Sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird

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PashaRu
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Re: Sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird

Post by PashaRu »

Cbrunyate wrote:Like many of you, I have mixed feelings about the release of this book. While I loved the original and would like to follow the characters into their later years in life, I don't know about how I feel about the book being published post-mortem. I'm quite sure that the author knew that she could have published this book and would have had she wanted to see it in print. I'm not sure why she didn't destroy it to ensure that this didn't happen. I hate to see that her wishes weren't honored, but curiosity will probably get the best of me and I'll probably read the book. As conflicting as it is, I want to see where the story goes!
Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, is still very much alive (she is 88), and it was her decision to have this book published.
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Post by Michael_hayden »

I'm a little apprehensive: TKAM is my all-time favourite book, and I'm not entirely convinced that it needs adding to, even from a prequel. However, none of this changes the fact that I'm going to read it, and I can only hope that the cynic in me will be eating these words!
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DATo
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Post by DATo »

It ought to be pretty good. I mean, after all, she's had 55 years to write it.
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Post by TammyO »

I personally cannot wait to read it. However it was discovered or why it was finally published is of no concern to me. I'm just happy that this author has published another book. It is long overdue. They say that it was her concern that she could never write a book that could compare to "To Kill a Mockingbird." However, I imagine this book is going to be another success. Also, I have never read anything about her death. I just did a Google search as well. As far as I know she is very much alive, but there are mixed reports online. Is there anyone who knows for sure?
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Post by BVos25 »

I am looking forward to the sequel. I keep seeing articles online where Lee apparently wrote Go Set a Watchman before she actually wrote her classic novel. Sure I was forced to read it in high school, but it was one of the few that I didn't mind reading at all. I'm feeling optimistic that the new book will be of the same caliber as the original.
As for Lee's death though, could they be talking about her sister instead? Her sister did indeed die last year, and some people were worried that Harper was being taken advantage of by her lawyer who stumbled on the old manuscript. Her sister was a big part of helping Harper in general, as well as keeping the press away from her.
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Post by ncreads »

I'm looking forward to getting to see the characters later in their lives, I only hope that it doesn't shame To Kill a Mockingbird as I loved that novel. Hopefully we'll be able to recognize the characters through their personalities and it'll actually feel like a continuation of To Kill a Mockingbird.
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Post by maryjacqueline »

I think this book was very moving, provoking and appealing to mostly all ages. I would love to read a sequel.
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Post by Stevefromtheblock »

Yes! I will read this as soon as it comes out!
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Post by bluemel4 »

To Kill a Mockingbird was the first book that I felt connected to on a deeper level. I honestly took to heart the message of not knowing a person until you have walked in their shoes. I became a more empathetic teenager after the book was assigned and discussed in my freshman literature class. At the age of 33, I still count it as a book that has had a major imact on my life.

To find out their is a sequel makes me a bit uncomfortable. Is this another case of V.C. Andrews becoming a seperate entity from the person and therefore allowing ghost writers to smear and degrade her legacy? As someone stated why publish the book now that the author is dead? Is this a sad attempt at reliving glory days? Have we gone to far in the direction of needing to know what exactly happens in that "happily ever after"? It does give me hope that the book was written before To Kill a Mockingbird so perhaps it was just something as innocent as being a lost work.
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Post by LivreAmour217 »

I love To Kill A Mockingbird and I fully intend to read the sequel when it comes out. Until I saw this post, I had no idea that a sequel was in the works. I guess this is one of the benefits of being part of the online book club :D

-- 05 Mar 2015, 18:13 --

Also, I've noticed that some folks are under the impression that Harper Lee is deceased, but that is not the case. She is 88 years old.
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Post by bluemel4 »

Thank you LivreAmour217! Now I feel a whole lot better about the sequel knowing the author is still alive. I feel so silly not checking that detail out myself...
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Post by debbiebee »

I'm excited about this, too. Will they all live Harper Lee ever after?
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Post by DATo »

TammyO wrote:I personally cannot wait to read it. However it was discovered or why it was finally published is of no concern to me. I'm just happy that this author has published another book. It is long overdue. They say that it was her concern that she could never write a book that could compare to "To Kill a Mockingbird." However, I imagine this book is going to be another success. Also, I have never read anything about her death. I just did a Google search as well. As far as I know she is very much alive, but there are mixed reports online. Is there anyone who knows for sure?

Lee is, as you say, "very much alive". She is 88 years old.

There was always a suspicion that she was working on another novel. Personally, I've always felt that if there actually was another novel she intended for it to be published after her death.

There is a great book - a biography about her - by Charles J. Shields called simply Mockingbird which I would recommend highly. The story of this remarkable woman and the masterpiece she created is totally absorbing reading to anyone who is a fan of hers. The book is resplendent with anecdotal material about her life beginning with her childhood and there is also contained a great deal of material concerning the writing and publishing of her book as well as the movie.
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Post by Beth Davids »

I definitely want to read it. I just hope it does justice to the first book.
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Post by CarolinaBookworm »

Ever since I've read the book and heard about the sequel, I've gotten excited about it :)
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