Speaking of Truman Capote, my favorite work of his is the story “A Christmas Memory”. Some lovely writing there. I’d rather a writer have a small output of worthwhile material than loads of doorstopper books that aren’t worth reading. It makes no difference the amount of their output, both Lee and Capote had major effects on American literature.
Harper Lee could really shake things up if the new novel presents evidence that Tom Robinson was, in fact, guilty as hell
I’d argue that The Silmarillion was the best thing Tolkien wrote and he and his publisher didn’t think there would be a audience.
My understanding was that she was his typist for it and may have done something here or there, but that she didn’t think it was fair to the guilty, much less the murdered.
Truman Capote was not even slightly interested in heterosexual relations with any woman. I think you are trying to whoosh us.
Probably my single favorite short story of all time. I can’t read it without becoming ferklempt (and I’m not a particularly sentimental person). Of course my growing up in rural Alabama with crazy great aunts may have some significance.
I’ve always thought the notion that Tru wrote To Kill a Mockingbird absolutely ludicrous. There is no way in the 7 hells he’d have written a book that heralded and kept quiet about it, especially after he and Nell had their falling out (the details of which aren’t known).
Another shoutout, as I do always when it’s relevant, to the movie Infamous. It essentially told the same story as Capote but is, imho, the incomparably better movie and Toby Jones’s Capote is leaps beyond PSH’s Oscar winning performance (rest his soul), and Sandra Bullock is great as Nell.
I was assigned TKaM as required reading in 7th grade, and have very fond memories of it. I probably should re-read it as an adult. I wonder if people will be able to read the new book objectively, but I’ll be very interested. I read mostly nonfiction these days, but I think I see my first exception in a long time!
I hope it’s better than her last one.
Spot on in Australia it was part of the English prescribed reading (along with of course Catch 22 and Catcher in the Rye) so yes some fond memories of it. I will re read it now and then wait for her new one to come out, be interesting to see how I see the book 35 years later and with the benefit of seeing the movie a dozen times or so.
For my part, I never read the novel until my daughter brought it home for her tenth grade assignment (although I had read one of the chapters in an anthology of Christmas-related literature). I think you’ll find that it holds up.
I know the movie is considered a masterpiece, and I probably would have loved it had I not read the book, but having read the book first I was disappointed by how much was cut out. For those who haven’t read the novel, the rape trial is a relatively small portion; it’s more of a slice of life.
I would love to see a miniseries version that brings in Scout’s aunt and cousin and the various neighbors and sideplots omitted from the film (Calpurnia taking the kids to church, Dil’s “dramatic reenactment” of the various trials and tribulations at the Radley house, etc.). A remake screams for Tom Hanks as Atticus.
And this in part is why I would have tempered expectations. It was a first attempt and the editor said “I think there’s another, better story in there”. Granted, the “better story” is so outstanding that the first try may be quite good as well; or we may indeed see that the publisher made the right call. Like was said before, let it stand or fall on its own.
I am myself not too keen on “burning the manuscripts” of stuff that did not make the cut in its time, but at the same time I tend to be skeptical about “reconstructed” “lost books” – but those are just my own preferences and prejudices. Now, if they would put out an Author’s/Editors’ Study Version, with the edited novel AND the whole text of the source manuscript, that could be an extremely interesting work.
Me too
Here’s a Vanity Fair article about the recent goings on in the life of Harper Lee and how many people have had a hand in trying to control it.
reminds me of when a singer/band has a hit they re-release all their old stuff to make a few extra bucks.
Yeah, she really seems money-grubbing, which is why she’s stayed out of the public eye and not published anything for 50 years.
[QUOTE=GRR Martin]
She takes 50 years to write a novel - and people think I write slow
[/QUOTE]
Brian
[QUOTE=actual GRRM tweet]
Harper Lee is going to publish a sequel after 55 years…
and you people think I write slow.
[/QUOTE]
Brian
Of course opinions are subjective, but people involved have made claims that it is a worthy pre-, er, sequel.
I really liked To Kill a Mockingbird and have read it a half a dozen times since first reading it for English class during high school.
I am looking forward to this and am cautiously optimistic.
Here’s an interview from The Atlantic with the publisher of Harper (the company) about Go Set A Watchman. Interesting stuff.
ETA: Just found this column by another *Atlantic *writer in regard to this publishing event. Good food for thought.
So why did it never occur to the original editor that it might be worthwhile to take a second look at her original novel?