Go Set a Watchman Sells 105,000 Copies in the UK on First Day of Release

Go Set a Watchman

Looks like Harper Lee’s caregiver could be in for a pretty big payday, if you believe the terrible rumours making the rounds. Her second novel, Go Set a Watchman, has shifted 105,000 copies on its first day of release in the United Kingdom.

The figures have been released by its publisher Penguin Random House and include both eBook and physical copies. Many UK bookstores stayed opened during the night of its release on Tuesday.

“It’s so fabulous to see a book dominating the news agenda and to be reminded of just how important literature and reading is to all of us,” said publisher Susan Sandon.

“I speak for everyone at Penguin Random House when I say how privileged we are to be part of this piece of publishing history.”

The novel, which was written in the 1950s, has received polarising reviews from critics and casual readers with one review from Entertainment Weekly being particularly damning:

Though Watchman has a few stunning passages, it reads, for the most part, like a sluggishly-paced first draft, replete with incongruities, bad dialogue, and underdeveloped characters.

Set twenty years after the events of the iconic To Kill a Mockingbird, Watchman has been eagerly anticipated since its announcement, though it hasn’t been without its controversies. Some corners suggest that it has been released due to peer pressure on the elderly author, though proof remains hard to come by.

One thing’s for certain with the buzz surrounding Watchman, however. It’s nice to see the release of a novel that has nothing to do with a Twilight fan-fiction receive plenty of mainstream attention.

This girl is probably my hero though.

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