To Kill a Mockingbird was one of the books we read freshman year of high school. Most of the books we read in that class were disappointing: they felt overly simple, like books I could have read in fourth or fifth grade instead or at least spent much less time on because their themes and messages were, frankly, too easy to want to spend any more time on (because, you know, I was around that age where I needed books to challenge me, and these weren't challenging and therefore they were boring and felt like a waste of time). To Kill a Mockingbird was better than probably all of these--but still it somehow became grouped in my mind with them and so I never had much of a personal connection with it or anything much of the deep admiration it supposedly has.
But, you know, I wasn't about to resist something as interesting as the situation of Go Set a Watchman. As you all know, this book is what Harper Lee originally gave to publishers--and it became edited and rewritten into To Kill a Mockingbird. So to have that old manuscript suddenly published as a sequel, well, that's just interesting from the point of view of analyzing the situation and the progression of writing style or character treatment or any of that. And of course since I'd decided to read it, I thought it would be best to read it quickly so that I could read it with no other opinions on it than my own.
Here is my very brief reaction: I liked it--more than I remember liking To Kill a Mockingbird. That was a book approaching things almost in a Huck Finn way (not exactly, but sort of): the children are just living their lives and looking at things through a child's perspective while greater issues (of which the reader is aware) are surrounding them. Go Set a Watchman is more along the lines of books from the 1960's, almost like Invisible Man at times (I mean, in the way it approaches certain things or some of the issues it addresses). It's such a stark portrayal of a socio-political situation and its bearing on individuals--and it's also such an interesting look at internal thought processes and the way in which one mind makes its way in the world.
As far as format goes, there were quite a few more flashbacks than I had expected, given that this book was marketed as taking place two decades after To Kill a Mockingbird. But I liked the way that the flashbacks were placed with the present day scenes and the way in which random scenes come together to put certain concepts in your mind and drive you toward a certain theme, a certain conclusion, a certain state of awareness.
Now here are more details--feel free to skip them if you haven't read the book yet.
