You’d probably better get cracking on that new Harper Lee novel if you haven’t already.
“Go Set a Watchman” is Lee’s first book in 55 years and has been eagerly awaited by fans of her classic “To Kill A Mockingbird.” The sequel has drawn comparisons to the massively successful “Harry Potter” novels by J.K. Rowling, what with “Watchman’s” midnight release and Amazon’s report that it was the most pre-ordered book on the site since 2007’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”
In Lee’s hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, a crowd gathered at a local bookstore to snag copies as the clock struck 12.
Indeed, across the country, fans who could get their hands on a hard copy, audio book or e-book seemed happy to do so.
In the new novel, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch has come of age and goes home to Alabama from New York. The sequel stirred controversy even before it was published, with chatter about Scout’s father, Atticus, becoming a racist.
Some readers objected to any need to add to the long-admired “Mockingbird.” There was even debate as to whether Lee was truly on board with the project after an anonymous complaint of elder abuse was filed. An investigation found that the author wanted the book published.
Under the headline “I Stayed Up All Night to Read ‘Go Set a Watchman,’ ” Kevin Nguyen writes for The Oyster Review that the novel “feels unfinished in places.”
“There are a lot of weird interruptions and fragments in places that are unclear whether they’re meant to be interior monologue or not,” Nguyen said. “Also, the last act of the book is didactic and leans too heavily on dialogue.”
Yet fans or even just the curious will not be denied. Much like “Potter” devotees who did not want to be left out of the conversation, expect to hear plenty about Lee’s new novel on social media soon.
But let’s be real, a “Potter” fan would have finished that book by now. So what are you waiting for?