Apparently Harper Lee is publishing a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird. It was written back in the mid-1950s, and it's called Go Set a Watchman. I'm actually very happy about this. I'll be reading it for sure. More info here.
I saw that just now myself. Totally going to read it! I was rather sad when Mockingbird ended and wanted nothing more than to carry on reading about Scout's life, and now I shall!
I must admit, I've never read To Kill A Mockingbird, but I understand this to be pretty big news, my Facebook friends of the literary persuasion are going nuts. http://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniemcneal/to-kill-a-mockingbird-author-harper-lee-to-release-second-bo?bffb&utm_term=4ldqpgp#4ldqpgp
Aw, shucks, was fun while it lasted mate. I will get around to it eventually. It and Grapes of Wrath (and Of Mice and Men too actually) are things missing from my 'books read' list. Most people seem to read all three in high school - my high school was very snobbish about American writers, so we got Dickens, Hardy and Thackeray instead. :/
WHAT!!? Mind you, this is probably your natural reaction every time you hear someone hasn't read Dante But seriously, you've got to read it! (the bird book, not Dante )
A sequel to a book that took place in the 30's and was about racial inequality, being released in a post civil rights time period, obsessed with dystopias and apocalypses? I'm skeptical.
This guy on Twitter put it best: "To Kill A Mockingjay will be set in the aftermath of the Hunger Games series, as Katniss' daughter Scout deals with racism in the districts" http://www.buzzfeed.com/jarrylee/tequila-mockingbird#.abD8klDoB
As much as it pains me to suggest this, I'll let this slide if you let me not having read TKAM slide.
Skeptical about what? The sales? The writing? I don't think Harper Lee cares much about sales, though it's safe to say that a lot of people will be buying this book.
I'm skeptical it will live up to the fame of the first novel. Is it just going to tickle the pants off current Mockingbird fans, or is it going to bring anything new to the table?
Well, there are movies about racism and racial issues being released these days. Soooo with that in mind, I think she's gonna be fine here.
All I remember of the book is that a young girl named Scout learnt what it means to be tolerant from her father, the black guy he was trying to protect, and a man with albinism who just wanted to be left alone. Sound about right?
Here's a decent description of the book: http://time.com/3694549/harper-lee-new-book-go-set-a-watchman/ I saw this 'friend' interviewed quite a while back. The reporter really gave her a rough time. It's a big scandal, she befriended Lee then coaxed this manuscript out of her. Some people are angry about her tactics but she swears there was no manipulation involved. I'll try to find a link.
Be Suspicious of the New Harper Lee Novel Meh, Lee's circling the drain, her sister's dead, why not publish it? I don't mean that to sound callous. It's just that after Lee dies, wouldn't whomever inherited her estate likely publish the manuscript? I don't see that her privacy is going to be affected much.
Here, this is what I was looking for: To Steal a Mockingbird? OK, so that exploitation part of it is wrong.
She wrote the novel before she wrote TKaMB, and it takes place when the little girl in the book is grown. Racism was hardly gone by then.
I'm just surprised it's not called To Judge a Mocking Bird. *ahem* Back to topic. But basically the story's now about Scout reconciling with her father's attitude with society? Two things: (1) It had been established that Atticus Finch was basically an honorable, decent person who wanted to do the right thing. (2) Scout learned her lesson about tolerance, etc. in To Kill a Mocking Bird. What would she be learning in 1950s Alabama? The same thing she learned in 1930s Alabama? I'll have to check it out and see. Hard to believe Lee's publishing again after all these years.
This is what I'm saying. One, the book doesn't need a sequel, but two, this isn't really the right time for a sequel. @Link the Writer What popular movies are out right now that deal with the sort of racism dealt with in the original novel? Can you name me three? All right, I'll admit, I wasn't a major fan of the first novel. There wasn't any awesome writing skills like with Conrad or Wilde, and nothing mind blowing like with Orwell. It was OK stuff that's great if your into advocating civil rights or if you like cute little innocent girls. Today we've moved beyond African american civil rights and we're into teenage girls(Katniss Bella ETC ETC)...so yeah wrong time for the novel. This book's probably going to wind up being like the Dumb and Dumber sequel that came out last year. Yes, Dumb and Dumber was a FANTASTIC CLASSIC. No, we didn't want or need a sequel. yes, the sequel wound up being terrible.
I don't know - the New York times reported that TKAM continues to sell hundreds of thousands of copies per year (as of 2006). Doesn't seem like the dated subject matter is putting off modern audiences.
These are the two movies within recent years that dealt with racial issues: Django Unchained- An escaped slave fights his former masters to free his wife. 10 Years A Slave- Basically a movie version of Solomon Northup's memoir titled 10 Years A Slave. So yeah, even when we're ass-deep in zombies, dystopian-era teen flicks, and sparkly vampires, there's always room for a new book about racial issues in 1950s America.
