Go Fug Yourself Book Club discussion

I am having really mixed feelings about this and would like to hear what others think. I'm not sure I want to read a book where Atticus Finch is a bigoted racist. I'm not sure I want to read a book that is essentially a published first draft (this is one of the things I've read.) But it could also be fascinating to read this and see the pieces that became To Kill a Mockingbird. I am way down on the lists at the library in both e and regular book form, so I guess I'll have a lot of time to make up my mind.

I'm glad you started this topic! I think the whole thing is verrry interesting.

I feel a bit... icky about the discussions over whether or not Harper Lee was even able to decide whether this should be released. I love TKAM and don't want anything to diminish the way I feel about that book. I'm not sure how I feel about reading a draft, as you said.

A commenter elsewhere suggested looking at the two as alternate universe versions, with GSAW definitely NOT being a sequel. Keeping that in mind, it's an interesting way to view the writerly process, and a part of literary history. That makes me more inclined to read it.

Hello!

I'm very happy you started this topic too. I'm about 40% through Go Set a Watchman.

I was apprehensive at the thought of reading this novel too. I went online and read the NY Times reviews, and Huffington Post. It is pure curiosity that compelled me to begin this controversial text.
During my years in college, I remember one of my friends saying that his favorite literary pieces hurt him a little bit. Since then, I have adopted that attitude. So here I go!

Louise, I'm a few pages past you and I don't know how I feel about the book yet.

HERE BE SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST THREE PARTS:

I can definitely agree with the earlier comment saying that this is an early draft and not a prequel. I had read a review suggesting that but then forgot about it, which is why I was very surprised when Scout remembers Atticus winning the trial. You can tell that a lot of these ideas and plot points are unpolished and it's fascinating to compare this to what Mockingbird will become.

As I started reading, I really disliked Scout, er, Jean Louise. I thought her character lacked the conviction that her Mockingbird character has. As I get more into this one I am becoming more sympathetic, but I think ultimately these characters are underdeveloped sketches of the Mockingbird characters I love.

Also... Jem! No! At first I was very upset that none of the characters in this book were as affected as I was. Lee has gone back to flesh it out a little more, but I was very affected by the way she just casually explained his absence and moved on.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest, but I don't think this will be a beloved classic.

HERE BE SPOILERS!

I've progressed a bit. I'm at the chapter where Scout visits Uncle Jack. I'm digging through his language, and stuck on his calling Scout, "Childe Roland" and the significance. So now I'm looking at Lear, Browning, fairy tale lore. I'm hoping to find some satisfaction in Scout's search for an explanation or understanding.
Was once Atticus the savior, and now Scout? It can't be that. Childe Roland reads as a dark tale of a child seeking answers.
As I reader I approach a text as one with a scalpel to Paradise Lost, which is my downfall.
I'm too tedious, but what else to amuse me on a Friday.

I am so sad. Now I read the Fugs and Pieces and never has there been a, "Clutch my pearls I'll never read GSW," group in my life.
There are other literary mysteries in the world that concern me, but this one seems to really upset the community. I even started reading the Romanov Sister's book because I wanted to be a part of a book club, but I find the ladies on GFY so shaming. Excuse me that I'm actually interested in touching the hem of Harper Lee's garment, even in it's impure form. So I guess I'm out.

"I find the ladies on GFY so shaming" - I am sorry that has been your experience. It has never been mine.

Ditto. I have found a consistently supportive community. That said it's not a community where people are discouraged from voicing opinions. For people who are upset by opinions which differ from their own it might not be their choice of destination. There are so many groups on Goodreads. I hope you find one which gives you pleasure.

Louise, read what you want and everyone else be damned. Some of the commenters at GFY are being a little righteous, but that is their prerogative. I think I will probably read it when it's my turn at the library. I also think I will look around and see if I have a copy of TKAM.

I have received questions about this so, as co-moderator, I am clarifying.

The comment in GFY (not here) was not about literary merit, it was about whether Harper Lee, now senile and in bad health, had been betrayed by her caretakers. It appears this book was published against her will. (She declined to publish before she became too ill to protect herself.) I am not sure how that reads as righteous or judgmental. Also, the comment was that one person made a personal choice not to read the book. She stated that a decision to read the book was understandable and valid. Here is a link to the article Jessica linked to. http://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/201...

I was considering reading the book. Specifically, I was intrigued by the Washington Post review that explained how it was not necessarily inconsistent that Atticus might have been a defender of equal rights under the law yet still be a racist. Look it up -- it's definitely worth reading.

But the more I read about the circumstances behind the book's publication, in the Post and in the Bloomberg article Bonnie linked to, the more I think that whatever artistic merit there might be is irrelevant to the issue of whether Harper Lee even wanted this book published. It sure looks like control over her property and her legacy has been wrested from her in a fairly obvious money grab. This might be the most beautifully realized book ever written, and I don't think I could bring myself to go near it.

That said, I understand why people might want to read it -- I think seeing where "To Kill a Mockingbird" started would be fascinating. I've just been so turned off by the machinations behind it.

Karen wrote: "I was considering reading the book. Specifically, I was intrigued by the Washington Post review that explained how it was not necessarily inconsistent that Atticus might have been a defender of equ..."

I am in the same boat. Karen. I won't lie, it would have been harder to stay away if this was a happier take on Atticus and Scout and Jem. I agree that it is possible for Atticus to have been a zealous advocate and a racist. (I am a lawyer by training, and I have seen friends and colleagues passionately defend people they personally detested.) I was on the library list for the audiobook a month before publication, and planned to try reading it even with my reservations. My mind was changed, as Karen's was, by my discomfort with Lee's agency here. I don't criticize others for reading this at all. This is a personal opinion, not a matter of objective right and wrong. I just keep thinking that she did not publish the book for a reason, and while she is still on this earth I believe her wishes should come first. When she is gone the equation changes some, but we are not there yet so I need not split those hairs.

This Vanity Fair article - which came out before any announcement about GSAW - made it look very unlikely that Ms Lee is in full control of her affairs. http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/201...

Thanks for linking to that article, Alicia. Wow. It made me wonder whether Tonja Carter was in cahoots with the agent and getting a percentage of all those lovely TKAM royalties. If not, then she is dangerously incompetent. How could she possibly have let her client sign over the copyright to TKAM?

http://www.sorrywatch.com/2015/08/08/... this is pretty funny - in my 20s I had a flatmate who had a cat called Atticus. As that was 15+ years ago there's a good chance AttiCat is no longer with us, but I wonder if she would change his name?

I've read it and I like it very much. I can see some parts that could use more aggressive editing (I feel the same about Harry Potter, Goblet and following, tpo), but it is still Ms Lee's work, the way she puts words together, her ability to connect the reader to the thoughts and emotions of a character, her brutal honesty about the complex nature of human relationships, these things make this a fabulous book. Read it or don't read it. It's not perfect, but what is?

I finished it last night and I am very glad I read it. I won't have time to read it again before the library sucks it off my kindle, but I intend to reread TKAM when I have time and then read this again. I'm not going to go so far as to recommend it, as folks obviously have very strong feelings about NOT reading it. "Did Harper Lee even want this published" aside, I feel like there has been a lot written and discussed (I've spent all afternoon surfing around) that is not really accurate about the book itself. If you're basing your decision to not read on "Atticus Finch is a RACIST" (as I did when I started this thread), you may want to rethink your position. I'm glad I did.

annabel wrote: "I finished it last night and I am very glad I read it. I won't have time to read it again before the library sucks it off my kindle, but I intend to reread TKAM when I have time and then read this ..."

Thank you for your comments. I had not intended to read this, but your comments are intriguing indeed.