Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

[DennisK]

I didn't know exactly what I was getting into when I bought this book. My expectations were solely based on the author's reputation. Harper Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird which was an award winning novel, and as I've later learned, Go Set a Watchman was written before To Kill a Mockingbird. This puts me in temporal step with Lee's writings as I haven't yet read To Kill a Mockingbird. I understand she used some of the same characters in both books. I am looking forward to reading To Kill a Mockingbird because I have grown to appreciate the characters in her first novel. To revisit them is something I will enjoy.
I understand that this book was written during the 50's, and some may think this is a story about the rising tide of racial equality. Racial equality was only the backdrop to a story about youth and the maturing steps it must take when it comes to the realization its parents are fallible human beings. I must admit the story can carry a deeper meaning in that the American black culture, during that time, was coming to the realization that the white culture wasn't all that it was cranked up to be – a time when the black culture began to mature. If you want to dive deeper into allegory, this book can take you there, and I believe it will show you a perspective that is humane, and loving.
If you chose to read this book, expect to be taken into the American deep south. Expect to be swept up by the innocence and antics of youth at play, warmed by parental love, and tossed about by the turbulence of reaching adulthood. Expect to be possessed by the characters Harper Lee created, and expect to be given something to think about ...

[Ryan]

Duplicated topic