Scribbles & Munch

      I pre-ordered Armada about a month ago, in anticipation of the author coming to Columbus for a reading next week.  I'm currently six chapters in, but I'll write more about the book (and the signing) next week.

      Go Set A Watchman I had not pre-ordered.  In fact, until the day it was released, I hadn't made up my mind as to whether or not I would read it at all, much less buy the book.  When I first heard that a second novel by Harper Lee was coming out, my initial reaction was literary ecstasy.  Then I heard about the controversy regarding the publication, and I realized I needed to give myself some time to calm the heck down and seriously consider what I wanted to support, and why. 

      If you haven't been following the news around this book, I'll give you a very quick and dirty summary.  Harper Lee has only ever published one novel: To Kill A Mockingbird.  Widely considered one of the greatest examples of 20th century American literature, it won a Pulitzer Prize, and was also banned in dozens if not hundreds of school districts across the U.S.*  But it's not what she originally wrote.  As I understand it, in the 1950's Harper Lee left her small hometown in Alabama to go work in New York.  After a few years of a successful career up north, she went back to be with her family.  The racism she encountered mortified her to her core. 

     In response to this experience, she wrote a book about her family and childhood, with the working title of Go Set A Watchman.  In 1957 she sent the manuscript to J.B. Lippincott Publishing Company, where it fell on the desk of editor Tay Hohoff.  The editor felt the manuscript was powerful, but lacked the clear development and arch of a novel.  She worked with Harper Lee to create the kind of traditional novel layout that readers would find more appealing, and in 1960 To Kill A Mockingbird was published.

Despite the author's portrayal of Alabama, she was nevertheless honored by many in her home state.

      Fast forward to 2014, when a copy of the original manuscript was purportedly discovered by the elderly Harper Lee's attorney.  It was decided that the time was ripe to publish Go Set A Watchman in it's original form.  Whether or not Harper Lee is truly cognizant/permissive of this publication has been a matter of severe debate, as many claim she suffers dementia.  This controversy is compounded by the - and I'm just going to be blunt here - shit-ton of money her lawyers and publishers stand to make from this, and the relative pittance the author will receive.  Tay Hohoff has been dead for many years and could not speak to any agreements made between her and the author 65 years ago.  For this reason, many people have sworn not to read the book.

      But another reason many are declining to read this new publication is because of how strongly it varies from To Kill A Mockingbird.  Part of the first book's genius (and its divisiveness) was its unadorned depiction of entrenched racism in the deep south of the 1930's.  The hero of this book - the narrator's father, attorney Atticus Finch - was a brave example of how one individual can overcome social pressure and stand up for what is right.  He became a fictional icon of manliness, and some would argue that playing his role made Gregory Peck's career.  

      What Go Set A Watchman reveals is that, in her original manuscript, Harper Lee's father was portrayed as first-class bigot.

      Talk about knocking an idol of the pedestal.  People are heart-broken, crying out that this ruins the original classic, encouraging others not to tarnish Atticus Finch's fictional integrity with this rudely variation.  There are some people I love and respect who are giving very serious thought as to whether or not they want to mar their understanding of this character by reading Go Set A Watchman.  And I really do get it--it would be a bit like finding out that The Doctor is a homophone who supports banning same-sex marriage.**  But I fully intend to read this book, and I believe the author would want me to.  Here's why:

      In 1957, pre-Civil Rights Act America, the country was in desperate need of a wake-up call.  It needed a mirror held brutally in front of its face, to show citizens of the blind, horrific truth of racial prejudice, which had grown so deep in our culture that it eclipsed our reason and our morals.  Today, our country needs that mirror once more.  Not to show us how ugly racism is, but to prove to us that it is still there.  Maybe not as obviously as 65 years ago, but nevertheless present, and relentlessly influential.  With the renewed focus on the bias of our legal system (at all levels), and the unfathomable acceptance of hate symbols, Go Set A Watchman is as timely as ever.  We do need to revisit our heroes.  We do need to take a good whiff of our sacred cows and see whether that's prime beef or pink slime.***  

      I think that if we could time-travel the Harper Lee of 1957 to 2015, she would fold her arms, look us in the eye, and say, "Fuck the money--I can't take it with me, and neither can they.  It's the story that endures."  She would be right--and hers is a story I mean to read.

      

*To my knowledge, it is recommended - if not required - reading in every other school district.

**Which he obvious doesn't, didn't, and won't.

***Not 100% sure if that particular metaphor cocktail comes out Ok, but I'm leaving it in there!