Today, HarperCollins released the cover image for Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman, the upcoming follow-up to her classic To Kill a Mockingbird, which is due to be released in July. What’s beautiful about it is how it connects the book to its literary predecessor.
For reference, here’s the original cover of To Kill A Mockingbird:
The cover of Watchman, which is set 20 years after the events of Mockingbird, indicates the passage of time by having fewer leaves on the tree. As for the train:
In a statement released by HarperCollins, company president Michael Morrison noted that Go Set a Watchman begins with Mockingbird protagonist Scout Finch returning by train 20 years later, in the 1950s, to her native Alabama.
The release of a new Harper Lee novel after 50 years is exciting, and while there has been controversy as to whether Lee was duped or taken advantage of in any way in order to make this happen, I think that it says more about us if we assume that an elderly woman can’t decide things for herself. Everyone becomes more forgetful as they age, but Lee does not suffer from dementia, which is a very specific thing. I think that the same woman who worked with a lawyer as recently as 2013 to sue someone who actually was taking advantage of her poor health would know exactly what was going on in relation to this novel, and I’m thrilled to read it!
Go Set a Watchman is set for a July 14 publication date.
(via The Hollywood Reporter)
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