Gone With the Wind

Rating:
Summary: An Unmatched Epic
Review: What words can I use to desribe the power and solidness that make this book!The moment I picked it up out of curiousity I was long gone in a majestic tale of sweet southern plantations,raw human emotion,and ruthless war that fill these pages with more than words,but a life all its own.Scarlett is an inspiring heroin,who isn't good nor just but is bursting with such a need to live that you get instantly swept away in her desires,impatience, contempt,love,and ultimately her thirst for anything and everything she can't have!I'm a just over half through with it and I'm frankly scared to finish it.What will I do with out Rhett,Melanie,Ashley,Mammy,Suellen,Carreen,Aunt Pittypat,Gerald,
Will,and all of them.Also the ones who have died from war or sickness as Ellen,Brent,Stuart,Charles,and the nameless faces that past on in a war that never should have been fought.This book has been an inspiration to me in all respects and I'll never forget a single word of it!P.S. The south should have won,we know that!

Rating:
Summary: America's Most Beloved Saga
Review: I don't know if there is anything that Margaret Mitchell failed to put into this book. It is obvious that the author poured her entire being into this book and it is evident as you read that this story must have been very close to her heart as it always grabs hold of the hearts of countless readers. The book is written by an obvious historian and gives many details of the way of life of the people of the old south and the Civil War days as well. There is romance, a glimpse into the past, heartbreak, hope, triumph, struggle, life lessons, love, and the story of Scarlett O'Hara that will continue to live in the hearts of readers for generations to come. No matter what kind of books you like to read you will enjoy Gone with the Wind and take a piece of the book away with you for it never fails to leave one thinking about what the important things in life are.

Rating:
Summary: Gone With the Wind's Racism
Review: First, let me say that Gone With the Wind is possibly the best and most satisfyingly well-written novel I have ever read. To quote Alice Randall, the author of another favorite of mine, The Wind Done Gone, "Above all, Gone With the Wind made me think."

Anyone who gives this book less than three stars invariably does so because of the rampant racism throughout the novel. One cannot say in defense that it was simply the views of the people at the time, because Magaret Mitchell, the author, was not just being historically accurate; she was racist herself.

The horror! A racist novel by a racist author! And what's worse, it's one of the best loved novels in America.

Parts of this book did make me cringe and leave me angry, namely the roles of Prissy and Big Sam. Yes, those parts were atrocious. But here's a thought:

Pretend for a minute that you were born in the early 1900's, in the deep South, with Confederate veterans and aging Southern belles for family. Now tell me you wouldn't be racist. Of course, any middle class enlightened white person would say they'd know better, but would you? I greatly doubt it. Gone With the Wind is fiction, not fact, from the mind of a woman who embodied what her family taught her, no more. Take it and move on. Sure, it's offensive, but it's also wonderful. There are too many layers to this novel for the complexity of it to be fully appreciated in my review, but if you're can't get past the racism to appreciate this book, then I have to wonder what else you're missing in life.

What I did when I finished Gone With the Wind was go out and buy Alice Randall's book The Wind Done Gone. It's very thought provoking, and it will mollify a bit of your anger dealing with the bad treatment of blacks in this book. Also, I reccomend The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, because it deals with the internalized racism that slaves felt in the pre-war South. Beloved is another great one that will show you what the slaves REALLY went through. But don't miss out on Gone With the Wind. Read it, love it, and let it show you the past.

Rating:
Summary: A Civil War romance
Review: Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind is the most remembered Civil War love story of our time. The story of Scarlett O' Hara begins on her father's Georgia plantation, Tara. She was raised as a southern woman should be only the War turns her life upside down when she is forced to marry one man after another in order to keep her beloved Tara. Of course none of these men were her true love, which is Ashley Wilkes who is married to a women whom Scarlett cannot stand. Rhett Butler is a man who is disgraced by his family and most of Georgia for his ungentlemanly deeds. Rhett is captivated by Scarlett's strong will and is determined to make her love him. Scarlett has been through death and starvation and only focuses on never letting anything else ruin her already tarnished life. Scarlett's blind love for Ashley prevents Scarlett from seeing Rhett's love for her. In the end, Scarlett finally recognizes whom she truly loves but it might be too late.

Rating:
Summary: The finest piece of literature ever concocted
Review: Gone With the Wind is, obviously, my favorite book ever, but I truly believe it is one of the best ever written. I read this book when I was 12 years old, and I finished it in four days. I was so entirely engrossed in the setting, characters, and plot that I could honestly, literally just NOT put it down.

Although the issue of which I am about to address did not bother or offend me in the least, however I am not racist or pro-slavery, I will talk about this in hope of enlightening a few more people and maybe helping to share the magic of GWTW. Sure, there are some things relating to racism, and of course to slavery, but I don't see why people are so offended by this. Yes, racism is wrong, and the way some slave owners treated their slaves, and how whites treated blacks, was absolutely horrifying, but, this is only a book. Slavery has long since been abolished and racism is now, thankfully, dwindling to almost nothing.

At first, I'll admit, I was not fond of Scarlett, but after a while, I became used to her ways, and I really became absorbed into the book and felt as though I was walking in her shoes, and I understand why she did some things she did. The character development in this book is amazing; so is the extensive description.

Gone With the Wind is such an amazing book for many reasons, but for me it has to be the ability which Mitchell has to take her readers into the story as though they were living the events themselves. I also loved the desperation and want Scarlett felt for Rhett as she realized she truly loved him, and of course, their stubborn relationship before they were married.

There is not much more I can say that hasn't been said, except this: for hopeless romantics and avid readers (of which I am both), you will surely love GWTW. For everyone else: keep an open mind while you read. Remember that times have changed drastically and try to imagine if you were Scarlett yourself. Also, dive in the culture in which this book was written. Even if you don't agree with it, I believe everyone deserves an enjoyable read from of Gone With the Wind.

Rating:
Summary: Unparalleled romance
Review: I had not seen the movie before picking this up to read, so reading this book proved to be a real treat. I was immediately drawn into both Scarlett's and Rhett's characters. The way in which their lives wove in and out of each other's was beautifully told. Mitchell presented them as real multi-dimensional people, with both good and bad qualities. When I saw the movie after completing the book, I was completely disappointed with it. While the movie stayed fairly true to the book (not changing anything important), it DID omit several things that I think were crucial to understanding Scarlett in particular. (I won't ruin it for your readers.) I HIGHLY recommend this book, even if you've seen the movie. It has quickly replaced The Count of Monte Cristo as my new favorite book of all time.

Rating:
Summary: The ultimate in Southern reading
Review: Forget what you've heard negatively about this book: the racism, the alledged overblown melodrama. Those who focus on the negatives will find something wrong with everything in life. No, this book is a masterfully written piece of literature that is as relevant today as it was when it was written. There have been many immitations of GWTW but none have come close to capturing this novels depth and insight into human nature. Too often we're "wowed" by the knock-out descriptions, the emotionality of the subject matter, the hysterionics of the situations. But what this book is really about is human relationships, and I'm not just speaking in the sense of a love story, for what Mitchell has given us is a wonderfully drawn portrait of human nature. The movie is one of the best ever made, and the book surpasses even that.

Also would recommend Jackson T. McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD

Rating:
Summary: Still packs a punch
Review: The sheer size of GWTW was intimidating to me, but after I started reading it, I realized that it was going quickly--sort of, well . . . like the wind. The book moves, and part of this is probably due to the fact that we've all seen the movie and KNOW we're going to be rewarded. So there's no questioning where the author is going. A sure bet, this one. At any rate, the book does contain more characters, more descriptions, and more details, but then, that's why we read.

My Southern reading list?

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
Gone With the Wind
The Bark of the Dogwood
Fried Green Tomatoes

And too many more to mention. But before you do anything, buy this book, settle in, and enjoy a wonderful tale. The writing is as rewarding as the story.

Rating:
Summary: Entertainment with Racist Sentimentality
Review: GWTW is undoubtedly an american classic for more reasons than one - sweeping storyline, strong characters and just the flow of simple lucid narrative prose that keeps you going from page to page with sustained interest (not an easy job if it is 700 pages!). I read it a few times when i was young, just fell in love with the movie and it is part of my library collection as well. I still enjoy the color and splendor and perky dialogue although the book is too long to read again with other reasons too.As i grew i figured out what was missing underneath the sentiments we have for it. There is not one word against racism or intolerance or suffering undergone by others during those times. Yes the south lost it all but times and lives change, some cruelly others more slowly with time - it is a natural order of things to change and intolerant lifestyles definitely have to. Lot of people have a longing for good times gone, but it needs to be laced with feelings for what caused it to happen and does not automatically mean bad times have come. I would think hidden beneath the huge popularity of the book so many years after it was made is partly love for simpler times but a lot of guilt for simplistic and intolerant ways of the past that were hidden by economic prosperity and picture postcard lifestyles.

Rating:
Summary: Great book, but I will not be reading it again
Review: Yes, it is a magnificent novel, an American classic. Filled with larger than life characters Gone with the Wind takes the reader to a chapter of American history not readily remembered (Southern Reconstruction) and to institutions we wish we could not remember (slavery, racism and the KKK).

Lets talk about the novel. It is not a book for the faint of heart- my edition is over 700 pages. Yet, Margaret Mitchell has the gift to immerse you in a world that has long since passed. From the comfort of our armchairs it is difficult for us to imagine the sense of lostness the southern gentry must of felt during and after the war. They simply lost everything. Yet, there is something about the American character that does not want to give up, a stubbornness best personified by Scarlet O'Hara.

I first read Gone with The Wind in the early 90's, it left an indelible imprint on my mind. About a year ago as I was persuing my library, it caught my eye again. I pull it for the self, sat down in my wing back chair and began reading eagerly anticipating being drawn into Mitchell's south once again. This time, however, I could not finish the book. A few hundred pages into it, I gently closed the cover and put it back into my library. What was it that caused me not complete this book? It was the blatant racism that seemed to permeate every other page.

Yes, I realize that this book was written by a southerner reflecting a time and culture long since gone. Yes, racism is an appropriate subject to write about. Yes, one may write a novel that reflect the racism of the antebellum south- but this is one country preacher who will not read it again.