Review: 2 STARS
Would I recommend to a friend? No. Don’t do it. You’ve been warned.
Go Set a Watchman is a sequel to the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAM) by Harper Lee. The word “sequel” here is only meant in the chronological sense. The publishers refer to it as a ‘companion’ to TKAM rather than a true sequel or prequel. It takes place several years later and features a 26-year old Jean Louis Finch. However, the book was actually written before the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird as one of its first rejected drafts. When I heard this was coming out several years ago, I was very excited and bought the book right away. It then sat on my shelf, unread for years until I decided to finally pick it up recently.
Before I read it though, I scrolled through the Goodreads reviews where I was surprised to see so many readers saying that this book should have never been published and that it does not live up to its iconic predecessor, TKAM. I was warned. I did not listen. I thought, “This woman wrote a classic novel that was way ahead of its time. This even won a Goodreads Choice Award in 2015. There is no way it can be that bad”. I was wrong. Sadly, I have to agree with my fellow Goodreaders on this one. I feel disheartened at the fact that I must write a bad review for an author I respect so much. However, I think I owe fellow readers an honest opinion about it.
Here is where I thought the book was lacking:
The plot was very weak. About half of the book is a recounting of Scout’s childhood memories that are brought on by her visit to her hometown. This would have been great if it had eventually lead to something substantial or relevant to Scout’s present-day life. I kept waiting for something to happen, but all the events that take place felt a bit isolated and not conducive to the overall story.
The character development was also not a focal point. I understand that not all books are meant to have an intriguing storyline. In this case, I tend to look for strong characters to compensate for the lack of a well written plot. I did not find this either. The characters are familiar since we read all about them in To Kill a Mockingbird. So, I wanted to know more. What had they been up to all these years? How have they grown and developed? There are glimpses here and there of what that may have looked like, but I still felt like it fell short overall.
What made me keep going until the end?
Because of my personal principle of finishing everything I start (I am abandoning this as part of a new year’s resolution), I just had to get to the end of this. Principles aside though, I was desperate for a profound moment or maybe a plot twist to come out of nowhere and save this book. That is how badly I wanted to like it. Fortunately, there were enough passages of amusing narrative that made it possible to stick it out until the end. Unfortunately, I still did not find what I was looking for.
Then there is the political/sociological aspect of it. Throughout the book, Lee touches on aspects of racial issues in the South during the civil rights movement. It’s difficult to tell whether these parts were written with a pre-1960s audience in mind or if it was modified from its original version to appeal to a 21st century readership. Nevertheless, there are definitely important and relevant conversations to be had surrounding the ideas Lee puts forth in her novel. Some parts of the story seem a bit strange, but I could argue that Scout’s reaction to her discovery about her father is a bit of a hyperbole or an intentional exaggeration to get a point across about idealism. I may have been reading too much into things, but again, I was trying really hard to like this book.
I had high expectations for this book because of how much I liked To Kill a Mockingbird, but I was let down. With the amount of negative reviews I have seen for this book, it makes me sad that Lee’s reputation as an American classic novelist is potentially diminished in some people’s eyes because of the publication of this book. It’s exactly like when they make a reunion spinoff of your favorite TV show and it ends up failing so badly and ruining the idealized version of it that you had in your mind.
