Go Set a Watchman

A Novel

By: Harper Lee

Narrated by: Reese Witherspoon

Performed by Reese Witherspoon

Number one New York Times best seller

“Go Set a Watchman is such an important book, perhaps the most important novel on race to come out of the white South in decades." (New York Times)

A landmark novel by Harper Lee, set two decades after her beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, To Kill a Mockingbird.

Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch - “Scout” - returns home to Maycomb, Alabama from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise’s homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town, and the people dearest to her.

Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt. Featuring many of the iconic characters from To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman perfectly captures a young woman, and a world, in painful yet necessary transition out of the illusions of the past - a journey that can only be guided by one’s own conscience.

Written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman imparts a fuller, richer understanding and appreciation of the late Harper Lee. Here is an unforgettable novel of wisdom, humanity, passion, humor, and effortless precision - a profoundly affecting work of art that is both wonderfully evocative of another era and relevant to our own times.

It not only confirms the enduring brilliance of To Kill a Mockingbird, but also serves as its essential companion, adding depth, context, and new meaning to an American classic.

©2015 Harper Lee (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"All [characters] are portrayed by Witherspoon with perfect pitch and pacing, and the sure hand of a talented actress who is well aware of the region's racially fraught past." (AudioFile)

Don't understand the haters

Story stands on its own, but referring back to Mockingbird is understandable. People appear different in different context and times. Yet, Scout and Atticus are really the same characters in both books. Just time and context are different. Both wonderfully show Rural Alabama characters in the middle '30's and middle '50's. I enjoyed this realistic follow up. It rings true without outside projections on how the characters should be 20 years later.

Not to be missed

This book was fantastic. The writing was lyrical. The message is very relevant in today's world even though the book is set in the 1950s. Very thought-provoking.

First of, It's not a sequel!!

What did you like best about this story?

This is definitely Harper Lee, so any questions to her writing to Kill a Mockingbird is wrong.

What about Reese Witherspoon’s performance did you like?

I loved her! She did a marvellous job.

Any additional comments?

In order to enjoy the novel, try not to think of this as a sequel, it's not. I love To Kill a Mockingbird and the relationship that Atticus had with his children but this is a completely different story. If you leave that behind you really enjoy this novel. I found it lovely.

Stunner!! Stunning!! Stunned!!

With much anticipation.... Go Set a Watchmen began gracing my auditory channels!! I went in open-minded and unbiased, refusing to read any reviews prior to my listen. First, a standing O too Miss Witherspoon. Her narrative is outstanding!! I would definitely listen to her again. Now, as for the novel... Again, Ms. Lee broke boundaries of her time in this outstanding follow up to Scout and Atticus, and the coming of age for them both.

The realization to a young woman that her daddy is indeed human and not God is something so many women can relate to, adding to that, issues that create controversy... And you have, again, the making of a fantastic novel that should go down in history!!!

A book that lived up to the hype

What did you love best about Go Set a Watchman?

This was the perfect collision between a great story and and an ill that has troubled this country since before it became a nation. Harper Lee allowed us to look into the minds of people who were behaving in ways that seem strange to us. This book should be required reading in high school.

What did you like best about this story?

The prose and characters were excellent as you would expect from Harper Lee. For me the best part was her taking on racism in a direct, logical way - no punches pulled. She helped us understand why some people we could look up to, do what appears to be terrible, hate-filled things. Walk in another man's shoes before you judge him.

What does Reese Witherspoon bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Reese is obviously very good at affecting southern accents, but her ability to create distinctive and repeatable male voices was unexpected. She made it very easy to get lost in the story.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were many moving moments, but the topper was when Scout finally confronted her father. It needed to happen, but I hated it at the same time.

Any additional comments?

I hope no one asks me which of Harper's books is better. I cannot decide.

Was delighted and didn't want the book to end

Excellent follow up to Kill A Mockingbird. Well written. Very enjoyable read. We have not come far enough.

Not "Mockingbird" But Well Worth the Time

Would you consider the audio edition of Go Set a Watchman to be better than the print version?

I enjoy audiobooks better than print books so the audio edition is the only on I have to reference. I'm sure those that enjoy print versions would like it also.

What other book might you compare Go Set a Watchman to and why?

People automatically compare it to "To Kill a Mockingbird", but this is a rougher story, not told from a child's perspective. "Ordinary People" came to mind as I was reading it. The idea that people will let you down if you put too much faith in them.

What about Reese Witherspoon’s performance did you like?

I thought Reese Witherspoon did an excellent job with the material.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Once I got through the first few chapters which primarily set the tone and mood, I pretty much wanted to rush through the rest of the book. It wasn't a terribly long book.

Any additional comments?

I think the criticism I've been reading about this book from so-called professional book reviewers is off base. Is it Mockingbird? No, but that was a once in a lifetime gem. This is the adult version, a little grittier, rougher around the edges, but with the same honesty that Mockingbird had. Only now it is from an adult's perspective.

Loved every minute of it!

I loved every minute of this book. Almost didn't listen to it because of some of the reviews, but so glad I did. It is a wonderful sequel to TKAM. I laughed and cried and learned a little something about myself , too. What more could you ask for in a book!

Made me cry when it was done

Loved this book. Scout's struggles felt personal to me and made me even understand me my own people and the time they came from better. Her war for personal independence and an independent conscious seemed familiar to me. Chapter 18 broke me because I related to it as a Southern woman making sense of herself and as the mother of a young woman frozen in the no man's land between childhood and its nurturing safety and adulthood and its awareness and accountability. This book was entertaining, enlightening, deep, and rich while still being covered in a sweet sugar coating of Southern charm and wit.

Beautifully eloquent sequel

It has been a long time since I finished a book in 24 hours. An emotional roller coaster of past & present civics lesson. Scout is just the hard headed but maturing woman that I thought she would be. Thank you Ms. Lee for finally sharing Scout the woman with us.