Go Set A Watchman Review: ATTICUS FINCH IS NO LONGER GOD

I finished Go Set A Watchman yesterday and I'm not quite sure what to make of it. I actually had to receive a second copy from Amazon because the first had a printing error. I very rarely buy hardbacks, but as soon as I heard a new Harper Lee book had emerged from under the attic covers, I pre-ordered it without a second thought. Then I wondered what it would actually be like.

It's certainly more intellectual than To Kill A Mockingbird. The adult scout quotes Dorian Grey, we get old songs (a literary technique that I seldom acknowledge). She also smokes and drinks, and offers to have an affair with her old childhood friend, Hank. This is strange.

But it is only strange because we have all read the prequel to GSAW. In TKAM, Scout is a child, and only now do I fully appreciate the child perspective from which she wrote it. This book would seem much more shallow if we didn't have TKAM to start with.

And of course the main surprise (SPOILERS!) is that Atticus is not God. Jean Louise reminisces about how she always thought "What would Atticus do?"- echoing the phrase what would Jesus do. In TKAM, Atticus refuses to fight Bob Ewell (Those that live by the sword die by the sword)

A main criticism of TKAM is that Atticus is overly-moralistic, and now we know why: because to Scout, Atticus was God. And now that Scout has grown up and discarded her childhood nickname, she has to come to terms with the fact that Atticus does actually have flaws.

I'm saying this honestly that I always thought there was something fishy about Atticus. The way he spoke to Tom was courteous of course, but sometimes brusque. It is even more apparent now that Atticus cared most about the law- he valued the concept of the court beyond anything. He appreciates the black community, sure, he loves Calpurnia, but everything he does, including his visit to Helen after Tom's death, now feels like a triviality.

It's a strange, short book about Southern life. It is clearly a pre-manuscript of TKAM, with excerpts describing Aunt Alexandra identical to the descriptions in TKAM. It is funny,but subtely, and it feels like one has to force oneself to enjoy it at times. Nonetheless, pick it up, because it is an easy read and gives context and new perspectives on TKAM which would never have been thought of beforehand.

A solid three stars I think. However, this is hardly the book to stop the rampage of Farage and Trump,but it was only three days of my life anyway.