A Belated Shock - “GO SET A WATCHMAN” - A Book Review.

Isn’t that always the way? Give them enough time, and even fictional heroes will betray you in the end…

A Belated Shock

A BOOK REVIEW - By Fanitsa Petrou

The publication of Harper Lee’s new novel “Go Set A Watchman” in July 2015, a sequel of sorts to her first novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”, was a true literary event. The book went on to become the fastest selling book in the history of publisher HarperCollins, having sold more than 1.1 million copies in the USA alone, in the first week of release.

When the unexpected news of its publication were announced, I personally kept away from newspaper articles, pre-publication press leaks, and first chapter releases, and then once it got published, from reviews. I didn’t want to be influenced by anyone’s comments, opinions, critiques. I didn’t want to diminish this little pleasure that was to be my Xmas treat. That’s like my Xmas ritual. Each year I reread a classic book (Dickens, Austen, Melville, the Brontes - you know, the usual suspects) and this year, “Go Set A Watchman” would have been a "new" version of that. Friends and family