Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise’s homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town, and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt.
Featuring many of the iconic characters from Lee’s first book, the beloved To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman perfectly captures a young woman, and a world, in painful yet necessary transition out of the illusions of the past—a journey that can only be guided by one’s own conscience.
Written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman imparts a fuller, richer understanding and appreciation of Harper Lee. Here is an unforgettable novel of wisdom, humanity, passion, humor, and effortless precision—a profoundly affecting work of art that is both wonderfully evocative of another era and relevant to our own times.
If you can’t get enough of Scout and Atticus, check out these literary indies.
Pacific Avenue by Anne L. Watson
Richard Johnson is a black veteran, back from Vietnam and trying to rebuild his life by attending college in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He’s smart and handsome, yet haunted by memories that plague his sleep and send him flying for cover at sudden noises.
Kathy Woodbridge is a white student in one of Richard’s classes. She’s pretty, idealistic, and drawn irresistibly to Richard’s combination of charm and aliveness. It leads her into a relationship different from any she had expected — and to a tragedy greater than any she can face. Lacey Greer is a secretary in San Pedro, California. When Kathy shows up at her office and is hired with no record of her past, Lacey wonders what Kathy could be running from. She’s determined to find out, and to help if she can. Set in the early seventies, Pacific Avenue explores themes of love, belonging, helpfulness, hope, forgiveness, reconciliation, interracial marriage, and healing from the trauma of war.
The Mason Jar by James Russell Lingerfelt
What if your old college roommate called, raving about a book someone sent her, calling it the most beautiful book she’s ever read? “But,” she said, “it’s about you.” The author is your college ex.
Clayton Fincannon is a Tennessee farm boy raised at the feet of his grandfather. He and his grandfather leave letters for each other in a Mason jar on his grandfather’s desk; letters of counsel and affirmation. When Clayton attends college in Southern California, he meets and falls in love with a dark, debutante, from Colorado. However, when an unmentioned past resurrects in her life and she leaves, Clayton is left with unanswered questions.
Clayton goes on to serve as a missionary in Africa, while he and his grandfather continue their tradition of writing letters. When Clayton returns home five years later to bury his grandfather, he searches for answers pertaining to the loss of the young woman he once loved. Little does Clayton know, the answers await him in the broken Mason jar.
South of Everything: A Novel by Audrey Taylor Gonzalez
Set in 1940s Germantown, Tennessee, South of Everything is a magical coming-of-age story about Missy Sara, the daughter of a plantation-owning family, who, despite her privileged background, finds more in common with “the help” than her own family.
Missy develops a special kinship with her parents’ servant Old Thomas, who introduces her to the mysterious Lolololo Tree––a magical, mystical tree with healing powers that she discovers is wiser than any teacher or parent or priest. Her connection with the Lolololo Tree opens her eyes to the religious and racial prejudice of her surroundings and readers will root for her to fight against injustice and follow her heart to meet her fate.
Walt Honerman has just about given up on life. He is thirty-eight years old and lives in a small apartment above a hardware store in Billings, Montana. But because of a promise made to a dying uncle, Walt embarks on a cross-country driving trip with two passengers: Moira Kelly, a young woman who had befriended Walt’s uncle during his recent hospitalization; and 76-year old Izzy Dunleavy, a loquacious nursing home resident who wishes to return to his hometown of Crawfish Bay, Maryland.
During their trip, Izzy entertains Walt and Moira with elaborate tales of the grand resort that he once owned in Crawfish Bay-a resort with a mythical reputation for being a place of good luck. But when they arrive in Crawfish Bay, a suddenly confused Izzy is arrested on a decades-old embezzlement charge. After Moira insists on staying to help Izzy, she and Walt discover that most of Izzy’s stories are pure fiction. More discoveries occur when they meet Felix, Izzy’s former business partner, and Emily, a singe mother who worked at the nursing home in Billings and who came to Crawfish Bay because of Izzy’s promise of a job at his fictional resort.
This mismatched group, thrown together as much by anger as by nostalgic affection, begins investigating the money Izzy supposedly embezzled when he disappeared from Crawfish Bay years ago. And despite his retreat from life, brought on by a past tragedy, Walt gets pulled into the wake of wild dreamers.
Simmering beneath the skin and hiding around every corner are a family’s painful memories of a child who disappeared in the middle of the night 25 years ago.
Nursing her mother back to health wasn’t all that drew Georgie Haydock back to the mountain tourist town of Chimney Rock. The summer roils as her mother thrashes in her bed, insisting that the strange woman stalking her store downstairs is Georgie’s missing sister. Georgie aches to reunite with the hometown boy she never forgot; yet, she fears all the summer’s turmoil will force her to unveil the secret she’s been hiding since she was six. Naturalist Ron Elliott doesn’t care what Georgie did all those year back. She’s the one creature he’s always yearned to possess.
Dancing on Rocks weaves through a network of memories, secrets, and mutual dependencies twisting through this isolated community of 112 at the foot of Chimney Rock State Park. Thousands of visitors stream through this tourist destination every week, but in reality, the people in the small village have only each other.
There’s something for everyone in this assortment of indies. If you liked Go Set A Watchman, settle in for a day of leisurely reading. Make sure you’ve got a comfy armchair or shady spot on the lawn for these page turning tales of drama, history and good old unexpected literary twists.
Note: Many of the titles featured in this story are also available through IndieBound. Enjoy!