We can have a major ding-dong or a bit of a ding-dong.

Penelope wrote:We can have a major ding-dong or a bit of a ding-dong.

Very nice to meet you Penelope.

OK, I’m in, but I’ve never been convinced that Truman Capote (Harper’s cousin and character in TKAM) didn’t write TKAM or so heavily edit it which is the reason Harper Lee never wrote another thing.
In her favor, she is getting slammed for making Atticus a hypocrite regarding his race relations. I disagree. In TKAM she reflected the nobility of white folks who could wish (and pray for), a better existence for the black people but 20 years later when confronted with having to interact with them at all social levels turned sour, as Atticus accurately reflects.
That social condition is represented by the story of the pig and the hen walking down the path. The hen said, “Let’s throw a ham and egg breakfast for farmer brown.” The pig said, “Great idea miss hen but for you it is only a contribution. For me it is a total commitment.”
Hi Penelope, are you up for me?

Hello Lawrence ! I don't know what you mean when you ask if I'm up for you. It's interesting your suggestion that Truman Capote might have contributed to TKAM. It has crossed my mind that this is not terribly well written. Has anyone else thought this? I have, of course, only read the first two chapters so I might get used to the style.

The awkward wording might be part of the riddle of course.

Lawrence wrote:OK, I’m in, but I’ve never been convinced that Truman Capote (Harper’s cousin and character in TKAM) didn’t write TKAM or so heavily edit it which is the reason Harper Lee never wrote another thing.
In her favor, she is getting slammed for making Atticus a hypocrite regarding his race relations. I disagree. In TKAM she reflected the nobility of white folks who could wish (and pray for), a better existence for the black people but 20 years later when confronted with having to interact with them at all social levels turned sour, as Atticus accurately reflects.
That social condition is represented by the story of the pig and the hen walking down the path. The hen said, “Let’s throw a ham and egg breakfast for farmer brown.” The pig said, “Great idea miss hen but for you it is only a contribution. For me it is a total commitment.”
Hi Penelope, are you up for me?

I don't believe that Truman Capote had anything to do with TKAM. I read just recently Life with Harper Lee, just before I read Go Set A Watchman. I believe it gave a certain understanding of Harper train of thought in her writings. I do believe that there is a lot more items that have been written by Harper Lee. No one ever said that she stopped writing.

In a interview, she said how can she top TKAM. One of the major reasons she stopped publishing was a fear of never producing a novel that would get so much acclaim.

I also was interested in Truman Capote for he was a celebrity in the social circles where I was from (New York). He was know to be extremely jealous of Harper.

I think the writing is wonderful. She has a way of putting you in the room where the conversation is. Scout is now growing up without rosy glasses. Life has isn't flat, it has many layers.

Penelope wrote:Hello Lawrence ! I don't know what you mean when you ask if I'm up for you. It's interesting your suggestion that Truman Capote might have contributed to TKAM. It has crossed my mind that this is not terribly well written. Has anyone else thought this? I have, of course, only read the first two chapters so I might get used to the style.

The awkward wording might be part of the riddle of course.

Penelope...Give yourself time to really get into the book. At first I also thought this isn't going to be good. I changed my thoughts by the end of book. I really liked the contents and self examination that we must all go through in life.

I have been looking at some background and it seems that Harper and Truman were lifelong friends which might be why the rumour started. Margaret Mitchell only wrote one fabulous book 'Gone with the Wind' but it seems she didn't like fame. The same might go for Harper Lee. There is plenty of evidence to point to that.

I often find that, with authors, they are more interesting than their books. Certainly they are often quite sad.

It isn't that I'm not enjoying the book, just an odd use of language which I'm sure I'll assimilate the more I read.

Penelope:
It has crossed my mind that this is not terribly well written. Has anyone else thought this? I have, of course, only read the first two chapters so I might get used to the style.

I'm curious about this, " not terribly well written" Can you give a comparison example?.

It seems to me the writing doesn't have the smoothness one might find in the work of an author that has had a slow build up of material, a body of work that has enabled a fine tuning of style as is were.

Does the writing expose a neophytes product?

The down side for Harper Lee was her attitude about the story. As she put it, She told her story, There were, for her, no more.

I'm trying to think of whom could be considered a contemporary of hers, I'm talking women here. Its a strange moment in history, not just for female authors, but for many occupations, women were locked out.

Harper Lee was an outlier, I respect that.

There was tremendous pressure on her just to offer opinion on southern politics, I'm wondering if she kept at it (writing, publishing)
how might she have effected the overall growth of a nation.

People (fans) can be a heavy drag on artist, everybody wants a piece of you when you've produced something remarkable.

The book we are reading is closer in mind to what she had expected to publish, The original idea that she had was edited down to be what became TKAM.

Go Set A Watchman and TKAM are very close to her life. She drew from the town, people and political climate to base her novels from. I don't see how Go Set a Watchman would be the original premise for TKAM.
I know that she did have a falling out with Truman Capote when she really started to get famous.
Her real life she live in NYC except for 2 weeks or so a year. Then she was back in the home town where TKAM is depicted.
As you read Go Set a Watchman. Her writing style may be odd or her grammar not so easy for a person outside the USA to understand, but I think like many great writers (e.g. Samuel Clemons and Toni Morrison) have their distinct styles and prose.
She did continue to write articles and such, she just did not release another novel. I willing to bet that there is much more than where this came from.
The Characters are based on people that are real. Real doesn't mean perfect,
The message in this novel is timeless. I don't believe that they are comparable.

From what I understand, Go Set A Watchman, was an earlier text version of To Kill A Mochingbird.
They really can be considered a single book if you will. What we are reading now, is essentially what was shelved fifty years ago. Its this aspect that explains the repetition of some of the text, in some cases almost verbatim.