My honest confession about "Go Set A WatchMan" by Harper Lee

Go Set A Watchman

Harper Lee

August 02, 2015

(wrote this piece right after the book was published and posting now as a tribute to an author I admire)

Let me start with an honest confession. I read To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee years ago. How could I not read it? It is one of the greatest classics and to not read would have been a blasphemy for an avid reader like me and an English major (at one point). But I forgot all about it till the rumour of the release of Ms Lee coming out with a new novel.

To add to the suspense and the confusion was the fact that the debate before the release of the book was mostly centered around the issue that the novel was not a new book but perhaps a “prelude” or a “sequel” to her already best seller and the evergreen classic To Kill A Mockingbird. Part of me thought I should revisit the first novel so that I would be prepared for the release of Go Set A Watchman and part of me shamefully admitted to the fact that I had forgotten the names of most of the characters. But then I decided that there was nothing beautiful than holding a hardcover and diving into a fiction and letting yourself flow with the story, sometimes delving into a familiar terrain as you come across a story told before by Ms Lee.

As the clock strikes midnight and the monsoon rain reminds me of the after effects of the natural disaster that struck the beautiful land of Nepal, I get mesmerised in my reading. After all, it is the writing of Harper Lee who has managed to take me back to the complex era of the 1950s in the United States of America. It is about the girl named Jean Louise Finch or “Scout” to the residents of Maycomb, Alabama. She is a fiery young woman who comes home for a holiday from New York, who thinks she is a liberated Southern white female but the moment she is faced with the reality, she questions the identity and the existence of the ones she loves and cares. She perceives she has been shielded from the harsh reality of her fathers’ hypocrisy whereas her father, Atticus Finch, is an excellent example of how manipulative yet humanly altruistic one can be when life demands of a person.

The tales of father - daughter conflict that chose to surpass the test of time with the passing of the other prominent character, Jem Finch, from the earlier novel, the commitment of Henry Clinton “Hank” to be faithful to Jean Louise and her father in this story, the unspoken words of Calpurnia, the housekeeper who was with the family and particularly a mother figure to the colour blind Scout and the surprisingly pragmatic uncle, Dr. John Hale Finch, who plays a vital role, is indeed cleverly knit in this book.

The anecdotes like those of high school dance or post war trauma (subtle references to Holocaust and Ku Klux Klan) are brilliant reflections of innocence, perhaps how destructive we can be but also how complex human life was then during that era when human civilisation was struggling to create its own space based on identity. The story weaves these complexities beautifully. It is not a difficult read.

Keeping the controversy of the release of the book aside, I perceive this as a noteworthy piece of Harper Lee. We have been clearly biased for years by that one amazing work by Harper Lee and rightly so hence the book naturally feels a bit like part 2 to those of us who read the first piece by Ms Lee but I enjoyed the flow of the story. The emotions of the writing are clear. The story questions you, makes you angry, makes you think, makes you feel helpless but in the end, gives you the edge to decide for yourself as to how you would want to move, whether you want to stay back in the small town in Alabama (indecisive) or choose the independent life of New York City (path to freedom): be led or lead. The story does end as if there is going to be part 3 but that is just me hoping to read more from the same author.

So let me assure you great readers that this is an independent read. Those of you who read To Kill A Mockingbird would definitely feel a connection though at some point may wish you could relive in the masterpiece of the first book but those of you who have forgotten the context or have never read Harper Lee would find Go Set A Watchman a creative journey. I for one chose to detach the two books and it indeed became a great weekend read!