Go Set a Watchman audiobook

2015 Goodreads Choice Winner:Best Fiction So, I’m not going to lie. I was pretty excited when I found out that this book was coming out.I was even more excited when it showed up at my house. I know there is a whole controversy around this book but I just don’t buy it. I believe the story that was told. No, I don’t want to argue with you about it. No, I don’t want you to tell me why you’re right. No, I am not going to try to change your mind on the matter. So, please don’t think you’ll change mine.I had the wonderful experience of reading To Kill a Mockingbird (reread) while reading this one. It is absolutely the best thing you could do. Reading them together allowed me to see it as one full story arc, rather than a book and its sequel. It truly read like one book to me. I always felt that TKAM was Atticus’ story. I realize Scout is the one telling it, but it felt like it was his story. GSAW feels like Scout’s story. Scout was always my favorite character from TKAM and perhaps that is why I enjoyed this one so much. Scout is forced to face some harsh realities; realities that turn her world upside down. The hardest part of growing up is realizing the world is nothing like what you thought it was. I remember facing these realities myself and I remember the devastating blows it delivered. "But a man who has lived by truth—and you have believed in what he has lived—he does not leave you merely wary when he fails you, he leaves you with nothing. I think that is why I’m nearly out of my mind.”I know there was a huge uproar about the change in Atticus Finch. I don’t think it was a change. I think it was there all along, but that we were too blind to see it. When Atticus defends Tom in TKAM he defends him because he knows him to be innocent of the charge of rape. In all reality it has little to do about the color of Tom’s skin. Atticus defended him for the sake of justice. I still disagree with a lot of the claims that Atticus is a racist. I think Atticus understood the bigger picture; that we are only capable to do so much only so often. I can’t fault him too heavily for that. The time period was different, the mindset or collective conscious if you will, was different. I’m not saying it’s an excuse or a justification. I’m just saying that sometimes the time and place of an event DO matter. It’s easy for us to sit here today and point fingers while yelling “You’re wrong!”. The fact of the matter is this: we can do what’s right most of the time and still be good people. In fact, it’s what most of us do. Look a little deeper in your heart and you’ll know I am right. Atticus is no different- and THAT is precisely where everyone’s problem with this book seems to be. It is hard for us to accept Atticus as a common person when we have held him on a pedestal in our hearts for so long. As far as I am concerned, he is still on that pedestal. If anything, I have a higher respect for him now than I ever did, if only because he is now a flawed human being; his character more realistic, more substantial. Scout is coming to terms with these things in the only way she has ever come to terms with anything- by throwing every ounce of her being into it. She is passionate and relentless in her beliefs and I can only admire her for her voice. She speaks those very harsh truths to whoever will listen and she does so loud enough for all of Maycomb County to hear. Why doesn’t their flesh creep? How can they devoutly believe everything they hear in church and then say the things they do and listen to the things they hear without throwing up? I thought I was a Christian but I’m not. I’m something else and I don’t know what.”If you go into this looking for a sequel I think you will be disappointed. If you go into it understanding that it is the whole story that has been there all the time, I think you’ll enjoy it. It opens the story up and gives us a greater understanding of TKAM. We are reunited with characters we love so innately that we feel their anguish as if it were our own. We get more tales of Scout and Jem as the young and reckless pair they were. The best thing you could do is read these two books together in hopes of seeing it as one. It will be on my list of favorites and I can’t wait to reread it in the near future.

Atticus Finch as racist. There it is. Tough to swallow, isn’t it? Atticus Finch, the embodiment of decency, brought to life in To Kill a Mockingbird, widely considered one of the greatest novels in American literature, magnificently brought to cinematic life by Gregory Peck in the film, defender of the powerless, dispenser of wisdom, a hero to generations of readers and movie-goers, spouting opinions that do or should make most folks cringe. Here are a few samples: …You realize that our Negro population is backward, don’t you? You will concede that? You realize the full implications of the word ‘backward’ don’t you? …If the scales were tipped over, what would you have? The county won’t keep a full board of registrars, because if the Negro vote edged out the white you’d have Negroes in every county office—…I’d like my state to be left alone to keep house without advice from the NAACP, which knows next to nothing about its business and cares less. …do you want Negroes by the carload in our schools and churches and theaters? Do you want them in our world? So what are we to make of this?First, let’s step back from the this version versus that one controversy and consider the book on its own. Jean Louise Finch (JLF) is returning to her home town for the fifth time since moving from Maycomb, Alabama to New York City. She sees the place where she grew up more clearly this time than she ever had before. She professes, based on her experience of having been brought up with exposure to all sorts, and having never been overtly taught to be a racist, to be someone who is color blind. That makes her unique in Maycomb, as everyone else has been very much aware of color all their lives. What comes as the biggest shock for JLF is seeing that her sainted father, a man everybody loves, and other people she cares for, despite their positive qualities, hold views that are shocking. JLF struggles to come to terms with this realization. The crux of the story is how she deals with this. While she is already physically an adult, Jean Louise must cope with coming-of-age truths. She realizes that when it comes to her appreciation for the people of Maycomb, dad included, she has been, as Jem describes in Mockingbird, “a caterpillar wrapped in a cocoon.” The watchman of the title is taken from a biblical quotation, (Isaiah 21:6), and refers to conscience. JLF tries to reconcile her conscience with what she now sees, and realizes had been present all along. She is anguished by her internal conflict. With amazing memories of her childhood in this town, it is a huge part of who she is. In facing the possibility of rejecting her father and the place in which she became the person she is, she is faced with rejecting a part of herself and that is the core conflict of the story. Harper Lee - from Smithsonian.comSet in a time when Brown vs the Board of Education had recently and unalterably changed the legal and social landscape, many in the South perceived changes mandated by that decision as nothing less than another war of northern aggression. One of the biggest strengths of the book is how it communicates the locals’ feelings about and arguments against Civil Rights, and particularly the activities of the NAACP. There is real insight here into the local psyche, from a true local. Another strength of the book is the clear voice of JLF, Scout as a kid, particularly in her recollections of a glowing childhood. The voice of Scout will take you by the hand and lead you through. It is the same voice that appears in Mockingbird, warm, familiar and welcome. I enjoyed JLF’s relationship with her uncle Jack, a character absent from Mockingbird. Jack offers a perspective that is definitely homegrown, but is also decorated with the baubles and gewgaws of an advanced education and unusual interests. The affection between JLF and Jack is palpable. Her interaction with Henry, a friend since childhood, was kludgy. There are moments of real connection between the JLF and the young man who wants to marry her, but so much of their conversation is peppered with excessive use of “honey” and “sweet” that it was distracting from the content of the interaction. It felt forced. The scenes in which JLF confronts Atticus are powerful and even upsetting, but she lays into him without even asking what was up. I do recognize that many people, and particularly the young, jump to conclusions, but I wondered whether Scout, who is portrayed as a pretty bright person, would really be so close minded as to form an opinion, particularly so strong an opinion, based on unexamined evidence. There is also some wonderful, and playful use of language, although the content reflects some of the very not 2015-politically-correct zeitgeist of the era. There are also beautiful passages that reflect the attachment Harper Lee, through her avatar, feels to her native soil.The political views on display are appalling, paternalistic, racist, sexist, homophobic, and do reflect the attitudes of the time and place depicted, I expect. But it galls to have characters portray their dark views as accepted wisdom and have far too much of that accepted by a character who should know better. In short, as a stand-alone there is much to like here, including some strong characters, a wonderful feel for place and a willingness to take on serious and controversial subject matter, but there are plenty of flaws as well. Go Set a Watchman is no classic. Of course Go Set a Watchman would not have become the literary event of 2015 had it not shared DNA with a novel widely regarded as one of the best American novels ever written, To Kill a Mockingbird. And just in case you are newly arrived on our planet, perhaps are recently thawed out from an extended cryogenic holiday, or have just come to after a nasty crack on the head in 1960, Mockingbird recounts, through the eyes of the grown-up Scout, a time when she was six years old and her father, Atticus Finch, was called on to defend a black man accused of raping a white woman. It offers a view of a golden childhood and a principled father taking on the bigotry of a deep South town in service of justice and decency. If you have not yet read it, go, scoot, scram, take a hike, go find a copy, and come back when you are done. Ok, read it? Good. There has certainly been a lively reaction to Go Set a Watchman. Would that reaction have been different if there had never been a Mockingbird baseline against which to compare this version of Atticus? That is something we can never know. But it is helpful to think of To Kill a Mockingbird as the second and final version of Nelle Harper Lee’s (Yes, Harper is her middle name) seminal novel. Go Set a Watchman was Mockingbird 1.0. Harper Lee sold her book to the publisher JB Lippincott in 1957. But it was deemed not ready for prime time. I do not know the specifics of what editorial direction Lee was given by her editor, Tay Hohoff, other than to focus on the time of Jean Louise's childhood. Racism is taken on very powerfully in 1.0. There is less telling and more showing in Mockingbird. The childhood recollections here, while wonderful, do not occupy as much of the stage as they do in version 2.0, but you can certainly see how an editor might laser in on those as strengths to magnify when trying to improve the book. And if one is then going to re-set the primary stage to the time of Scout’s childhood, it makes sense to make Atticus more purely heroic. In fact Mockingbird was intended to have been titled Atticus.There is danger, of course, that this original depiction of Atticus will forever tarnish the gleaming ideal of a man we admire so from Mockingbird. Why splash racist graffiti over a cherished icon? Actually the racist element was there from the start, in this 1.0 version. It is instructive to see how Atticus evolved in the writer’s molding from the crusty first version to the graceful, fine character that illuminates Lee’s ultimate masterpiece. There is no need to overstate Atticus’s racism in Watchman. In reviews and commentary some elements have been taken out of context and misrepresented. The KKK thing, for example. Atticus states that his purpose in joining was to find out who was behind the masks, not to further the organization’s agenda. Another item pertains to a racist screed handed out by a lunatic and found by JLF in her father’s home. Atticus agrees that the author is a nut, and that he had been granted the right to speak at the town council, as any other nut might have. Atticus does not subscribe to the views in the pamphlet. He subscribes to enough, though, to cause all who know where his character ends up in version 2.0, to take a large step back. You can get a taste of that in the quotes at the top of this review. It continues on, with nastiness about the NAACP, legalistic hogwash about SCOTUS violating the 10th Amendment, a general sense of feeling under assault by outside forces, and a paternalistic notion that all would be just fine if those northern rabble-rousers would just let Negro advancement proceed at a more measured pace. This is crucial, I believe, to one of the strengths of Watchman. While the views held by the residents of Maycomb, as represented by Atticus, Henry and others, may not receive a universal welcome in 2015, I believe they do fairly represent the beliefs of most educated southern whites during this era. The book might have been instructive to northerners, had it been released in its original form, as to the nature of the strident opposition the civil rights movement faced. As such, Watchman offers a valuable guide to a time and place, where even folks most at the time would consider pretty decent, like Atticus, maintained views that, while they remain widespread among some segments of our population today, are now generally seen as abhorrent. There are other interesting elements that come from a consideration of the novels set side by side. What remains? What is lost? The courthouse where Scout watches Atticus heroically defend Tom Robinson in Mockingbird is a real place in Monroeville, Alabama, Lee’s birthplace. In Watchman it is a scene of horror as Jean Louise sees a racist propound his views in a public forum in which her father and friend are principal players. Calpurnia, the Finch housekeeper in Mockingbird plays a major role in Watchman as well. In one particularly chilling scene, Jean Louise, who had seen Cal as a nurturing force her entire life, now wonders if Cal ever really cared for her or, instead, saw her only through a racial lens. Dill, her avatar for childhood pal Truman Capote, is present in both novels, but Boo Radley was added in Mockingbird. Henry is gone from Mockingbird. JLF’s brother, Jem, a major character in Mockingbird, is much less of a presence in Watchman.Go Set a Watchman may occupy a place in the shadow of what was to come, but it does offer insight into the author, her take on the world in the late 1950s, and into her characters. As a blood relation to one of the greatest books in American literature, it is most definitely worth reading. Published - 7/14/15Review – 7/24/15=============================EXTRA STUFFHarpercollins has made a FaceBook page for GSaWRobert McCrum’s review in The Guardian is quite informative - Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee review – a literary curiosity A Charles Leerhsen article in the June 2010 Smithsonian is also worth a look - Harper Lee’s Novel AchievementA nice bit of extra intel on Tay Hohoff, Lee’s editor in this article by Emma Cueto on Bustle.com, Harper Lee's First Editor, Tay Hohoff, Had A Lot To Do With Creating 'To Kill A Mockingbird', So Here's What You Should Know About Her The reading group guide is now available here2/19/16 - Nell Harper Lee passed away today - her contribution will be live forever

(edit: in the original review of this novel I gave it three-stars, after 24-hours of thinking about it I decided to upgrade it to four-stars, thus giving it the same rating that I gave to To Kill A Mockingbird)This book is the literary equivalent of those reunion episodes of Entertainment Tonight. The whole cast of some old sitcom get together and you just spend the whole time thinking about how old everybody looks. The basic plot of this new sequel/prequel/first draft of To Kill A Mockingbird is that our beloved narrator, Scout (now Jean Louise), is now in her twenties and returns from New York to visit her father, Atticus, in Maycomb. However, Atticus has changed in these years and now hold views and opinions that greatly upset Jean Louise. That's basically it.Reading the first page of this novel you are immediately dropped into the familiar prose and voice of Lee's masterwork. Maycomb is alive again in your hands. The novel simmers along at a steady pace as Jean Louise reminisces about her childhood in the town and about her life now. Then about half-way through the plot turns as we discover about what Atticus has been up to. Unless you have been living under a rock then you already know what I'm talking about but if you don't know then I'll tell you, (view spoiler)[HE'S A BIG OLE RACIST (hide spoiler)]. The rest of the book is spent with Jean Louise trying to comprehend her father's new views and it fizzles out after that. The ending of this was far too saccharine for my liking. TKAM was brutal at parts but there is no brutality in this book. It takes a fairly safe and maudlin approach to telling its story. I wouldn't call it bland but it is certainly quite vanilla.However, if we look past these minor qualms we still have a thoroughly enjoyable novel by one of the 20th century's most celebrated writers. Celebrate that. TKAM purists might hiss and groan at the mere existence of this book, but don't listen to them. This is a good book.

Go Set a Watchman is a novel about growing up; it is a story about seeing the world as it truly is and not how we wish it to be. Not everything is perfect and not everything can be separated by such a simple barrier as black and white. “Had she insight, could she have perceived the barriers of her highly selective, insular world, she may have discovered that all her life she had been with a visual defect which had gone unnoticed and neglected by herself and those closest to her: she was born colour blind.” I understand why many readers did not enjoy this book. After To Kill a Mockingbird they were likely expecting certain things; they were probably expecting something similar, something with the power to evoke the power of childhood and all the adventures that go with it. They were probably expecting more childhood antics from Scout and Jem. That’s not this book, though that doesn’t necessarily mean this book is bad. It is something entirely different.This book seeks to break through those early ideas Jean had of the world. In To Kill a Mockingbird she saw the world with a child’s eyes and could not comprehend that the world is a complex place. She worshipped Atticus as a hero, though no man is completely just in his actions: no man is perfect. Atticus has always been a white knight to Jean, a crusader for justice, though the real world is an endless stream of grey. And as such this book shatters the assumptions of its predecessor. “Blind, that’s what I am. I never opened my eyes. I never thought to look into people’s hearts, I looked only in their faces.” Have you ever loved a racist? A strong question, though one that needs answering. What do you do if your family hold views that are uncompassionate? What do you do if they meet and discuss with renowned racists that call themselves your neighbours? You love them more, that’s right. You try to show them the error of their ways and you try to teach them that they are, in fact, wrong. Atticus, for all his rhetoric in the defence of injustice, has become old and not quite ready to step into this new world. Segregation is coming to an end and he fears for the future of his country. He fears for a country that may come to be governed by uneducated blacks and controlled by their inexperience. He wishes to keep the separation laws, though in his misguidedness he defeats his own arguments. His ideas would only seek to stem the flow of history. He should be looking forward and looking for ways to make all men equal. Jean is starting to understand that people’s motives are driven by more than what she sees on the surface. Her memories begin to change as she comprehends an alternative perspective. The world she thought she knew, the world she thought she loved, does not really exist. She perceived it wrong and coming to terms with it tests her individuality, her courage and her strength in the face of tyranny. Go Set a Watchman is a fantastic book, and in many ways it does transcend the naivety of To Kill a Mockingbird. However, I don’t think it should be read unless you have already read Mockingbird. The books speak to each other, as age does to youth, and should be read together.

When I read To Kill a Mockingbird for a second time this last May, I realized I didn’t like Atticus Finch nearly as much as I remembered liking him. He seemed too perfect, almost frustratingly so. And as Scout is only a child narrating that story, she puts her father on a god-like pedestal that is understandable when everyone tells her how integrous and upright and honest he is.So while reading Go Set a Watchman, I couldn’t help but be a bit pleased to see Atticus Finch humanized. I know, contrary to popular opinions about this book, I really enjoyed reading from Scout’s perspective as the harsh reality of seeing one’s idol knocked down happened before her own eyes. She’s twenty-six now and returning to small, smarmy Maycomb, Alabama. She’s coming from the big city, with a new perspective, conflicting with the ones she assumes everyone else now holds. Her childhood might not be as ideal as she remembers it, or at least the repercussions of Atticus’s methods of child-rearing aren’t as positive as one might assume. And now Scout has to face the harsh reality of differing opinions, seeing the ones she loves drift from her, as she comes into her own opinions.I found Scout’s internal struggle to be incredibly interesting to read about. It’s scary and hard to try and reconcile one’s upbringing with the newfound beliefs of becoming an adult. And while the book had some problematic moments, I found overall that I resonated deeply with Scout’s journey. I didn’t mind seeing Atticus as he is in GSAW, because A.) I’m a fan of To Kill a Mockingbird but in no way am I overly attached to that picture of Atticus and B.) the sad reality of life is that sometimes things aren’t as perfect as they might seem. Alongside that, knowing Harper Lee wrote this before TKAM helped me to try and separate the two stories. However, I do think that it’s difficult to see this novel without the source material of TKAM. But I don’t think it’s impossible to see both Atticus Finch’s as one and the same. This book does an interesting and, in my opinion, good job at explaining Atticus’s actions (not that they are justifiably good, but that they at least can be actions taken by the same man from TKAM), even to the detriment of Scout’s image of him.I meant to keep this review short, but as you can see from this book sprouted a lot of ideas in my mind. It had me thinking about the transition from childhood to adulthood that everyone must at some point come to terms with. And though I wish it had been more fleshed out—it’s an early draft and wasn’t edited before publication by Lee’s request—I was happy with how the story resolved. I think it leaves enough to the imagination and mind to keep considering the issues, while giving a sense of closure for Scout. 4/5 stars

Go Set a Watchman (To Kill a Mockingbird #2), Harper LeeGo Set a Watchman is a novel by Harper Lee published on July 14, 2015. Go Set a Watchman tackles the racial tensions brewing in the South in the 1950s and delves into the complex relationship between father and daughter. It includes treatments of many of the characters who appear in To Kill a Mockingbird. Jean Louise "Scout" Finch, returns to her hometown of Maycomb, Alabama, from New York. While on her annual fortnightly visit to home, she is met by her childhood sweetheart Henry "Hank" Clinton. Clinton works for her father Atticus, who is a lawyer and former state legislator. Jack, Atticus's brother and a retired doctor, is Scout's mentor. Their sister Alexandria runs the house and took Calpurnia's place when she retired. And ... عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «برو دیدبانی بگمار»؛ «برو دیده‌ بانی بگمار»؛ نویسنده: هارپر لی؛ انتشاراتیها: (تندیس، چترنگ؛ افراز، میلکان، قطره)، تاریخ نخستین خوانش روز هشتم ماه دسامبر سال2015میلادیعنوان: برو دیدبانی بگمار؛ نویسنده: هارپر لی؛ مترجم: ویدا اسلامیه؛ تهران، تندیس، سال1394؛ در335ص؛ شابک9786001821646؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده21معنوان: برو دیدبانی بگمار؛ نویسنده: هارپر لی؛ مترجم: سمانه توسلی؛ تهران، چترنگ، سال1394؛ در224ص؛ شابک9786009585809؛ عنوان: برو دیده‌ بانی بگمار؛ نویسنده: هارپر لی؛ مترجم: محمد عباس آبادی؛ تهران، افراز، سال1394؛ در277ص؛ شابک9786003261983؛ عنوان: برو دیده‌ بانی بگمار؛ نویسنده: هارپر لی؛ مترجم: روشنک ضرابی؛ تهران، میلکان، سال1394؛ در224ص؛ شابک9786007845172؛ عنوان: برو دیده‌ بانی بگمار؛ نویسنده: هارپر لی؛ مترجم: شادی حامدی آزاد؛ تهران، نشر قطره، سال1394؛ در335ص؛ شابک9786001198298؛ با تبریک و عرض شادباش به دوستداران بانو «هارپر لی»، خوانش در حال بارش برف نو، باید دوباره بخوانم؛ داستان رمان در رابطه با «اسکات فینچ» است؛ که از «نیویورک» به «آلاباما» برمی‌گردد؛ تا از پدر خود «آتیکوس فینچ» دیدار کند؛ دیدار بیست سال پس از رخداد «کشتن پرنده ی مقلد» رخ می‌دهد؛ «اسکات» در این دیدار، در جستجوی یافتن باورهای پدرش، در رابطه با زادگاه خویش استنقل از متن: (از خود آتلانتا با تمام وجود از پنجره واگن رستوران قطار، هِی بیرون را تماشا کرده بود؛ وقت قهوه صبحانه اش نشسته بود به تماشای آخرین تپه های جورجیا که دور میشدند و آن خاک سرخ، با آن خانه های بام حلبیِ وسط حیاط های آب جارو شده، پیداش میشد؛ تو حیاط ها گلهای چشمگیر وِربنا درآمده بود که دورشان را با لاستیکهای گچمال حصار کرده بودند؛ وقتی اولین آنتن تلویزیون را رو سقف رنگ نخورده خانه یک سیاه دید، لبخند به لبش آمد؛ همینطور که بیشتر میشدند، او هم شادتر میشد جین لوئیز فینچ همیشه این سفر را هوایی میآمد، اما اینبار تو پنجمین سفر سالانه اش تصمیم گرفته بود از نیویورک تا تقاطع میکوم را با قطار برود؛ یک دلیلش ترس جانش بود، چون آخرین باری که سوار هواپیما شده بود، خلبان تصمیم گرفته بود تو همان هوای طوفانی پرواز کند؛ دلیل دیگرش هم این بود که با هواپیما رفتن، یعنی پدرش سه صبح بیدار بشود، و صد و پنجاه کیلومتر رانندگی کند تا موبیل و بیاید دنبالش و بعدش هم کل روز را برود سر کار و این برای او که حالا دیگر هفتاد و دو سال داشت، منصفانه نبوداز تصمیمش بابت سفر با قطار خوشحال بود؛ قطارها با قطارهای دوران بچگی اش دیگر فرق میکردند و تجربه چیزهای تازه هم سرگرمش میکرد: مثلاً وقتی دکمه ای را رو دیوار فشار میداد یکهو یک نگهبان مثل غولِ خپل چراغ جادو ظاهر میشد، به دستورش یک روشویی استیلِ ضدزنگ از تو آن یکی دیوار درمیآمد و یک توالتی هم بود که آدم میتوانست پاهاش را برای استراحت بگذارد روش؛ تصمیم داشت زیر بارِ پیامهای چسبیده رو در و دیوار کابینش، که بهش میگفتند کوپه تکی، نرود؛ اما شبِ پیش که خواست بخوابد، چون دستورالعملِ «این اهرم را تا روی قلابها پایین بکشید» را نادیده گرفته بود، فقط توانسته بود خودش را کنار دیوار لول کند؛ چنان وضعیتی که وقتی نگهبان داشت درستش میکرد کلی خجالت کشید، چون عادت داشت موقع خواب فقط بلوز راحتی بپوشدخوشبختانه موقعی که تختِ تاشو و او هم توش، یکهو بسته شد، نگهبان داشت تو راهرو گشت میزد و در جواب در و دیوار کوبیدنش از تو کابین گفت: «میارمتون بیرون، خانوم» که او گفت: «نه ممنون، فقط بهم بگین چطوری درآم.» نگهبان گفت: «رومو برمیگردونم اونور و درستش میکنم» و کردآن روز صبح وقتی بیدار شد، قطار داشت از منطقه آتلانتا آرام و تلق تلق کنان تغییر مسیر میداد، اینبار اما به پیروی از نشانه دیگرِ کابینش، فاصله ای را که به سرعت از کالج پارک میگذشتند، تو تختش ماند؛ لباس که خواست بپوشد لباسهای مخصوص میکومش را به تن کرد: شلوار راحتی خاکستری، بلوز آستین حلقه ای سیاه، جوراب سفید و کفش راحتی؛ با اینکه چهار ساعت دیگر راه مانده بود، ولی میتوانست از همینجا غرغرهای عمه اش را بشنود داشت میرفت سر وقت چهارمین فنجان قهوه اش که کرِسنت لیمیتِد مثل غازی غول پیکر برای همتای ایستگاه شمالی اش صدای بلندی درآورد و غرش کنان راهش را از عرض رودخانه چاتاهوچی به سمت آلاباما ادامه داد.)؛ پایان نقلتاریخ بهنگام رسانی 10/10/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 30/09/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

8/3/2020 update - Updating this review from 5 years ago because I've been thinking about Go Set a Watchman a lot lately. Similar to how Scout is dumbfounded by Atticus' involvement in a racist group, I'm shocked to see family members supporting political agendas which are contrary to everything they taught me growing up. The same people who instilled my respect for all races and empathy for the hardships of others are now citing Sean Hannity to say that Black Lives Matter is a dangerous extremist group. It seems inconceivable, and yet it's happening.I'm in this horrible position--almost exactly how Scout finds herself--where I can barely stomach my own family, because of how my own family taught me to be. I don't know the word for this situation--Paradox? Oxymoron? Twilight Zone?--but it's hard. I have no problem with differing political opinions. There's a legitimate argument to make over small government versus big government. But there is no argument over whether or not black lives matter.Many people have been disappointed by this book because it tarnishes one of the most beloved figures in the literary canon, but for me it doesn't take away from the perfection of Mockingbird. It simply adds another dimension, and a dose of grim reality. Sometimes the nicest people you know--sometimes even you yourself--are racist. Maybe it's unconscious, maybe it's masked with good intentions, but you still have to call it out for what it is. Watchmen, originally written in 1957, is unfortunately proving itself timeless, and more and more relevant every day.--Original review:If you haven't read Mockingbird recently, I would highly-highly recommend revisiting it before going into this book. Although Watchman was written before Mockingbird, it seems to expect that the reader is already familiar with the trial of Tom Robinson and the endless wisdom of Atticus Finch.In this book, Scout returns to Maycomb County at the height of racial tensions during the end of segregation. Scout, having learned sensitivity to the African American experience largely from her father, is horrified to discover that Atticus and her boyfriend are attending a community outreach where racists spout disgusting opinions. It is later revealed that her eavesdropping of the community outreach is not exactly as it seems, but Scout must still battle with the realization that her God-like reverence for Atticus is diminished by differing views on race.Knowing that this book was written first, it's astounding to me how superb it is in terms of a 'sequel'. It seems to already know how decades of readers have reacted to Mockingbird even without referencing any events in significant detail. Tom Robinson and the rape trial is alluded to with extreme brevity and yet that experience is crucial to understanding how Scout is the way she is.Although unedited, the prose is gorgeous and a delight to read. It has a more modern feel, which makes sense since the story takes place several years after Mockingbird. It's also shockingly timeless and relatable to many recent supreme court decisionsOVERALL: A wonderful extension of To Kill a Mockingbird that expounds on the issues of race rather than diminishes it. I had low expectations going in and was nervous at the possibility that it could 'kill' the classic novel. It doesn't cause a dent, and, in fact, adds substantial context and breadth to some of literature's most iconic characters. Harper Lee would be crazy to NOT want this published.

"Home for 19 hours and you've already indulged your predilection for ablutionary excesses,hah! A classic example of Watsonian Behaviorism – – I think I'll write you up and sendyou to the AMA 'Journal'." "Hush you old quack," whispered Jean Louise between clenched teeth. "I'm coming to seeyou this afternoon. "You and Hank mollockin' around in the river – –hah! – – ought to be ashamed of yourselves – – disgrace to the family – – have fun?"The editors of "To kill a mockingbird", got it right when they suggested to Harper Lee, she might think about trying again, (when she first presented 'this' manuscript). They suggested she focus on the flashbacks to the life in Maycomb, Alabama, during the Great Depression.... which definitely turned out to be the great choice, the better novel, than"Go Set a Watchman". Yet.....I still enjoyed re-visiting the characters....the small town....and I especially enjoyed the relationship between Scout & Atticus.....( inspiring love) "Go Set a Watchman" ...( divided into seven parts...a small book), has heart...(a little nostalgia for some of us). I appreciate it for what it is. 3.6 rating

Contrary to popular opinion, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I think what made this book tough for people is that it is the sequel to a classic that we have had over 50 years to appreciate. Over 50 years to get used to. Over 50 years to fall in love with.I think most of us picture Atticus as Gregory Peck defending his neighborhood from rabid dogs, defending the oppressed, and being the patriarch of a single parent household. When that truth becomes so ingrained in us, it is hard for us to accept something different, but that is exactly what Go Set A Watchman does.While To Kill A Mockingbird was about looking at the injustices of the world through innocent eyes, Watchman is about growing up, realizing the truth, and trying to accept difficult realities. For some readers, accepting the world of Atticus and Scout as anything less than perfect is difficult, but I like that Harper Lee took the risk.I think that if these books had come out a couple of years apart, there would be less complaining about new revelations. Readers would not have had a chance to settle in. New storylines likely would have been accepted as canon instead of unusual deviations.I recommend that fans of Mockingbird give this a try, just be prepared for a different kind of Maycomb.

I've seen that this book has been getting so much flack lately. But that's probably because everyone's treating it like manna from heaven and are therefore disappointed when it's not perfect. Let's remember this very important fact: Go Set a Watchman was written and then shelved by Harper Lee, who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird instead. Hmm... there's probably a reason she opted to do that. I, for one, loved this book for the simple reason that it isn't all sunshine and rainbows. It shows that how we view our parents when we're children may not be the same way we view them as adults, that everyone has a darker side. Thank you, Harper Lee, for showing the nitty gritty of life back in this time.

[4.5 Stars]

It's so hard for me to rate this book. IMO, there are roughly 25 pages that get 5***** and most of the rest is 2** at best. Let me explain.The first 100 pages of “Go Set A Watchman” are beyond awful. There’s no story, no focus, no direction, and the writing is abysmal. I have an image of the author reaching into a bucket of words and sentences and throwing them haphazardly into the air, leaving a pastiche of paragraphs scattered across the pages. The author is not in control of the book.Had I not been obligated to read the entire book because it was a selection of my book club, I would have stopped and that would have been a shame.Because ... when Jean Louise goes into the courthouse (yes, that courthouse) and sneaks upstairs (sound familiar?) to see her father (Atticus) listening without objection to an extended vile racist monologue that literally makes her sick, the book becomes electric. The sentences are sharp, the paragraphs make sense, there is direction and excitement. Alas, it does not last. After 20 or so sparkling pages, the rest of the book replaces story with diatribe, one long argument after another. The arguments are powerful, some of them, but there is no longer a novel going on. And so it goes, until one brief flourish at the end, where Jean Louise and Atticus and Dr. Jack briefly become people again. The last 5 pages made me cry.We understand that “Watchman” was a first novel, and that it probably never benefited from a good editor’s hand. If that was all there was to Harper Lee’s writing, we might say what a shame, there was real potential there. But then of course came “Mockingbird” and all of that potential was fully and magnificently realized. The same themes but without diatribe, a story told through the characters, wonderful characters, the anger of “Watchman” fully realized in one of the best novels of our time. Harper Lee apparently never wrote again, but then she didn’t have to.

Atticus Finch is probably one of the most influential characters in American history. To Kill a Mockingbird is Gregory Peck in black, rimmed glasses. Atticus Finch is not just a moral pillar for Scout and Jem but also for every grade school child sitting in a cold classroom on movie day. He does not live a moral code, but is the code by which we try to elevate ourselves. That is why Atticus Finch falls so easily in Go Set a Watchman. No one is Atticus Finch because he does not exist. He is an ideal, and idol, a set of standards that have been analyzed, criticized and every other –ed over the last 50 years. No one else has been able to create a character so compelling and stoic at the same time, but GSAW does something TKAM does not: make Atticus Finch a human. Jean Louise introduces an aging Atticus, and the reader sees that morals can age. Jean Louise learns about Atticus’ segregationist beliefs, and the reader learns that morals can be wrong. There is just something so wrong about Atticus’ character development (I know that “character development” is a tricky thing to say regarding the origins of this book but just go with it), and it is something that we feel to our bones shouldn’t be true. Jean Louise can never quite wrap her head around it even after confronting her father. How could her father do this to her? She is raised to be fair and good, but what can she do when she feels that fair and good no longer represent home? To say Jean Louise is experiencing an existential crisis would be an understatement, but it is a crisis that we all encounter when faced with the fact that our idols (parents or not) are just as flawed as we are. I cannot speak on the controversy of this book’s publishing because I do not know the truth. I cannot speak on how race should be interpreted in this book because I am not qualified, and there are better voices to speak on it. I can only speak as a daughter with a father, and I found the complexities of their relationship very gratifying and powerful. The book is very much a first draft—borderline misguided in some places but full of bright potential that would one day become TKAM—but it is interesting to see Harper Lee’s evolution of the story and characters. As we age, there are so many questions about where we come from, who we come from, how that affects us, where it will lead us, and I don’t think GSAW or anything can really answer those questions for us. It’s just important to keep asking them.

Yes, officially, I think this is a better book than 'to Kill a Mockingbird'. I love how it shows we build up a person in our minds and they might be more complex or simply different than what is in our minds. I feel this is such a well done character study of Atticus and how his principles and what he thinks make him a very complicated person. Walt Whitman said it best, "I contain multitudes." We all do and it makes us to complex and interesting. This book is amazing. I learned so much about southern people and attitudes. I have been so frustrated my whole life with how Southerns think and this book actually helped me to understand what's going on. It is a brilliant piece of literature. A true study of the many sides of people and small town thinking. Harper Lee did it all over again. I think I might enjoy this better than To Kill a Mockingbird.

If I could retitle this, I'd swipe it from Wolfe "You Can't Go Home Again". That's true both for Scout & those of us who think 'Mockingbird' is wonderful. This is not the same sort of novel at all. Where the first was tight & fairly simplistic since it was told from a child's POV, this novel wanders & is all atmosphere for the first half - almost boring. I was giving it 2 stars. Then it takes off like a train wreck - powerful, inexorable, & horrifying. Scout versus Atticus & Uncle Jack in a no holds barred cage match. It's a great picture of a very bad time & place in US history & I doubt most people will get much out of it. There's just too much prejudice & bias. Worse, most won't even realize this. They never do because they can't any more than a fish can see water.The Setting: Integration is being forced on the South by the Feds & the ACLU. It's an ugly time for all concerned & we're shown that as none of our favorite characters emerge unscathed save perhaps for Uncle Jack. We identify with Scout & she's perfectly right today, so unless a person has some knowledge of the day & area, they're not going to see just how mean she really is.Is Atticus a racist? Most seem to think so. This review sums up that attitude perfectly:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...Of course Kahnh, the reviewer above, manages to completely ignore Calpernia's attitude toward Scout which is just as racist. Is Atticus bad or wrong? Did he change? No, he's a good man in a rotten situation trying his best to do make an explosive situation easier for all. Sometimes there is no right answer. Scout is perfectly right, but she's really an idealistic bitch, typical of a 26 year old. Racism was a part of life & resolving it wasn't easy. It had to be done, although it was painful for all concerned & did so in a way that was very reminiscent of the war a century earlier.Lee's best & main point in this novel has been ignored completely & proved out in the form of South Carolina's Confederate Flag controversy today. It's incredible to me just how Northerners & Southerners argue around this subject without ever realizing they're not talking about the same thing at all. It starts with the perception of the Civil War (North) aka The War of Northern Aggression (South) over the Tenth Amendment. (Northerners say it was over slavery & won't hear any other answer.) Scout, Uncle Jack & Atticus speak well to this point, better than any other book I've ever read, but no one seems to have picked up on it & understood it in any review I've seen.IMO, Lee wrote this. I think her editor was right in getting her to write 'Mockingbird' instead. I can see why it stayed in a lockbox for years & think it should have stayed there, so greed of her executors probably took over, although I don't really know. I can't recommend this to anyone. It won't make a lick of difference except to ruin a great novel & characters for most. It was an ugly time with no good answers. Foreigners won't get it, no US citizen is going to change their mind.I listened to this as an audio book narrated by Reese Witherspoon. Her voice was about perfect for Scout who tells the story.Here is another review, similar to mine, but it contains spoilers. http://ireader.olivesoftware.com/Oliv...(My review got lost on a save. (Insert many bad words.) Try, try again, but the kids are here & up, so I'm jotting this fast. May have screwed up, so I reserve the right to go back & edit.)