The Books of Harper Lee

[Editor's Note: This review contains spoilers. Please do not read on if you have plans to read the novel Go Set a Watchman. I aim only to entertain and give my opinion of things and never to ruin.] 

"For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth." Isaiah 21:6

Most people know the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, it has become a staple of English classes around the country. It has been talked about and debated, turned into an award winning film loved and hated for many, many years. Harper Lee has become one of my favorite authors, even though she only ever had the one book. Or so I thought. 

Months ago a snippet of a rumor started going around about Ms. Lee and how there was a second book about to be released. The very thought of this made me giddy. I think that Harper Lee is brilliant in her writing and her character development so the idea that she was once more gracing us with that skill was almost too good to be true. In fact for a long time there was debate about whether it was indeed true or not. When it was confirmed that Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee would be released on July 14, 2015 I knew that this would be one of the rare times I would be buying a hardback new book. To get prepared for this new book, which was maybe sequel and maybe a prequel and also perhaps a first draft, I decided to reread To Kill a Mockingbird once more, I finished it the Monday before Watchman was released. I walked into Barnes and Noble that Tuesday, picked up Go Set a Watchman off the best seller wall and purchased it for 30% off. I started reading it that day.

I found myself slipping easily into the world of an older Scout, who is now Jean Louise. It was almost strange to see Jean Louise as an older woman with fully grown up thoughts and feelings but it was also a nice surprise. We first meet Jean Louise who is on her way home for her yearly visit. When she pulls into the Maycomb Junction station her long time at home boyfriend Hank is waiting for her. On  the drive home Hank and Jean Louise go back and forth about when she is going to marry him and move back home. Right away it's obvious that this is a conversation they have been having for years. When they arrive at the Finch house Jean Louise's father, our beloved Atticus, and her Aunt Alexandra are waiting for them. At first all things seem exactly like home. Alexandra is giving Jean Louise a hard time about her outfit, her life choices and how important it is to stand up to the name of Finch. Atticus, suffering greatly from arthritis, is silently supporting Jean Louise and her wild independence while vocally agreeing with his sister. All seems well in the world of Jean Louise. At least at first.

After a wild first couple of days things begin to take a turn for the darker. When Hank and Atticus leave for a city council meeting Jean Louise decides to see what exactly this city council is. She sneaks in to the old courthouse and witnesses a city council meeting that changes her life. She sees a man named Grady O'Hanlon start preaching about how great segregation is and how important it is to keep the Negroes in their place. Jean Louise can hardly believe her ears she who has grown up in a house of inclusion and love can hardly breathe watching her father and Hank sit there and listen to this man spew his poison. Jean Louise stumbles out of the courthouse lost and disoriented and stumbles to her old house for a little bit of comfort. Lost in her thoughts of betrayal she takes a trip down memory lane trying to find where the lies began. And trying to discover if her whole childhood had been a lie. 

What follows is a dark journey through discovery and the peeling back of layers of what life in the south is really like. Through memories of her childhood and the things she is living through now Jean Louise finds herself questioning everything that she once took for granted. It's a harrowing journey that ultimately ends up with Jean Louise finally confronting Atticus and asking him, was it all a lie? 

To Kill a Mockingbird is an iconic book, and an iconic movie. The young vibrant view that Scout, as our narrator, brings to the world of the south. In the book Atticus is her hero and quickly becomes ours. It's a beautiful book that gives us faith and makes us feel good about all things. Go Set a Watchman is much darker and much more about the truth of things. For me this darkness and the new view of Atticus didn't ruin the memory of the Atticus I grew up knowing. This new book very much felt to me like a first draft or a first attempt at a book. There were a lot of similarities between the two books including some lines that were almost exactly the same. But there were a lot of discrepancies as well, Hank for instance is supposed to have been a long time childhood friend and he was never seen in the 'first' book. 

I think that Harper Lee is brilliant in her writing, that's just what it is. She has a narrative voice that is astounding and a way to develop her characters that is unsurpassed. Reading Go Set a Watchman gave me a chance to experience that once more. For this I am very grateful but it was not a knock-your-socks off type of book. I have seen a couple of very scathing reviews about this book and I wholeheartedly disagree with what they have said. I don't look at this book as a sequel or prequel or anything like that so nothing from To Kill a Mockingbird has been ruined for me. For me reading Go Set a Watchman  is like seeing into the mind of Harper Lee and watching her work out who she wants her characters to be and what she wants to say. It is an interesting look at the way the minds of white people in the deep south thought during the sixties. All in all it was an interesting study in human nature. 

I enjoyed the book and thought it was well executed and I give it a strong three out of five tips of my hat. It is worth reading as a study of the way Ms. Harper Lee thinks and plots and plans. If you can separate the books as two different stories then I think this could be a good recommendation for you. But if you are worried that this could taint your memory of a great book then I heartily say stay away. As a reader I enjoy looking at the different sides of things so for me this was worth the read. And I sincerely hope that the press around Go Set a Watchman will bring people around to the brilliance of Harper Lee. I know that for me this new book has just reminded me of how amazing she really is. An intense read and one that may shock you in parts but something that is worth it if you can see it objectively. I say thank you Harper Lee for a trip into your mind once more. 

"It Begins with Absence and Desire. It Begins with Blood and Fear. It Begins with a Discovery of Witches."-Deborah Harkness

It was almost exactly three years ago that I first came across a book called A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I was working at Barnes and Noble at the time and we used to have to do this thing during peak hours when the booksellers had to wander around the floor, asking customers if they needed help and then try to con them into buying a membership. It was during one of these times when I was wandering aimlessly, because peak hours were rather slow, and looking over the display tables when I happened to glance this book that intrigued me. Turning it over I read the back and as soon as I discovered that it revolved not only around a strong and stubborn woman but a book I was hooked. When it comes to books about books I'm a pretty easy sell so I decided to go ahead and buy it. It was such an unassuming book, and the title suggested maybe a little bit of a silly story maybe so I wasn't expecting much. The old saying 'never judge a book by it's cover' couldn't have been more right on.

As soon as I started reading I was taken into this world of books, and history, magic and love. It was all intricately woven together with different characters and personalities. It all started with Diana Bishop, Yale University professor on sabbatical at Oxford doing research into the history of alchemy. She is well read, history nut, tea enthusiast, a woman who loves a good row in her boat and who happens to be a witch. The witchy side is something that she has been hiding for as long as she can remember all she wants to do is do her research and teach her students. While at the Bodleian Library one day she calls up a mysterious alchemical text called Ashemole 782. All of a sudden she becomes the center of some very unwanted attention, from other witches (some creepy sinister seeming ones), demons (erratic and scatterbrained though they may be) and vampires. One vampire in particular seems to be annoyingly interested in Diana, a tall gorgeous rather overprotective vampire named Matthew. Despite being unsure of just what she has done to elicit such attention from the creatures of the world Diana finds it hard to resist Matthew's charming desire to protect her. In a non-creepy stalker kind of way, but in a way that she learns to find charming as well as annoying (she is a modern independent woman after all). 

I fell in love with the story, with the characters and all their stories and I fell in love with Deborah Harkness' writing. I was stunned to discover that this was her debut novel because her writing was so intricate and perfected in a way. I rarely see that in debut novels and so it was hard for me to wrap my head around that. But I liked her even more for it because I knew that she was going to be a force in the writing world and I eagerly awaited the next book. When the second book The Shadow of Night came out I was thankfully still working and Barnes and Noble and so was fortunate enough to be able to borrow the hardback book right away. I read it while in the middle of a move from Brooklyn to Harlem but it was so great that even despite that extra work I finished it long before the two week rental period was up. Again I was swept into the incredible magical world that Ms. Harkness created with Diana, Matthew and all the other amazing characters that come along in the story. I fear giving a description of this second book because I have no wish to accidentally give something away so I'll just say this, the second book was just as thrilling and amazing as the first and set me on the edge of my seat until the third one came out. 

It took awhile for book three, The Book of Life, to come out. And let me tell you it was a long wait. When I found out it was finally coming out I did something that is very rare for me and went online to pre-order a signed hard backed copy of it. Why is this so strange? I usually like to buy soft cover books (more portable), and I enjoy keeping trilogies and series in the same style so paperback series stay paperback etc. But I knew this was going to be a great book and it was one I didn't want to wait to read so I went ahead and did it. Due to quiet a lot of upheavals in my life around the time it was released it took me over a year to get to the book. But one night I decided it was time to read it because I was looking for a magical mystery that is intelligently and creatively written so I knew it was time to turn back to the world of Ms. Harkness' imagination. The Book of Life was even better than I thought it was going to be. 

In my new job at Starbucks I have rather strange hours, what do I mean? Well I have to be at work and clocked in at 4:30am most mornings which means my travel time is around 3am or so. Usually I am much to tired to read, my brain is still struggling to figure why I am awake and trying to function at that hour so reading on the way to work has become a non option. But this book was so good that it made me want to read on my way to work, and at work, and on my way home and at home and everywhere in between. I was so caught up in every aspect of the book and the story that I lost track of time a couple of times while reading. I got wrapped up in everything happening to Diana and Matthew that I would forget for a moment that this is only a trilogy and start finding myself unable to wait of the next book. Imagine my disappointment each time I was brought back to reality. 

The Book of Life is a whole other level of greatness from the other two. I loved them all equally, in fact the entire series has moved into my top trilogies of all time, but the third installment kept me on the edge of my seat unsure of how she was going to wrap things up  and I loved every thrilling second of it. This is a series of books that I highly, highly recommend to everyone! Don't let the title of the first book throw you or scare you away from it because the book is so good. So well written, so well put together that you will be hooked right away. Please if you love fantasy or good stories about books then go out and get a copy because you will not be sorry you did. The description doesn't even do it justice so you have to trust me when I say it is a world that you will want to fall into because it is a world that is worth losing yourself in.