‘Go Set a Watchman’: World reacts to first chapter of Harper Lee novel

The world has been watching, and finally the wait is over. The first chapter of Harper Lee’s highly anticipated new novel, “Go Set a Watchman,” appeared online early Friday morning. Book critics and fans alike are split over whether the first chapter captures some of the same literary magic that made her debut, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” one of the 20th century’s most celebrated novels. The book reintroduces Lee’s beloved character Jean Louise Finch, also known as Scout, as a grown woman traveling from New York to Alabama to visit her father, one of American literature’s great heroes, Atticus Finch. The Wall Street Journal and the Guardian each won deals to publish the novel’s first chapter around midnight EDT.

'Watchman’ will offer readers an unprecedented and unfiltered look into the mind and creative process of one of the country’s most revered and enigmatic authors.

Alexandra Alter, a publishing-industry reporter for the New York Times

As should be expected, the early response to such a hotly anticipated work fell across a far-reaching spectrum, from sheer delight to utter disappointment. Many are excited to get their hands on any new material by Lee, whereas others have expressed concern over the circumstances surrounding its publication. Regardless of what people think of the opening chapter, there is no question that the book is destined to be a commercial juggernaut. “Go Set a Watchman” is the most preordered book on Amazon.com since J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” in 2007.

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