Suggestions For Reading: 'Go Set a Watchman'

My Copy of 'Go Set a Watchman'

When it was announced in February 2015 that a new Harper Lee book was to be released, I like many other avid readers was ecstatic. 'To Kill a Mockingbird' is one of those rare books that lives up to its height with memorable characters, an ending with a twist, and perhaps most importantly a lesson in morality.  But this was to be no ordinary book Lee was releasing. In fact, what made this announcement even more exciting was her new book, 'To Set a Watchmen' was a semi-sequel to 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. Quite naturally my excitement and anticipation only grew. 

Now the announcement is not without controversy, which I won't get into here. I'm sure you've read about it. If not, a quick Google search will be able to provide you with amble information on the matter. No what I mainly wish to focus on is the book itself. I just finished reading it about a week ago. I'm sure that I am in the minority, but I enjoyed the book very much. But there were a few approaches I took while reading this book that I suggest you take, which I hope will allow you to enjoy 'Go Set a Watchmen' like I did.

1)  Even though the characters in both books are "the same". Don't view them as the same. I read a little bit of the history of both books, 'Go Set a Watchman' was actually written BEFORE 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. So even though Watchman is a sequel, don't view it as one. View it as its own book, that just happens to have characters that share the same names.

2) If you view Watchman as a direct sequel, be prepared for continuity issues that are pretty big. It is mentioned in Watchman that Atticus was able to get an African American man was accused of raping a white girl acquitted. Obviously if you read Mockingbird, you know that this doesn't happen. Additionally, Boo Radley or the Radley family aren't mentioned once in Watchman. But if you just view it as it's own piece of fiction, you will experience no continuity issues whatsoever.

Remember these too pieces I believe assited me in enjoyng this book very. I hope it helps you as well.