The year of found manuscripts: Go Set A Watchman

Go Set a Watchman has been heralded as the literary event of the year, but in the minds of many literary reviewers, the novel fails to meet expectations.

Like many students, one book I was required to read was Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird.

In high school, the words "required reading" would be generally followed with a melodramatic eye roll and disgruntled sounds, reminiscent to a monkey haphazardly pounding an anvil. But when you are young, everything is melodramatic. Being required to do anything, for me, created a certain lethargy and unwillingness to comply.

After being assigned the text, for one night I stared at To Kill a Mockingbird. Before sleep, I even placed it as a head rest, hoping to transfer the book via osmosis. The next day, I finally read the first paragraph, and I discovered the wonderful world of Maycomb, Alabama -- its characters, traditions and struggles.

For most people, To Kill a Mockingbird is connected with their past. Besides The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAM) is one of the few books all students living in the United States read or faked to read. The characters of the book, even though it was written 55 years ago, still appear vibrant, relatable and dynamic. There is not much more praise I could already add that has not already been said or written.

Imagine my surprise when I learned that a follow up to TKAM was to be released.

Go Set a Watchman (GSAW) has been heralded as the literary event of the year, because since 1960, Lee has not published another book. It is of little consequence that many book sellers, including Amazon, stated they have not seen so many pre-sale orders since the last Harry Potter book.

Before my book was shipped, I noticed a number of critical reviews edge its way to the surface of my news feed. They carried such titles "Atticus is racist," and so on. The preface my initial reading, I decided to avoid the criticism in order to let myself devise my own opinions with little influence.

After finishing the novel, I read many critical reviews, and I can sadly report the reviewers were mostly right.

GSAW is slightly removed from the world TKAM took place, where at certain points, it reads like a parallel dimension. The Atticus Finch that appears in GSAW is not the same as the character as in TKAM, and yes, he does have racist tendencies. This change in character creates a jarring effect for the reader, many of whom have grown up with a different impression Atticus: a literary father -- the archetype who distinguished right from wrong and fought for justice, while many from his community fought against his actions.

Reading is an intimate experience, and when the book is well written, it is an existential journey inward. For me, the character of Atticus was set from a young age, and partially developed by Gregory Peck's portrayal in the 1962 adaptation of TKAM. Even though I tried to separate the GSAW from its predecessor, I could not help thinking how less I would have enjoyed GSAW if it had not been for TKAM.

Harper-Collins, publisher of GSAW, initially marketed the novel as a sequel. That is a point of contention. It is true GSAW is set a couple decades after TKAM, but the problem exists in narrative structure. After reading the first couple chapters, it becomes evident GSAW was never originally intended to follow its predecessor, because each of the characters and their backgrounds are reintroduced, and the book makes hardly any reference to the former, except in the case of Tom Robinson.

Many might remember Robinson as the individual defended by Atticus, in TKAM. In TKAM, Robinson was accused of raping a young white woman, and was found guilty despite evidence to the contrary. In a brief sentence in GSAW, the outcome of the trial is changed: Robinson, in this version, was found innocent. This was just one of the many differences between the two books.

After reading reviews and the history of the GSAW, I later learned GSAW was Lee's first attempt at submitting a novel. It is from my understanding Lee's editor suggested she take another narrative path with the novel: rewrite it 20 years in the past. In a couple of passages where Lee writes about Scout's reminiscences, the novel really shines. When I read those passages, I could hear her editor in my head screaming, "Wait! Go in that direction!"

Many people over the last couple of months have asked me to give my opinion on GSAW. For me, GSAW is not without value, but it is of niche value. This is a great example on how books are adapted and edited before they reach the press. Rarely do first drafts become great novels. This book would have greater value to me as a reader if it was presented in a purely academic manner, not as a stand alone novel intended for publication. The truth is, many consumers were duped by Harper-Collins into thinking this book is something that it is not: a completely polished work, purposefully intended to take place after TKAM.

For a more in depth look at GSAW, visit my friends (Samuel Zurcher and Patrick Feild) and my podcast at infinitegestation.com or look for Infinite Gestation on your mobile device in either the iTunes store or on Stitcher.

Grant is a staff writer for the Greene County Daily World. He can be reached by telephone at (812) 847-4487, ext. 19. He can also be reached via email at gkarazsia@gmail.com.