Book · 2015 · Adult children of aging parents
Go Set A Watchman
Why people recommend it
Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee is a novel written before To Kill a Mockingbird that follows an adult Scout returning to Maycomb, Alabama, and confronting her aging father's complex racial views. On The Book Review, Jean Hanff Korelitz characterized the publication as an unwelcome sequel that many readers wished had never seen print. During the same podcast series, Pamela Paul reflected on the intense public scrutiny surrounding the manuscript, noting how it clarifies the immense pressures the author faced regarding subsequent writing. Casey Cep discussed the widespread shock when the second novel was announced, while Joseph Crispino noted that its 2015 publication provided the direct impetus for his own research and writing. Gilbert Cruz explored the book's background, describing it as an early, rejected draft of To Kill a Mockingbird that fundamentally shifted public perceptions of Atticus Finch. Additionally, Alexandra Alter mentioned the title on the podcast while discussing its notable omission from the Man Booker long list.
Who recommended it
- Alexandra Alter Discussed
- Gilbert Cruz Discussed
- Pamela Paul Discussed
- Greg Coles Discussed
- Jean Hanff Korelitz Discussed
- Casey Cep Discussed
- Joseph Crispino Discussed
- Greg Kohes Discussed
- Carl Segel Discussed
- Greg Kohl's Discussed
- John Williams Discussed
- Alexander Alter Discussed
Alexandra Alter — 6 mentions
“but that'll lead right into another surprise or maybe not so surprising given the reviews that goett a Watchmen was not on the list”
“and then of course you know the biggest news at London is still Harper Le's ghost set Watchmen”
“they said we at brilliant books want to be sure that our customers are aware that ghost at a Watchmen is not a sequel or a prequel to tequilla Mockingbird neither is it a new book”
“and now the title is go set a watch um but basically this was her first attempt to tell the story of adus Finch”
“you know particularly after um the publication of ghost at a Watchman”
“I think several more chapters about ghost at a Watchmen”
Gilbert Cruz — 3 mentions
“so tell us about goett a Watchman which as you noted earlier was published in 2015”
“so this book goett a Watchman was written before To Kill a Mocking Bird and is sort of considered now I think to be an an early rejected draft of that novel”
“how did this book go at a Watchman”
Pamela Paul — 2 mentions
“I think that one thing that became clear to me rereading it now too was especially after all of the kind of craziness around goett a Watchmen and all of that you really realize you get a sense of why it was so hard for her to ever write another book”
“why don't you take a stab at it um was it one that took up three months of our podcast uh an unknown author yes with her sophomore effort go set a Watchman”
Greg Coles — 2 mentions
“uh it has reached a rolling boil as pasta makers like to say but nothing so far has proved capable of displacing ghost at a Watchman by Harper Lee which remains at number one in its fourth week”
“yeah number one goes set of Watchman by Harper Lee”
Jean Hanff Korelitz — 1 mention
“because let's face it I keep thinking about to Kill a Mocking Bird and how desperately we all wished that sequel had not been written”
Casey Cep — 1 mention
“I think like a lot of the world I was so shocked to learn that Harper Lee would be publishing a new book and that was goetta Watchman the book book that was published as her second novel”
Joseph Crispino — 1 mention
“but what that changed in the summer of of 2015 with the publication of of ghost at a Watchmen”
Greg Kohes — 1 mention
“go had a Watchman on the fiction side and between the world and me on the non-fiction side”
Carl Segel — 1 mention
“so the big news has been the discovery of a long lost manuscript by Harper Lee right um this ghost set of Watchmen which is coming out in July and it turns out it now has competition”
Greg Kohl's — 1 mention
“Harper Lee has her quote new old novel or draft or whatever you want to call it um ghost had a Watchman the book that eventually became To Kill a Mockingbird”
John Williams — 1 mention
“there were a couple of people who Lori Jackson and Kristen Pounders among them who named Harper Le goetta Watchman as their favorite read this summer which I found interesting since it's had such a divided response”
Alexander Alter — 1 mention
“so and that was ghost out of Watchman that um was a different manuscript with the same characters who were older”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- A Spool of Blue Thread
- Between Shades of Gray
- Did you ever have a family
- Fates and Furies
- H Is for Hawk
Other mentions (1: passing, ad reads, own books)
“there was Harper Le's go a Watchman and eel James Gray”