novel go set a watchman started with a midnight party in the writer s hometown of monroeville, alabama. sher caldwell is an english schoolteacher who drove nine hours from kentucky to be here. she s mystified by the transformation of atticus finch in the watchman novel, the beloved character who s now a racist. he represents everything good in the moral compass of the book. and if i m wrong, it s embarrassing. reporter: as thousands have flocked to lee s hometown the reclusive writer who is known around here simply as nell spent the day in this assisted living center security guards on the front porch keeping reporters and others away. wayne flint is a dear friend of harper lee. he says the writer struggles to hear and see and describes her life as boring. but flint says she s okay with that. she is an american enigma because in an age of narcissism