So Serious Saturday #2

Yes, I know it isn't Saturday anywhere in the world. But a novel said to be discovered after half a century is a notable literary event. It is said that Harper Lee has a second book and, perhaps more surprising, she is still alive at the time of this posting. After reading the article on The Guardian's website, I had to think about some of its implications. I came up with this list.

1. Millions of schoolchildren may have to dissect yet another outdated book using its grand societal themes, solid characters, a clear story arc, et cetera, et cetera.

2. Number one probably won't happen, since To Kill a Mockingbird is an established English class classic, and English classes generally don't read whole book series.

3. Relatively speaking, this sort of thing happens quite a lot in the art world, where some long-lost artpiece of Picasso or Da Vinci or some other prolific artist appears in a storage unit or in some lord's basement.

4. Questions are raised about Lee's involvement in the discovery and publication of this said book...

5.  ...But maybe she forgot about the second novel for a reason - maybe she didn't like it, maybe it doesn't show the characters in the strongest light, maybe it's a stretch or a painful distortion of its prequel, like too many sequels are.

6. Also, maybe she didn't like it. That should be a factor in publishing a novel, whether or not a writer likes their own work, shouldn't it?

7. Looking back at number three, famous paintings or paintings by famous artists tend to gross a lot more than novels do, for example the entire Harry Potter series. What kind of money is in this, and for whom?

8. Maybe readers should care about who gets what credit. Philosophers, commence the discussion.

9. But will the readers read for pleasure, grades, or truth? Or some reason entirely different?

10. The story of the long-lost novel will make a great story someday. Someone's going to want to write this down...
11. How will this new story rewrite our understanding of the events of To Kill a Mockingbird? I'm keeping my eyes open for reviews, to see if the work is worth my time.

There are many good books, and some that are truly great.