Go Set a Watchman

A Novel

By: Harper Lee

Narrated by: Reese Witherspoon

Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Performed by Reese Witherspoon

Number one New York Times best seller

“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.

©2015 Harper Lee (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"All [characters] are portrayed by Witherspoon with perfect pitch and pacing, and the sure hand of a talented actress who is well aware of the region's racially fraught past." (AudioFile)

Another One Bites the Dust

Go Set a Watchman...we've waded through the obstacles of skepticism regarding whether or not Lee wanted this published, the multitude of speculations on the author's intentions and the publisher's machinations -- then debated whether or not we should read this...will it stand up to the highest of expectations. Because, there is no way to unread TKAM, and we WILL make comparisons, no matter how hard we try to evaluate this novel on its own merits. As with y'all...TKAM was/is/will remain a favorite.

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. So Good-Bye Atticus...Pillar of Morality.

There was a book that we used to read to children where turning the pages one way it was a richly illustrated fairy tale about a dragon that lured kids with his beauty, power and promises into his world. Once captured, he imprisoned and slowly destroyed them and everything they loved. This was a metaphor for drugs, and when you turned the book around and flipped the pages the other way, it was the very real world of drug addiction that the book explained, each page a true life depiction corresponding to the child's version. GSAW reminded me of that book -- the adult side, where with just a slight tilting of the balance, the illusions of childhood, the innocence and hopefulness that believes in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and Daddy as the hero, eventually give way to reality. GSAW is the flip side--the day you learned mom tucked the quarters under your pillow, the day you learned that comedian that seemed such a moral touchstone was a sexual predator -- the day you discovered that Atticus Finch thought the Ku Klux Klan was merely “a political organization”.

"Where have all the cowboys gone?" Watch out John Wayne....

The writing is at times that same prose that whisks you into the South and lets you languish there a while. I loved those parts and felt Lee's powerful talent. But there where sections more often that felt unpolished; they lacked the development more in line with Mockingbird. The story itself was a bit disorganized and needed somewhere for us to land, to catch up (Jem's dead...so what?). Adding to the jerky quality was the soapbox commentary that passed for conversation, and logic-head games moderated by characters that seemed created for that purpose because of the lack of foundation. Even after I reckoned myself with people not being who I thought they were, there were times, especially with Jean Louise, that I felt like the author wasn't sure either. It had glimmers of Lee's brilliance but not nearly the sincerity. Those are the complaints that I cannot squash knowing this is the work of Harper Lee, and trying to be as unbiased as I can without being schizophrenic. Those are the little glitches absent in her published works before, that have me wondering if Harper Lee truly intended for this to be published, and why it wasn't while her sister was her legal representation and caretaker...but that's just my head speaking out loud.

So, with our innocence smashed, and the shock of such a betrayal, we are left to judge whether or not we are disillusioned or enlightened. Whether or not that was Lee's grand plan we'll never know, and in some ways I'm selfishly saddened to have to watch another pillar crumble and blow away into the dust. But, after the blind assault on what I thought I knew, I found that what Lee had to say here may pack even a more powerful wallop than TKAM -- things I'm still thinking about. Had it been more structurally sound, I think Lee could have had a novel that at least, rubbed shoulders with its predecessor.

Finally the characters of TKAMB have some dimension and are no longer a "nice" story

If you're looking for an easy and casual story to listen to, turn around now. This book is deep but only if you go there with it. Otherwise, you will only take away the superficial feelings of Scout throughout the book. There is no clear right and wrong character in the book. The flashbacks all have purpose and there are many hardcore subjects addressed in this novel from feminism, racism, complex family dynamics, politics, religion and social hierarchy for all walks of life. Jean Louise's 26 year old self thinks she has the whole world especially her little home town figured out based off of the the things that she learned as a child and made a terrible assumption that things will always stay the same. The only thing that is constant in life is change and she is the one who ends up noticing it all in a matter of days and it rocks her world. I felt so many emotions while listening to this book and Reese Witherspoon did an amazing job delivering it. Especially Atticus' and Uncle Jack's demeanor. I can see why it was shelved so many decades ago by Ms Lee herself. Harper Lee was too progressive for her own good. Amazing books. Each one has their own integrity with or without each other. I'll listen or read them both again for sure.

Compelling

I was in conflict as to read this book or not. My curiosity got the better of me so I read it. I decided to approach the book as the draft for “To Kill a Mockingbird”. In many ways “Go Set a Watchman” has a true ring of a small southern town of the 1950s and the civil rights movement beginning. I am a firm believer that one should judge people and situations by the time they live in, not by our current values; I try to adhere to this whether I am reading a history book, a historical novel or just a novel.

The raw material of the two books is the same, though what Lee does with that material in either book is drastically different. “Go Set a Watchman” shows the conflict of a young woman looking at a small southern town during the period of civil rights era after living in New York City. In “To Kill a Mockingbird” the time period is earlier when the young woman was a little girl.

Lee’s writing is in good form, there is some phrasing that would have been cleared up if the manuscript had been allowed the normal editing process. I found it interesting how the original editor worked with Lee and took this draft and helped her create the award winning book “To Kill a Mockingbird.” As an avid reader I am always trying to figure out the process the author goes through in creating a book. Reese Witherspoon did an excellent job narrating the book.

Definitely must read again.

Things aren't always what we wish them to be. Growing up often means losing our heroes or at least seeing them through new eyes.

Bravo!!!

A must for Mockingbird fans! Reese Witherspoon was brilliant. "There is no more beautiful sound than an educated southern woman"--Winston Churchill

Loved it!

Once again Scout made me weep!
I loved the story, simple yet so full of wisdom. Amazing performance by Reese Witherspoon. Ended to soon!

Wow!

Enjoyed listening to this book. Witherspoon did an excellent narration. A really great story about coming of age in the American south...glad I re-read To Kill A Mockingbird before I read/listened to this....even though this was written first, it was nice to have the characters history....they complement each other well.

Well Worth The wait!

Harpers Lee' "mockingbird" is my favorite book, so I've been so hungry to read anything else that she had written. This story was compelling, familiar and unexpected.... I've just finished and I'm going to start all over again right this moment.

Go Set A Watchman

Would you listen to Go Set a Watchman again? Why?

Again and again! Brilliantly written, funny, sad, bittersweet, full of emotion, and I want to be a fly on the wall in their living rooms, cafes and offices again. I loved every scene and conversation, and want to go back with notes and write down the timeless themes captured in this book.

What did you like best about this story?

The fantastic dialog.

What does Reese Witherspoon bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her emotional connection with every character.

Who was the most memorable character of Go Set a Watchman and why?

Jean Louise (Scout). It is her story of her change and growth.

Any additional comments?

The comments I have heard before reading the book, that Atticus is a racist, is not the heart of the story. Racism is certainly a major theme in the book, but the father-daughter/parent-child conflict is the heart. Children's worship of their parents and then finding they have feet of clay, is Jean Louise's major emotional battle.

Another masterpiece by Harper Lee

A must read for everyone. Perfect choice for book club and discussion. Exquisite and profound.