Michigan bookstore offers refunds for Go Set a Watchman

An independent bookstore in Traverse City, Michigan, is offering both "refunds and apologies" after representing Go Set a Watchman as a "nice summer novel." Instead, Brilliant Books says, Harper Lee's long-lost manuscript ought to have been sold as an "academic insight."

"It is disappointing and frankly shameful to see our noble industry parade and celebrate this as 'Harper Lee’s New Novel,'" the shop's website says. "This is pure exploitation of both literary fans and a beloved American classic (which we hope has not been irrevocably tainted). We therefore encourage you to view Go Set a Watchman with intellectual curiosity and careful consideration; a rough beginning for a classic, but only that.”

Brilliant Books says Go Set a Watchman is comparable to Stephen Hero, James Joyce's first draft of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, rather than a novel in its own right. "Hero was initially rejected and Joyce reworked it into the classic Portrait. Hero was eventually released as an academic piece for scholars and fans — not as a new Joyce novel. We would have been delighted to see Go Set a Watchman receive a similar fate."

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Although Go Set a Watchman has remained a number one bestseller since its release last month, reactions have been mixed, particularly because To Kill a Mockingbird's hero, Atticus Finch, is portrayed as a racist in Go Set a Watchman.