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With the novel published in 1960, only about 50 years later will the author, Harper Lee, release the sequel that has been around all along? Reports have said that the ‘sequel’ was found attached to an original typescript off ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ in fall last year.
I would do a quick recap of the classic novel but I’m sure almost everyone has read it before, either in school or outside of it, I’m looking at you bookworms. I’ve seen a lot of good responses about the sequel, mostly from fans of the first book and fellow authors who admire Lee’s work. Harper Lee has spoken about the publishing of the sequel and the fact that it had such a wide gap between them. “I am humbled to be published after so many years,” Lee said when asked about the news of the following book and how she was receiving the support from her editors and fans.
The sequel, now known to be ‘Go Set a Watchman,’ was originally meant to be the first book to be published by Lee. She stated in an interview that she had written the script but that her editor told her to focus on the flashbacks that happened throughout the book of Scout Finch’s life and derive a story from there. So if you really look at it, the first published book was an extract from the first written script, now to be the sequel. Not that hard to understand, the series is still going to follow a chronological order. In ‘Go Set a Watchman,’ as it can be guessed, the plot follows Scout Finch through her adult life, following up years later where ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ left off.
Isn’t there worry about the sequel not meeting the expectations of everyone? Of course there is, but hey! It took a while but at least we’re getting the continuation of the story, right? Besides, Lee has mentioned that she herself is worried as to how the sequel will be received but she’s shared that “It’s a pretty decent effort” and since she’s 88 years old and reminds everyone of a lovable grandma, we’ll take it. The sequel, ‘Go Set a Watchman,’ is meant to be published around the same time the first book was published, July 14th, 2015.
Since I’m a huge bookworm myself, I will end this with one of my many favorite quotes from the 1960’s classic:
“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.”
― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
