So Many Rambling Thoughts

For thus hath the Lord said unto me,

Go, set a watchman,

let him declare what he seeth.

Isaiah 21:6

Boxes were opened at midnight; sales began today. 

 No book, in my lifetime, has been awaited with greater excitement or skepticism as Go Set a Watchman.   I had a "what was I thinking" moment yesterday when I realized I wouldn't have my own copy on the day of it's release.   There was a reason behind my madness when I walked into Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi, last March, and ordered my book, which now seems silly and a little embarrassing.  Today, I'm having a few regrets, as I would love to have this book in my hot little hands tonight.   

Will Harper Lee's new work be as impactful as To Kill a Mockingbird?  Will Atticus keep his hero status, or will we discover he is human, fallible and an ordinary man of the time?  When we return to Maycomb, Alabama will we be able to put the events (though not a reflection on Alabama or isolated to the south) of the past year aside, and remember this book was penned decades ago.  Or will today's temperature alter our reading? 

When I ask "what is your all time favorite book?", so many reply To Kill a Mockingbird.  I wonder if this is because of Lee's near perfect prose, or is there that little piece of something in us that wants to be the brave one who stands up against the masses, popular beliefs and all odds, and just does the right thing.  Or, is it simply a good story told by a great storyteller.

 Yes, To Kill a Mockingbird is a favorite of mine.  To be honest I can't tell you how old I was the first time I read it, but I remember the sadness, the heaviness of heart, it brought.  I am sure I was quite young because it opened my eyes to the meaning of having  two entrances to the movie theater, why there were different schools and churches, and why there were two sides of the railroad track.  It was the first time I understood things were not just different, but wrong.  This may have been my "coming of age" book, the one which forced me to see my small world in a different light.  

I always wanted my dad to measure up to Atticus Finch.  Daddy was a fair man.  He believed a person should be judged by merit.  I never heard him talk down to anyone, and he was always willing to step in to help someone in need.  But, I also know he was a man who grew up in a certain time and fought his own battles with ideas he was taught.   He was a man who kept his opinions to himself and out of other's business.  I've read we will see a different side of Atticus in this book.  We may find him not to be so noble, but more vulnerable to the temperament and thoughts of the time.   Perhaps I'll find my dad and Atticus nearer alike than I thought, and I am okay with that. 

So here I sit awaiting the delivery of my copy of Go Set a Watchman, I think I might reread To Kill a Mockingbird while I wait.

Is it on your "to read" list?
Are you reading it now?