Synopsis (credit: back cover)

Maycomb, Alabama. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch — "Scout" — returns home from New York City to visit her ageing father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise's homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town, and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt. Featuring many of the iconic characters from To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman perfectly captures a young woman, and a world, in painful yet necessary transition out of the illusions of the past — a journey that can only be guided by one's own conscience.

(Bought new at The Book Lounge, Town.)

The book forms part of my permanent collection.

Such a lot of hype built up prior to this book's release. A marketer's dream, no doubt. Like many others I placed my pre-publication order and collected the book days after its arrival.

I wouldn't recommend the book unreservedly to those who have a special place in their hearts for To Kill a Mockingbird. One will never see its characters in exactly the same light again.

And yet ... it is important that the book was published and I'm glad I've read it. As one reviewer describes it: this may be the adult version of its famous predecessor. Very few people have ever managed to stay on course throughout their lives, unfalteringly following a true moral compass. It is only too human to succumb to pressures and prejudices of one's time. It is against this background that those who do act with courage and conviction — despite these failings — stand out as realistic rather than idealistic role-models.

What the book definitely left me with is even more respect for Harper Lee than before.

Some reviews worth checking out:
-- spoiler alert --

• Sour reaction to Harper Lee's novel stirs controversy - by Hadley Freeman
• FancyHorse's book review blog
• 'Go Set A Watchman' is a revelation on race, not a disappointment - by Errin Whack