Confession, I didn't read "To Kill a Mockingbird" until I was 20. I distinctly remember the disbelief that the main campus library didn’t have a copy available, and the amusement that the one copy available on campus was in the law library. It must have been early in the fall because I know I sat in the open, sunny, and peeling windowsill of my dorm room to read most of it. I loved every page, and I know that’s due in large part to reading it under my terms, as opposed to those of a high school reading list.
I remember watching Gregory Peck live up to every expectation I had of Atticus Finch later that year. On the long Amtrak trip from Salem to San Francisco I was anything but disappointed with the film adaptation, and I immediately went back for a second reread of the book right away. It was just as good the second time.
I don’t know what else there is out there to say about "To Kill a Mockingbird." For over 50 years it has been reviewed, beloved, compared, analyzed, critically examined and dissected, and passed on to readers of all ages. It’s book that has the magic of reaching out and grabbing readers of all ages - and I don’t feel the need to review it for you all here, other than to say go read it. Don’t be intimidated by its literary legacy, or status as a modern classic. At the end of the day it’s a book. A lovely one, one that indulges in the simple pleasure of a well written story. I had plenty of reservations, haughty uninformed opinions, and plenty of contrarianism about the book before I read it; which is how I ended up reading it at 20, rather than earlier on. There are few books out there that match the enjoyment and satisfaction of reading To Kill a Mockingbird.
This is why I can’t get excited about the announcement that Harper Lee is writing a follow up. Bear with me - this may be more of those reservations, haughty opinions, and contrarianism - but I’m worried and disappointed. Worried because "To Kill a Mockingbird" has long been set in literary canon and standing up to is no small feat, let alone standing up to it as something that continues in the same narrative. Think about the last chapter of "The Deathly Hallows" - where JK Rowling attempts to wrap up the narrative 20 years in the future. It was terrible. Most fans will tell you they pretend that chapter was never written because it diminished and dulls the trials and triumphs that came before it. Rowling’s second wind of success came from a pseudonym and a genre vastly departed from her first go at writing, an endeavor that was totally divorced from the JK Rowling name.
I’m disappointed because I so love the fact that "To Kill a Mockingbird" is such a beautiful moment of writing. It has a clear and powerful message without getting mired in self righteousness, or lecturing condescendingly. Nor does it sacrifice any literary value to be moralistic and preachy. My instinct is that a continuation will diminish the impact and meaning of one of my favorite novels, in the same way that Rowling’s last chapter tarnished the whole Harry Potter series. I can’t help but wonder why Lee would choose a sequel and not a separate book altogether to say what more she has to say.
Perhaps I’m not giving Harper Lee enough credit - perhaps “Go Set a Watchman” will soar above expectations and set itself as a second piece of modern literary canon. *Perhaps my concern isn't Lee's writing at all, but the pedestal that has been built for "To Kill A Mockingbird." Whether it's the one I've built myself, or one constructed by the media and readers at large, Lee's first book looms like a titan on it, and it would be a far fall. Regardless of authorial intent, these constructions outside of it put future books in a precarious place of bringing down a beloved classic thereby tarnishing the whole story. I don't intend to blame Lee for this, as it is hardly her fault that people love her writing, but it is likely the root of my worry in seeing a sequel published.* I hope I’m wrong, I sincerely hope that like my first reading of “To Kill a Mockingbird” Lee’s words manage to dissuade me of all reservations a second time. * Portion between *'s added in at a later time than original posting.
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