I think Scout was the victim of a cruel hoax without her ever figuring it out. It was not Atticus Finch she found when she returned to Maycomb. It was his evil twin brother, Skippy. Perhaps in the next installment, we will discover her real father is being kept hostage in the cellar...with Bo Radley. Can there be another mystery manuscript hidden away in a strong box that will redeem this mess? There are few things in life that are nearly perfect, and they should not be subject to tampering.
If you believe in Atticus Finch as much as I do, clap as hard as you can. We can bring him back. (It worked for Tinkerbell). In the meantime, don't even bother with this one...it saddens me to say it. Whatever was she thinking.
Fear not. Atticus Finch lives between the covers of To Kill A Mockingbird. He will live there forever. And nothing can change that. It is a sin to kill a mockingbird, my friends.
Bummer! I was a bit worried about this book as I had read that Atticus turned racist in "Watchman" and was afraid my view of him might be tanished. I'm on a wait list at the library and might consider canceling to preserve the Atticus Finch I know and love. Thank you for your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteWhitney, it is rare for me to suggest someone not to read something. I probably shouldn't do it now. If you were asking for my advice, I'd say stay on the waitlist and find out for yourself. Just go in with the knowledge that this is not TKAM and is not even a prequel/sequel in my opinion. It would be like comparing cheese and chalk. And remember, Atticus Finch lives.
DeleteWell put. I'll still read the new/old book, but I won't let it hurt my idea of Atticus.
ReplyDeleteTinky, it hasn't affected my opinion of my penultimate literary hero (well it's a toss up between Atticus and Jean Valjean). Sometimes it's hard to remember that these are fictional characters and they only exist on the page - or perhaps on the screen. They have no future or past other than what the author decides to give them. Since this was nothing more than a first draft - and a poor one at that - it is not the legitimate heir.
DeleteI know you were looking forward to this too! At least it was Mockingbird that got published and touched us all! Hang on to that :)
ReplyDeleteStefanie, I truly was looking forward to it - with apprehension. I predict that in a couple of months there will be lots of copies available at garage sales and at Goodwill. To add injury to insult, it wasn't even that well-written. It reads just like what it is...a first draft of a first novel of a young writer. Oh well, TKAM is a marvelous book and Atticus is a literary hero to admire.
ReplyDelete...But I probably will read it anyway. I was considering not reading it, but it turns out I am just too full of 'satiable curiosity to live like that. I'm curious to see how it will color my reading of TKAM.
ReplyDeleteJenny, I know exactly how you feel! I would have read this in any event. Part of the problem is that I didn't find the writing very interesting or very good. No one will start any rumors that Truman Capote had a hand in writing it. But Harper Lee was just starting out and I don't know if it ever saw an editor's pencil. As time goes on we will learn more about its history. But personally I wish it had remained moldering in some old strong box...or shredded.
ReplyDeleteHi Grad, I haven't read it and don't plan to now on the basis of your and other reviews. While I think it's interesting as part of the process of how TKAM came into being, if it's only a first draft and not a particularly good one then the publishers have done us all a bit of a dis-service by marketing this as the sequel.
ReplyDeletePete, Amen to that! Hopefully, this book will become a soon-forgotten blip on the radar of literary history. The folks at Harper Collins owe the reading and book-buying public some explanation. Certainly the editors knew this was a mess before they hyped it and then published it. I guess the lure of the "cha-ching" factor was too much to bear.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you know this is the first draft of To Kill A Mockingbird, even Harper Lee admitted it. And know what, if anybody is to be blamed it's HarperCollins. I've just posted about it and hear me out, there's a way to approach this, not as a 'new novel' but a study of the writing process. And kudos and credits go to the editor Tay Hohoff for guiding Lee through two years of rewriting and viola, we have To Kill A Mockingbird! You're welcome to stop by and throw in your two pebbles to make some ripples. :)
ReplyDeleteArti, I did not it was the first draft of TKAM and I agree with you completely that Harper Collins is "the villain" in my estimation. It is populated with people who read, edit and publish for a living and can certainly discern the good from the bad. I am more convinced than ever that the hype was all to make money, knowing as they must have, that it really wasn't going to be worth the money. I'll jump on over to Ripples right now.
ReplyDeleteI recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often. uniform security guard
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