My copy of Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman arrived in the library's courier delivery today.
I am unsure.
Should I dive in and read?
Should I let it sit on the shelf, resting for a bit?
Should I send it back without turning a page?
I am unsure.
Ms Lee is an elderly woman in ill health. Her sister Alice, who passed away last November, was both her lawyer and her protector. Was there a reason this manuscript lay hidden these many years? Therein lies my quandary. My passion for To Kill a Mockingbird in both book and film format knows no bounds. If you've read anything I've ever written this may be a known fact and I apologize for any redundancy but you see...
I am unsure.
Are those surrounding Ms Lee looking out for her best interests?
If this book was refused by an editor once what makes it any more publishable now?
Is someone trying to parlay an icon's name into ready cash? It would not be the first time.
I am unsure.
The cover is lovely. Has that same look and feel as the earliest of the Mockingbird printings had.
Hmmmm. One can't judge a book by its cover now can one?
And I'll admit it, I've been using this silly mindset for an excuse since I first heard, months ago, that the book was coming out in July.
"C'mon Karen, it's a book, another book by Harper Lee!"
Ahhh how refreshing a little self induced pep talk can be! That was so very easy. No longer am I unsure. The decision is made. After work this evening I will shed my shoes, curl up on the sofa and open the pages. What I find will not sully what has long been my respect for Nelle Harper Lee and her initial foray into the land of book publishing. It's provided her a Pulitzer Prize for Literature, among other awards, and she's been living off royalties her entire life -- at least that is what I am left to presume. Atticus, Boo, Scout, Jem... everyone grows and changes, but Watchman will not change Mockingbird. Nothing can.
Still...I'll let you know what I think.
Then again, don't I always.
It is beautiful, isn't it?