Go Set a Watchman: A Novel
Look for The Land of Sweet Forever, a posthumous collection of newly discovered short stories and previously published essays and magazine pieces by Harper Lee, coming October 21, 2025.
#1 New York Times Bestseller
“Go Set a Watchman is such an important book, perhaps the most important novel on race to come out of the white South in decades." — New York Times
A landmark novel by Harper Lee, set two decades after her beloved Pulitzer Prize–winning masterpiece, To Kill a Mockingbird.
Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch—“Scout”—returns home to Maycomb, Alabama from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise’s homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town, and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt. Featuring many of the iconic characters from To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman perfectly captures a young woman, and a world, in painful yet necessary transition out of the illusions of the past—a journey that can only be guided by one’s own conscience.
Written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman imparts a fuller, richer understanding and appreciation of the late Harper Lee. Here is an unforgettable novel of wisdom, humanity, passion, humor, and effortless precision—a profoundly affecting work of art that is both wonderfully evocative of another era and relevant to our own times. It not only confirms the enduring brilliance of To Kill a Mockingbird, but also serves as its essential companion, adding depth, context, and new meaning to an American classic.
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Community Reviews
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
278 pages
What’s it about?
This novel follows the characters made famous in Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird". Scout is young woman returning home from New York to visit family in Maycomb, Alabama. On returning home she is confronted with the social prejudices of the South. For the first time in her life she is disillusioned with her father, a man she much admires, and his views on what is happening at the beginning of the modern civil rights movement.
What did it make me think about?
This novel was set in a time and place that I have trouble imagining. It was like reading a snapshot from a particular era. For that alone it was worth reading. What a different world people inhabited in the Deep South fifty years ago. I saw this novel as more than just about race- although attitudes on race create the major conflict in the story. This novel portrays a young woman growing into her own personal value system. As we all know, that is often a difficult road. Scout struggles as she finds her views on race differ significantly from her father- a man she much admires. Like many others I struggled with the portrayal of Atticus. While I was troubled by Atticus’s view on race, I much admired his parenting style- and this book was very much about letting your child grow beyond you.
Should I read it?
Harper Lee set out to share her experience of living in the Deep South in both her novels. In both novels the themes of race, justice, and family are explored. "Go Set a Watchman" was her first attempt at exploring these themes and it pales in comparison to her subsequent book. Should you read it? This was a hard choice for me as I am one of those who truly loved "To Kill a Mockingbird". I am not sorry I read, "Go Set a Watchman" but it is not the timeless classic that "To Kill a Mockingbird" is. For me this novel was interesting and very thought provoking, but not a literary masterpiece. It was an interesting look at difficult subjects. It also showcased how Harper Lee's writing evolved, how editing does make a difference in a finished novel, and how writer’s progress in their craft.
Quote-
"Every man's island, Jean Louis, every man's watchman, is his conscience. There is no such thing as a collective conscious."
Question-
What did you think?
6 stars
In Set a Watchman, we come to realize that perhaps Scout was not the most reliable of narrators. She sees Atticus in black and white terms. All good. He is her god. Watchman allows us to see Atticus as he really is, a complex, flawed man who is still lovable. Ultimately I was most disappoint with Jean Louise (Scout). She is naive and immature for her 26 years. Her character seemed to have the least amount of growth.
It may not become the classic that Mockingbird has but that doesn't mean it's not worth reading.
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