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In this Aug. 20, 2007, file photo, author Harper Lee smiles during a ceremony at the Capitol in Montgomery, Ala. Lee recently published a sequel to her standout novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird." "Go Set a Watchman" portrays the famous character Atticus Finch in a much different light from its prequel.
REVIEW
Lee's sequel succeeds in telling dark story
DEREK SKILLETT
@Derek_Skillett
It's been 55 years since Harper Lee's landmark novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" was first published. On Tuesday, "Go Set a Watchman," the book's sequel, premiered to the public.
First things first: this is a good book. It is also unfair to compare "Watchman" to its predecessor, as "Mockingbird" has the advantage of more than five decades of being broken down and analyzed by expert critics and literature classes across the world.
Similar to "Mockingbird," this novel is told from the third-person perspective of the girl known as Scout, now a 26-year-old who goes by Jean Louise Finch. The plot of the novel centers around a visit to her hometown of Maycomb, Ala., from her new home in New York City. During the visit, Jean Louise grapples with some extremely dark truths that she comes to learn about her father, Atticus Finch, and her longtime boyfriend, Henry Clinton.
Atticus became a fictional icon in "Mockingbird" as the noble white lawyer who attempts to defend a black man falsely accused of rape in Maycomb in the 1930s. In the book, as well as in the 1962 movie, Atticus is portrayed as the perfect father and an idealistic believer in truth and justice.
"Watchman" is set in the 1950s, where Atticus is revealed to be a segregationist, a racist and strong believer in states' rights. He has attended a Ku Klux Klan meeting and says such as, "The Negroes down here are still in their childhood as a people." Atticus, now a 72-year-old man suffering from crippling arthritis, also voices strong opinions about the NAACP paid lawyers who have
a presence in Alabama, more than once referring to them as "vultures."
This shocking revelation forms the crux of the novel and sets the main action of the book in motion. However, this revelation takes place almost halfway through the novel. The majority of the first half of "Watchman" serves as a setup for the events of the book, reintroducing familiar characters and introducing the main plot elements.
The revelation about Atticus may be shocking and offputting to some, but it reflects the feelings and attitudes of many Southerners during this particular chapter of American history, when the Civil Rights movement was building to a climax.
Lee succeeds in stripping away the "flawless father" image of Atticus, portraying him as a flawed man who was not immune to the deeply-held racist beliefs of Southerners in the 1950s.
As Jean Louise is told by her Uncle Jack, who serves to explain the politics of the South during this time, "As you grew up, you confused your father with God. You never saw him as a man with a man's heart and a man's failings."
The book itself is fairly manageable to digest. At 278 pages, more adept readers can finish it within a couple days.
The writing is simple to understand, and Lee manages to push forward the message of her story without resorting to cliches or convenient plot twists.
There are times when the book recaptures some of the brilliance of "Mockingbird." However, Lee uses a bit too much exposition to set up the main action of the story.
Although there is a very long buildup to an enthralling climax, "Watchman" is worth reading.