Today marks the release of a long awaited book – the second written by Harper Lee, finally published 55 years after her first published book, To Kill a Mockingbird! (TKMAB)

Many thought this day would never come, so the book’s unexpected discovery has readers in a fervour to see how it unfolds.

Early reviews have indicated that the book is told from Scout’s point of view as a 20 year old, and also that it reveals (surprising?) bigotry of Atticus Finch. The explanation of this may be that Go Set a Watchman was actually written before TKAMB, and that it was not what her editor wanted at the time:

Go Set a Watchman was written in the mid-1950s, before she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, which was published in 1960. She set it aside when her editor suggested that she write another novel from the young Scout Finch’s perspective. – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_Set_a_Watchman

Naturally, there has been lots of fanfare preceding the book’s publication:

Go Set a Watchman review – more complex than Harper Lee’s original classic, but less compelling, http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/12/go-set-a-watchman-review-harper-lee-to-kill-a-mockingbird

Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman goes on sale  http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-33510168

Go Set a Watchman: Eight things reviewers say about Harper Lee’s new novel: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-13/go-set-a-watchman-reviews-latest-harper-lee-story/6615050

There’s only one Atticus Finch: why I won’t be reading Go Set A Watchman – http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-14/barnes-why-i-wont-be-reading-go-set-a-watchman/6617508

There have also been releases of the first chapter to entice readers in… which you can either read, or listen to a Reese Witherspoon narration here.

What are you thinking? Do you want to read the rejected manuscript? Can you handle characters who may not be the same as you remember them? Does it change the way you view TKAMB?

Do you wonder what Harper Lee thinks of all the promotion happening right now? Is it (the publication) authentic?