Okay, I admit it: To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite books. Read it several times, will read it several more before I kick the bucket.
When news of another Lee manuscript being "discovered," I was intrigued. Harper Collins and booksellers everywhere were putting out the story that this was a "sequel" to TKAM, written before it, newly discovered and soon to be released. As the story went, Lee's editor told her she should re-write the book, setting it in Scout's childhood rather than adulthood.
Of course, now we know that it was nothing of the kind. It was a draft for TKAM that Lee's brilliant editor bullied into the masterpiece we all know. It would have been a curio for scholars and those fans who can't get enough. Releasing it as a kind of textbook or even as a public-domain pdf seems appropriate.
This is fraud on a massive scale. They're going to make a ton of money on it, too.
Now, I'm a big boy. I've purchased sequels or other novels by authors I like and been disappointed. That's life. This however, seems beyond the pale.
I had pre-ordered it for my Nook. After the release (and my download) we discovered the real story about this "sequel." I archived it immediately and have no interest in reading a (by many accounts) poor draft of a book I love.
I've asked Barnes & Noble for a refund. We'll see what they do.
Meanwhile, a Michigan bookstore is offering refunds for their customers who bought the book from them.
When news of another Lee manuscript being "discovered," I was intrigued. Harper Collins and booksellers everywhere were putting out the story that this was a "sequel" to TKAM, written before it, newly discovered and soon to be released. As the story went, Lee's editor told her she should re-write the book, setting it in Scout's childhood rather than adulthood.
Of course, now we know that it was nothing of the kind. It was a draft for TKAM that Lee's brilliant editor bullied into the masterpiece we all know. It would have been a curio for scholars and those fans who can't get enough. Releasing it as a kind of textbook or even as a public-domain pdf seems appropriate.
This is fraud on a massive scale. They're going to make a ton of money on it, too.
Now, I'm a big boy. I've purchased sequels or other novels by authors I like and been disappointed. That's life. This however, seems beyond the pale.
I had pre-ordered it for my Nook. After the release (and my download) we discovered the real story about this "sequel." I archived it immediately and have no interest in reading a (by many accounts) poor draft of a book I love.
I've asked Barnes & Noble for a refund. We'll see what they do.
Meanwhile, a Michigan bookstore is offering refunds for their customers who bought the book from them.
