"Go Set a Watchman" hits bookstore shelves nationwide
NEW YORK CITY -- Bookstores opened early Tuesday morning across the country for customers eager to be the first to buy Harper Lee's new novel, "Go Set a Watchman."
"In our lifetimes, we never thought we would have another book by Harper Lee," said Barnes and Noble Vice President of Adult Trade and Children's Books Mary Amicucci. "'To Kill a Mockingbird' is so special that I don't think we've really ever experienced this kind of surprise in a publishing event."
Since the announcement of the new novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird" has doubled in sales, and "Go Set a Watchman" has generated the most pre-orders of any book since 2009, according to Amicucci.
Lesley Simmonds, a middle school teacher, is one of many "Mockingbird" fans who purchased the novel as soon as it went on sale. She bought seven copies for the students in her school's book club.
"The characters are amazing, and the themes in the book are so prevalent today," Simmonds said. "Our children, at different points, they don't pay attention to history, but when you can see it playing out and repeating, then that's something to discuss and to learn from."
Not all Harper Lee fans are excited about the new novel though. "Go Set a Watchman," which takes place 20 years after "To Kill a Mockingbird," has received criticism for its racist portrayal of characters that were revered by readers of Lee's first book.
"Quite honestly I don't think it should have come out knowing what's in the book," "Mockingbird" fan Doris Lehman said. "I think it's time to move forward not backwards, and I think this is moving backwards."
The release of "Go Set a Watchman" has been widely anticipated since HarperCollins announced in February that the original manuscript, written by Lee in the mid-1950s, was found and would be published.
"Harper Lee is finally getting to tell her real story -- probably the one she wanted to tell for decades," said Helen Feuer, who woke up early on Tuesday morning to buy the book for her 16-year-old daughter. "There's no downside of truth."