The Guardian gives you a sneak preview of Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman on Friday ahead of its publication next Tuesday – follow live reaction here
Lee’s novel reaches the public after more than 60 years
Interactive: read an animated version of the first chapter
Listen to the extract read by Reese Witherspoon
Read a text only version
5.19pm AEST
Some readers are so sad about the killing off of Jem that they wish they hadn’t read the chapter.
Been waiting for months, but 52 paragraphs into #GoSetAWatchman and I'm afraid starting it was a mistake. So many emotions.
@jennirodden I read it. Wish I hadn't. #GoSetAWatchman #gutpunch
Have read the first chapter of #GoSetAWatchman Beautiful, but I am not okay with Jem being dead!!
Harper Lee has me sobbing already. Did not see this surprise coming. Go read chapter one of #GoSetAWatchman here: http://t.co/Ws51JHua53
#GoSetAWatchman Jem dead, Atticus crippled, Jean Louise sleeps without her pants. And that's just chapter one!
5.07pm AEST
Here’s one of the first outwardly hostile verdicts to the first chapter from Susan Harris from Words Without Borders.
#GoSetaWatchman Go get an editor
4.56pm AEST
Some readers have quibbles about the new chapter.
To see Finch name grace the page again bigger thrill than I expected, C1 of #GoSetAWatchman has flaws but promising https://t.co/PS4D4kUPbz
Undecided about #GoSetAWatchman 1st chapter. Lovely images though well done @guardian http://t.co/vSTPLVUYYY pic.twitter.com/T4skFpJt00
It spluttered to a start but ended beautifully. Can't wait to read the book! First chapter here: http://t.co/cEuop9jpE6 #GoSetAWatchman
Read the 1st Chapter of #HarperLee’s ‘#GoSetaWatchman. Not bad! Feels like you're reading a book written by a ghost. http://t.co/0qHXB8nzV3
Jean Louise Finch on @Amtrak's Crescent, going home via southbound train. Already crying #GoSetAWatchman #HarperLee http://t.co/pgahhnlqED
4.46pm AEST
Independent book seller Jon Page challenges fellow book shop owners not to feature Go Set A Watchman in their window display.
Bookseller challenge: do a window without the book in it #GoSetAWatchman @ Pages & Pages Booksellers https://t.co/cXDfPdq4Lm
4.37pm AEST
Fans of To Kill a Mockingbird are in collective mourning for Scout’s brother Jem. Two-thirds of the way through the opening chapter of Go Set a Watchmam we learn that Jem died soon after the second world war. Lee breaks it to readers with no more than a clause in a sentence.
Just about that time, Jean Louise’s brother dropped dead in his tracks one day, and after the nightmare of that was over, Atticus, who had always thought of leaving his practice to his son, looked around for another young man.
Oh goodness, is Jem dead?! Did I read right? And Atticus ill?? Noooo! #GoSetAWatchman Not sure I can read this....
Umm, so....Jem? #GoSetAWatchman
Is everyone reading too quickly and missing the huge reveal in ch.1?!? Please tell me I'm wrong and I didn't read it. #GoSetAWatchman
Oh no, Jem! @deepsouthmag @wsj #GoSetAWatchman #HarperLee #SouthernLit
4.13pm AEST
Before I hand over to my colleague Matthew Weaver, let’s get a few more quick reviews in from your comments and Twitter. The first one in particular I am in rather strong agreement with.
Everybody hurry up and read so we can talk about Jem.
Just marvelling at how much this novel speaks to current times in America: "Maycomb County was so cut off from the rest of the nation that some of its citizens, unaware of the South’s political predilections over the past ninety years, still voted Republican."
Given the debate over the Confederate Flag in the South, and more precisely, the terrible event that sparked that debate, this is chilling.
It was a bit like being united with an old friend, even if she's now Jean Louise! #GoSetAWatchman
Love the style and the 'feel' of the narrative.....but.....but....my mind kept wandering, what's with all the musing, I thought? Ach, it's just me, a middle aged male non-fiction reader.
Did you know Harper Lee was a neighbour of Truman Capote when they were kids? They stayed in touch and if I am correct Harper Lee went with him on some of his travels when researching 'In cold blood'.
Every word is a jewell. I am in Maycomb County again. #GoSetAWatchman
3.48pm AEST
Go Set a Watchman is both the most pre-ordered book since Harry Potter, and seemingly the most highly-guarded.
This is a really interesting look at the distribution process of the book, from the Wall Street Journal. The whole article is worth a read, but here is an extract:
Shipping a book to Azerbaijan usually takes two months but for next week’s release of Harper Lee’s “Go Set a Watchman,” an air courier has been enlisted to make sure copies arrive by Tuesday. Printing presses in Australia and India are cranking out editions for local markets. At Powell’s Books in Portland, Ore., the manager of the chain’s airport shop is prepared to personally pick up copies at the warehouse, if necessary, and get them on the shelves by Tuesday morning.
The book has unleashed a sweeping and secretive rollout unusual for any novel, much less one written more than 50 years ago. Publishers and booksellers, in hopes of keeping millions of copies under wraps, have adopted security measures such as shrink-wrapped boxes and storage areas monitored by closed-circuit television. Stores and libraries in more than 70 countries are preparing to unpack and display the books at the last minute.
3.30pm AEST
This was a great news report from the ABC’s 7.30 program on Thursday. Reporter Ben Knight visited Lee’s town of Monroeville, Alabama, to see how they felt about the new book. (Apologies to those outside of Australia who are geoblocked from watching the video, but there is still a full transcript.)
3.13pm AEST
The Guardian’s Alison Flood has had a look at the first chapter. Read her piece in full, which looks at both the content and clues in the extract, as well as the controversy around it.
The first chapter... reveals a witty, dry voice immediately recognisable as that of the To Kill a Mockingbird author. Jean Louise is shown to be grappling with two things as she comes home. Atticus, an almost godlike figure to the Scout of Mockingbird, is now in constant pain. “She was too old to rail against the inequity of it, but too young to accept her father’s crippling disease without putting up some kind of fight … She wondered how she would behave when her time came to hurt day in and day out.”
She is also pondering whether or not she should marry a childhood friend of her brother’s, who muses ruefully that “most women, before they’ve got ’em, present to their men smiling, agreeing faces. They hide their thoughts. You now, when you’re feeling hateful, honey, you are hateful.”
2.58pm AEST
A few quick reviews from the Guardian Australia staff, who are a tough crowd.
What can you really judge about a book from one chapter? At first reading this felt uneven, awkward, too full of exposition. At second reading I thought her relationship with the protagonist sounded... potentially interesting. And there’s beauty in the description. So in precis: not sure yet, but promising. - Emily Wilson
I thought it was pretty clunky. Two nice turns of phrase – the one about Cousin Joshua’s poetry and the one about the troops and settlers being her ancestors – but otherwise so full of cliches and implausible dialogue that it’s pretty hard to read. - Alan Evans
I listened rather than read and it sounded like someone reminiscing, which I guess is what it is, but in a vaguely annoying way. It verged on stream of consciousness but was also over-written; at times evocative, more often twee (though that may have been Witherspoon’s accent). If it was intended to leave me wanting me more and seeking answers, it didn’t. - Fred McConnell
2.40pm AEST
People are starting to finish up with the chapter and give their first impressions on social media. I’d love to hear yours in the comments.
Here are a few spoiler-free Twitter reviews to get the ball rolling.
Just read the first chapter of #GoSetAWatchman.Feel v emotional. Went back to my 9 year old self reading Lee's words for the 1st time.#books
The first chapter of #GoSetaWatchman was certainly enough to whet my appetite for more. And includes a punch to the gut for Mockingbird fans
"If you did not want much, there was plenty." Beautiful. #GoSetAWatchman
There are; way; too many; semi-colons in; Go Set A; Watchman. Unreadable. #GoSetAWatchman #gogetagrammarguide
2.33pm AEST
Perhaps an interactive animated edition is more your style?
Related: Go Set A Watchman: read the first chapter - interactive
2.29pm AEST
Don’t want to read the first chapter of Go Set a Watchman yourself? How about listening to Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon read it to you instead?
Related: Listen to Reese Witherspoon reading Harper Lee's Go Set A Watchman
2.25pm AEST
While I wait patiently for readers to finish the chapter, some responses are coming in to my earlier request for when you first read To Kill a Mockingbird.
It sounds lovely, IlovetheBrits!
Taught high school for thirty years. TKAM on our list every year. First time was a little bush school (now a famous wine-growing region down south in Western Australia)... so, a hot Aussie summer afternoon, fan ticking around in the classroom ceiling... a voice.. "Miss, read us a bit more of To Kill a Mockingbird, please".
Ah, what a life. And then the movie... further bliss.
Memories.
2.20pm AEST
If you were wondering just how quickly people in the digital age will tweet about something they’re reading, here is your answer.
"atlanta" is the second word in harper lee's new novel. idk why but that seems like a good sign #atl #GoSetAWatchman
2.09pm AEST
It’s time! I hope you have your afternoon coffee ready, and the phone off the hook. Who even needs a weekend with so much excitement on a Friday.
Read it here, then please come back and tell me what you think.
2.02pm AEST
This is so great – a quiz for the kids (and adults). How well do you remember To Kill a Mockingbird? I got eight out of ten, but to be honest, I did a quick refresher course this morning on the google. Should probably read the book again.
1.51pm AEST
My Australian colleague Paul Farrell is a big fan of To Kill a Mockingbird. He’s shared his thoughts on a favourite quote from the book.
One of To Kill a Mockingbird’s most enduring features is Harper Lee’s portrayal of Atticus Finch. He represents the very best of the law and the idea of due process. My favourite scene in To Kill a Mockingbird is Atticus Finch’s powerful courtroom showdown. It’s an incredible moment that has quite probably inspired a generation of lawyers. During the hearing, Finch gets up and says:
“We know all men are not created equal in the sense some people would have us believe – some people are smarter than others, some people have more opportunity because they’re born with it, some men make more money than others, some ladies make better cakes than others – some people are born gifted beyond the normal scope of most men.
1.49pm AEST
Book people and their jokes, hey?
Q: What does Harper Lee tell people who have no interest in Wimbledon? A: Go Watch a Set, Man. (Don't forget to tip your waiter.)
1.36pm AEST
The chapter will be released soon! Contain your literary excitement for a moment, and let’s get this book club going. I’d like to hear when you first read To Kill a Mockingbird, if you reread it later in life, and why you think it is (or isn’t) such an important book. The comment box is just down there. *Points at the bottom of the page*
1.31pm AEST
Just in case you thought this book could not be more overhyped or analysed before we can get our hands on it, the managing designer at HarperCollins, Stuart Bache, has taken us through the book jackets for Go Set a Watchman.
The blue US jacket is a love letter to the first edition of To Kill a Mockingbird – from the typeface used, to the pictorial style. The name of Harper Lee stands prominent (notice that on the original edition her name is on one line and is much smaller).
Of course there is the “Author of” line across the top, but the entire cover is To Kill a Mockingbird, just 20 years on from the original story’s timeframe. There sits the tree, a little older now, with far fewer leaves and without the beautiful vibrancy of the green. Instead the ones that remain are gold; perhaps Scout returns in autumn, or it’s a suggestion of her age, or of Atticus’s age – he is in his “golden years” after all.
1.18pm AEST
The announcement of Lee’s new book was not without controversy. Given her statements in the past and the fact she had suffered a stroke a few years ago, there were questions around how much Lee was involved in the decision.
Here is a good read from my colleague Ed Pilkington on some of the furore around it.
The revelation that Go Set a Watchman was unearthed three years before the official account of Lee’s team has suggested, at a meeting attended by the very same lawyer who has herself claimed to make the later discovery, casts the murky story surrounding the book into further obscurity.
When the plan to publish the novel was first announced in February, to the astonishment and jubilation of readers all around the world, local townspeople and friends of the author raised questions about the extent of Lee’s involvement in the decision.
1.16pm AEST
Hello, and welcome to the Guardian’s Go Set a Watchman live blog. We’ll be bringing you commentary, context and reaction to an exclusive sneak preview of Harper Lee’s highly anticipated second novel.
It’s our own online book club, if you will.
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