Nothing has recently electrified the literary world more than news of reclusive literary icon Harper Lee coming out of her 55-year break to publish her second novel, Go Set a Watchman.
The literary arena practically exploded in jubilation as millions of book enthusiasts, critics and reviewers across the world waited with bated breath for return of one of the most celebrated writers in the world today. Authors and critics in Kenya were also caught in this euphoric web that swept across the world.
For local writers who labour under the delusion that the more books one has under his or her name, the more famous they are, the world's rapturous celebrations to the news of the return of the 88-years old writer, who has not written or published a single piece of literature in over five decades, must have had a profoundly sobering effect.
Most people are understandably baffled on why a sane world would go nutty over the return of an aging author who should have faded into oblivion after having written nothing for over half a century.
Lee only published one novel in 1960. She then took the longest sabbatical ever and reemerged last month with news that she intended to publish her second novel. Ironically, not since the release of JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has the world been so excited about a coming book.
The mere fact that she has not written for as long as Kenya has had her independence ought to have hurled her into literary black hole. Not Harper Lee.
A stroll into history might explain why Lee remains a literary phenomenon. Born Nelle Harper Lee, she was last heard of in the 60s when she published her first novel To Kill a Mockingbird. This was way before Ngugi wa Thion'go had Chinua Achebe go through the raw draft of Weep Not, Child during the Languages conference in Makerere university in 1962.
As a first-time writer, Harper Lee's success remains stuff for legends. A year after its publication, the book won The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The following year, it won Brotherhood Award of the National Conference of Christian and Jews Paperback of the Year Award. For the stunned author, the only way to go was up with instant fame, recognition and a burgeoning fan-base capping her success.
That she had not bargained for.
Contrary to the opinion that Lee has always been a recluse, the author initially was accessible. In fact, for a few years after To Kill a Mockingbird hit the market, she gave several interviews. She also attended literary seminars and book discussions in schools until realisation hit her that her novel's success had transformed her into a celebrity.
For a one who cherished and advocated frugality and simple life, her new status was as shocking as it was unexpected.
She came to abhor publicity and declined to give further interviews. Once in a while, she made rare appearances in public like in 2006 when she received Honorary Doctorate from the University of Notredam and in 2007 when she received presidential Medal of Freedom from George Bush. In both occasions, she declined to address the people present.
But as Lee hid from the public, her novel attained a life of its own. The book became so sought after that it sold over 30 million copies and was translated into over 40 languages.
The most striking aspect of Harper Lee's success is that it was purely accidental. To Kill a Mockingbird was not the first novel by Lee in the actual sense. In her desperation to get published, Lee had submitted to her editor a manuscript Go Set a Watchman for publication.
In the manuscript, Scout, a grown woman, used flashbacks to reflect on times of her childhood. The intuitive editor saw the actual story lay in the series of flashbacks of Scouts' childhood. He persuaded Lee to write more on the life of Scout as a child as depicted in the flashbacks. Lee agreed. After years of work, To Kill a Mockingbird was born. In other words, Harper Lee owes her success to an editor who saw the real story hidden in her works.
Editors in publishing houses are loathed by writers. Most editors in Kenya publishing houses rarely engage in the painstaking process of looking for a story lost in a forest of jumbled up sentences. They would rather send a curt rejection note. . In this sense, Lee was lucky not to be a Kenyan
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel in a class of its own. Exceptionally written by an author with genuine warmth and humor, the novel has defied the test of time and is mentioned alongside other great literature of all times. Only a handful of other authors can match Harper Lee's single-novel success.
Some writers like Margaret Mitchell in Gone with the Wind; Oscar Wilde in The Picture of Dorian Gray and Emily Bronte in Wuthering Heights come to mind.
Questions abound on why Harper Lee took a half a century long sabbatical from writing. She also vowed never to publish any other book. In her long break, Lee was rumored to be working on another novel - The Long Goodbye - but later abandoned the project. Did she burn out? Did she run out of ideas? Did she regret the success and fame the novel brought? Was she following in the footsteps of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird?
Some critics argue that Lee wanted to be like her moral hero in the novel. Atticus Finch, the best marksman in Maycomb, loathes using his skills as he believes nature gave him advantage over other of God's creation. Did Lee feel that her exceptional skills were so rare and had placed her miles ahead of other struggling writers and the world at large?
Perhaps someday, we might get answers to these questions.
But Lee's success also exposes some blatant falsehoods that have become part of our writing culture.
One of the most obvious lies is that to become a great writer, one has to write a dozen books and keep writing for all their lives. Another lie is that for writers to remain relevant, they have to hog publicity at any available opportunity to ensure that fans don't forget how they look like. Lee, with her one novel, was away for 55 years and the world never forgot her.
Some local authors never fail to tell readers that they have dozens of published works and by such, they are greats. That a lie.
A novel's legacy is determined by the content and not the quantity of books churned out per second. A book's worth is judged by its ability to transcend ages and generations to keep literary circles abuzz. Arudhati Roy, like Lee, only has The God of Small Things and she is a legend in writing world.
Kenyan writers are so hell-bent on churning out books every time they have a mundane idea. At the end, the market chokes with zillion insipid uninspiring books that no one wants to hear about or cares to read.
The only writer who is media shy is one Meja Mwangi. Like Lee, he is rarely heard of but his works makes him a legend in the local book scene.
Despite the controversy that greeted news on publication of Go Set a Watchman over its authorship (Lee's childhood friend Truman Capote was rumored to have authored large chunks of the book but it was false) and release, Amazon termed it as their most pre-ordered book since the final Harry potter book in 2007.
It remains to be seen if the new novel will outshine its predecessor.
