Author Harper Lee's hometown of Monroeville, Alabama buzzed with excitement on Tuesday over the release of her novel Go Set a Watchman.
The 89-year-old Lee, also known as Nelle, who is mostly deaf and blind, was expected to spend the day as she usually does at the 15-person assisted-living facility where she lives.
Wayne Flynt, a historian and author, said he visited her on Monday and handed her an inch-thick stack of news articles and printouts from around the world about the release of Watchman.
“She chortled,” Flynt said on Tuesday. “She’s absolutely delighted. I think she’s a bit overwhelmed.”
Shortly after sunrise, the doors of the Old Courthouse Museum opened and a bell tolled to mark the start of a marathon reading of Watchman. The museum is dedicated to telling the story of Lee and her childhood friend Truman Capote, and the reading is in the old courtroom where Lee’s father practised law.
Before the book’s midnight release, more than 200 people waited in the humid summer weather for sales to begin at Ol’ Curiosities & Book Shoppe.
An Atticus Finch impersonator, with glasses and a briefcase, entertained the crowd, a few of whom were dressed as characters from the book.
News trucks were parked beside the magnolia trees outside the old courthouse. Tourists frantically waved hand-held paper fans, emblazoned with the image of the Watchman book jacket as they tried to cool themselves in 36.6°C heat.
As for Lee, “she’s the town’s legacy of course”, said Spencer Madrie, owner of a Monroeville book store. “The town depends on her. She’s like the lifeblood of the town.”
artslife@thenational.ae
