Go Set a Watchman: A Novel

#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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288 pages

Average rating: 5.9

143 RATINGS

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10 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

Anonymous
Dec 11, 2024
8/10 stars
In a world where we embrace flawed, complex heroes such as Don Draper and Walter White, the uproar over Atticus being a "racist" is perplexing. We like Scout put Atticus on a pedestal. In To Kill a Mockingbird, he really wasn't a civil rights advocate. He was a lawyer ensuring his client got a fair trial. It wasn't a fight against Jim Crow. It was the defense of an innocent man.

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.
CambriaF
Jul 12, 2024
Go Set a Watchman, I believe includes a more complex and essential image to To Kill a Mockingbird, its prequel. Go Set a Watchman reminds the reader that racism and discrimination are defined and can progress through different times. While Atticus Finch originally was against racist acts in To Kill a Mockingbird, as he chose to defend the black man accused of rape, Tom Robinson, we see a different side of his character in Go Set a Watchman. Now grown up Scout comes back from college to realize this, reflecting on her own perspectives and idea of positive change in coordination with racism.
Anonymous
Mar 24, 2024
6/10 stars
I was disappointed in the characters, but I loved the ending. Taken on it's own with no comparison to the original the characters are real You might not love them but you connect with them. From a little girl who thought her own father was God like I enjoyed this book.
Anonymous
Feb 03, 2024
2/10 stars
If you love To Kill A Mockingbird, do not read this book. I read To Kill A Mockingbird in high school and then again in my mid 20s. I loved that book and what Atticus stood for. This book, oh this book. This book tarnishes that image and this book should not have been published. Seriously, I am severely disappointed. I understand that people grow older and their views change, but this does a complete 180 of Atticus's character.
margardenlady
Dec 27, 2023
8/10 stars
This was not at all what I expected after hearing some of the hubbub when it was released. It strikes me as the perfect seed for a movie, in which a Southern Jane-Austen-wannabe rails at the injustice of the racial divide in her world. The conclusions suggested by Dr. Jack Finch (uncle to scout) reveal a deep understanding of humanity in all its frailty, and yet my heart is still with Jean Louise in her desire for a better world than the reality in which she finds herself.

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