters are the same; having matured with time and age. While the issues raised in the book are as powerful as the original 'To Kill a Mocking Bird', the way it's been brought together leaves much to be desired.
Jean Louis is portrayed as a strong willed and independent young woman who has her own points of view and is not afraid to confront her once revered dad "Atticus" on what she believes is unfair and unjust. Her coming to terms with the reality of her dad not being a super human but being humanly flawed just like the others is one of the central themes of the book. The evolution of her relation with Atticus and how she finally accepts him for who he is and forgives him for weaving a perfect world for her child eyes is well depicted through the story.
Some of my favourite quotes from the book that bring these themes to life are:
"Had she insight, could she have pierced the barriers of her highly selective, insular world, she may have discovered that all her life she had been with a visual defect which had gone unnoticed and neglected by herself and by those closest to her; she was born colour blind"
"You confused your father with God. You never saw him as a man with a man's heart., and a man's failings - I'll grant you it may have been hard to see, he makes so few mistakes, but he makes them like all of us. You were an emotional cripple, leaning on him, getting the answers from him, assuming that your answers would always be his answers."
Despite the above seeming powerful inserts, on the whole, the book was really hard to get through and had it not been for my persistence to finish any book I start, I wouldn't have been able to accomplish this!
In a snapshot, I would describe this book as one with a powerful theme but repetitive story line and much talked of issues. And definitely not worth being mentioned in the same breath as 'To Kill a Mocking Bird'.
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So, do check it out and Happy Reading!
