Rating: 
Summary: Kind of disappointing.
Review: If you look at this book as just a book, it's really not that bad, but as the sequel to Gone With the Wind, it is, in a word, terrible. I think Alexandra Ripley butchered the strong sence and reality of the characters in GWTW. She gave Scarlett morals, honor, a conscience . . . things like that, which are exactly the opposite of what Scarlett's all about. I mean, when you read GWTW, you can't help but think that you want Scarlett to be a good, kind person, but when it comes right down to it, you don't like Scarlett in spite of, but because of her dishonorable ways. That's who she is. I thought "Scarlett: The Sequel to Gone With the Wind" was VERY disappointing. I literally gave me a headache to read it. I kept saying, "Rhett wouldn't say that! Scarlett wouldn't do that! She's too proud! She wouldn't say that!" Alexandra Ripley is a pretty good author, but she should never have even attempted to come close to the absolute marvel of Margaret Mitchell's increadable skill.
Rating:
Summary: Cheap Romance Novel or Great Work of Literature?
Review: Ripley is no Mitchell. Quite frankly, is not a very good author. I must say, the first portion of the book had me entertained, but it failed to capture me the way good literature does. After Scarlett moved to Savannah, it was all downhill. By the time she reached Ireland, the book read more like a cheap romance novel than a great work of literature. The scenarios, while well researched, were somehow unrealistic and laughable. Some of Scarlett's qualities do show through, but otherwise, the maturation process Scarlett suffered through in GWTW was totally lost. You are better off imagining your own conclusion to the story of Scarlett than reading this monstrosity of a sequel. It's not worth the paper it is printed on.
Rating: 
Summary: It Could have been Much Worse
Review: GWTW it isn't, but it's not bad.
Ripley's Scarlett has matured a little, though she still seems to spend much of her time obbsessing over men and/or her wardrobe. She has acquired enough sense to actually refuse a marriage proposal from Ashley, but she spends a great deal of time chasing an unresponsive Rhett around.
In an unintentionally hilarious scene, Scarlett and Rhett go sailing, and of course are promptly ship-wrecked.
Scarlett very nearly drowns. But when the two finally make it to shore,legendary romantic hero Rhett wants to celebrate by [making love] right there on the shore. During this encounter, Scarlett actually shouts, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
What WOULD her mother have thought?
By this time Mammy, the most entertaining character in the original book is already dead, or she'd have expired from embarrassment.
Oddly enough, Melanie is ressurected in the person of Anne Hampton, a shy, mousy soul who, in an interesting plot twist, nearly succeeds in taking Rhett away from Scarlett for good.
This book makes a good read, as long as you're not expecting too much.
Rating: 
Summary: Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley .......
Review: For over two generations, Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone With the Wind and its 1939 movie version have endured as classics in the historical romance genre. GWTW has always been one of my favorite novels, not just because it's well-written but, like Mitchell, I am a daughter of the South and take pride in my family's history. I suppose I'm just a romantic at heart, but I have read Mitchell's saga of Scarlett O'Hara, Rhett Butler, Ashley Wilkes, Mammy, and long-suffering Melanie many times, and I believe GWTW is a novel that will endure the test of time.Although Ms. Mitchell died in Atlanta before I was born and never wrote a sequel even though fans begged her to, the idea never died down, and in the late 1980s Margaret Mitchell's estate selected romance author Alexandra Ripley to write "Scarlett: A Sequel to Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind." Beginning where GWTW left off, "Scarlett" tells a sprawling story about a young woman who lives by the motto: "Tomorrow is another day." Taking readers from war-ravaged Georgia plantation Tara to the Emerald Isle where Scarlett's roots lie. Ripley's novel continues with the tempestuous love affair between Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara. In the beginning, Ashley mourns the loss of his beloved Melanie....and how Scarlett rushes forward to keep Ashley from throwing himself in the grave of his wife...causing yet another scandal for Scarlett to endure. Apparently, the fiery Mrs. O'Hara-Butler has a lot of genteel Southern women's tongues a wagging! Moreover, she is still mourning the loss of her daughter Bonnie. Now that Melanie is dead does Scarlett try to achieve her long awaited dream of being Ashley's wife or does she go and try get back the man she truly loves? Will she find her destiny across the Atlantic in her ancestral Ireland? So begins the journey of Scarlett O'Hara-Butler to win back the man she wants in her life beside her, loving and guiding her. This is a good book to read. I enjoyed the journey of Scarlett from start to finish; I loved the many twists and turns in the plot, especially Scarlett meeting the O'Hara side of the family and her many adventures in the novel. I give this book five stars for Ripley's eye for detail and the telling of a very romantic tale. I say again if you are a romantic...this is a book for you!
Rating:
Summary: Good but drags on
Review: Great begging it starts right were GWTW left off.But then the story drags on throught he on again off again love affair of Scarlet and Rhett.The auther dose a good job of the emotions of the characters throught he whole book.The story is kidda fare fetched at times Scarlett moves to Ireland and finds out she's pregnet and dosent tell Rhett becouse he re-marries.After that the story drags on in pointless storylines.But overall it was a well done sequal that should enjoy all fans of the origianl.
Rating:
Summary: *Insert Catchy Title Here:
Review: Well, I read GWTW a couple of months ago, for fun, and I LOVED it. I read it over 5 times and I consider it the best book in the world. Well, I was doing a project, and I discovered that GWTW has a sequel! Well, I couldn't buy it, but I read a couple of pages out of the Amazon preview, and I HATED it. I know that Riley isn't Mitchell, but Riley isn't even a very good author. None of the characters act like they're in the early 1900's. They act more like people now. Scarlett is just aweful. I will have to buy it and read it anyway, though. GWTW was addicting and I spent days and days thinking what happened next and why Mitchell didn't make a sequel. But I wish that an author who could write more like Mitchell could would write the sequel. Also, the title is horrible. Gone With The Wind is a metaphor. Scarlett is just the name of the main character and it sounds so boring. I am going to write my own sequel to Gone With the Wind.
Rating:
Summary: STAY AWAY!!!!!!!
Review: Unless you like sappy hollywood-type happy ending love stories DO NOT read this book! I fell in love with Gone with the Wind and i couldnt resist reading Scarlett but i was VERY dissappointed with the sequel. It has nothing of the style of Margaret Mitchel, or of her elegant and consistent writing. It changes the characters, makes them less deep and complex, simplifies everything.. if GWTW was believable and lifelike this book is like a fantasy tale, set in unreal surroundings with unreal events.. Events that would have never happened with the original Mitchel characters. Plus the whole idea of writing the sequel to GWTW seems almost.. illegitimate. It ruins the legacy of a great writer and a great novel. Mitchel MUST have had a reason for ending her masterpiece the way she did, it means something an contributes to the understanding of the story. Giving it an alternate and extremely unrealistic ending is just wrong. Especially if the writing is as unexceptional as the plot and the overused cliche storyline. Please stay away from this book for your own good. :)
Rating:
Summary: What is your ideal sequel?
Review: I have been a Gone with the Wind fan since I was tweleve years old. I worship the movie and the book. The original novel, however, left some unanswered questions. What happened to Rhett and Scarlet? What happened to Ashley, Mammy and the rest of the characters? What happens to Tara?
I have read the sequel by Alexandra Ripley four times and I have also seen the movie "Scarlett." I think the main point to remember is that Ripley is not Margaret Mitchell. They are two completely different authors with different experiences and writing styles. Let's face it writing a sequel to the "greatest love story ever told" is quite a challenge. Yes, there are quite a few surprises in the sequel. Ripley does kill off Mammy, Rhett only shows up for a fraction of the book, and Scarlett gives Tara away and moves to Ireland. This can seem far fetched, but it is plausable. Any GWTW fan has created their own ending to the sequel before Ripley wrote her version. This is where the problem occurs! When Rhett leaves Scarlett, we all want to know what happens next and many of us have created our own "sequel" prior to reading Ripley's version. Keep that in mind when you read this book!
I think Ripley,does her best to bring these characters to life, although Scarlett does not have the same vivacity,she is a more mature version of herself. I have always admired Scarlett for her strength, wit, courage and perserverance. In the sequel, Scarlett grows up and matures into womanhood. She learns how to really love and care for others. She learns that the best gift she can possible give is unconditional love. Mitchell's Scarlett is self-centered, egocentric, and lacks compassion for the world around her. Ripley's Scarlett is thirty-five and a woman who finally learns how to love and be loved in return. Although this book will never be GWTW, I recommend this book on the basis that it is Ripley's personal interpretation of the characters and how they continue their lives. To all those who hate this sequel, why do you hate it? Think about your ideal continuation to GWTW. I think the answer lies there.
Rating: 
Summary: Scarlett
Review: Scarlett...so many things to say about this book. First of all it was not written by Margaret Mitchell. After seeing the movie GWTW, I just couldn't stand not knowing what happened next. What was Scarlett going to do? Were Rhett and Scarlett going to get back together? So many unanswered question. One day I was at a book sale and I saw this book. I snatched it before you can say Scarlett. The beginning was fabulous. I loved it how Rhett couldnt resist Scarlett but he had too. But then...she went to Ireland. I must say it started out a little slow and later on a little faster. BUT IT WAS SO BORING. I found myself scanning the page looking for the word: Rhett. I mean..come on.. thats the only reason why everyone read this book. But in the end when he came back for her I was THRILLED! I give this book 4 stars because Alex. answered a lot of my questions although I think if Margaret Mitchell had written a sequel she would have made it so Rhett and Scarlett didnt get back together.I recommend it to anyone who, like me , had many unanswered questions.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing can come back that has gone with the wind...
Review: I think I'm one of the few people who have read "Scarlett" BEFORE "Gone With The Wind" and I can tell that it is a good novel in itself. The problem is that everyone is comparing it to GWTW. After reading the two books in chronological order, my opinion of "Scarlett" being a good novel hasn't changed. The problem is that I can't feel it's a sequel. Except for the first 100 pages or so, I always felt that this is a book about a woman who happens to have the same name as the heroine of GWTW. Alexandra Ripley tries to do her best in recreating the feeling of GWTW; copying scenes (the one about Scarlett getting lost at night at Tara reminds me very much of the scene behind the slave cabins where she swore she'll never be hungry again, and it's just one example) surprisingly do well, the hastily "resurrection" of Melanie's character in Anne Hampton is more far-fetched but she's only a minor character, so the problem lies not here. The main problem is that Alexandra Ripley is not Margaret Mitchell. Scarlett's personality (and many of the events of her life) was coming from Margaret's personality and life. Ms Ripley is an excellent writer (and if I'll ever be happy about this whole fuss about "Scarlett", it will be because it made the author famous, so her other novels became available here) but she's a completely diferent personality. She said it herself: "Scarlett is not my kind of person" - although she has at least something in common with her, writing about strong and determined women wasn't difficult for her after creating the characters Elizabeth Tradd (heroine of "Charleston"), Mary MacAlistair (of "New Orleans Legacy") or Ginevra Pazzi (The Time Returns). (In fact, since GWTW every author writes about strong and determined women, so it's not a big deal any more.) The main difference is that GWTW had a sad, dark atmosphere and "Scarlett" doesn't have it (again, except for the first 100 pages or so), Alexandra's sunny personality and good sense of humor shines through the lines. Hey, Scarlett learned how to enjoy life. Yes, she changed too much. This is not Scarlett O'Hara of Gone With The Wind any more. But she has to change in order to have Rhett's love again, and the main purpose of the whole book as to reunite this couple. That's where the problem is. Scarlett of GWTW can never be happy. It is in her personality. It is her fate. She has never been happy in her whole life and simply doesn't know how to be happy, to learn this she had to be changed. The problem with "Scarlett" is that if they wanted it to have a happy end, it simply couldn't have been written differently. Ms Ripley did her best. She continued the story the only way it could be continued. She found the minor threads like the hints about Rhett's family in GWTW and went on to explore them. Almost everything in "Scarlett" originates from GWTW. The book is also filled with the small details and tidbits I love so much in history novels (gosh, I've never known that new calling cards are interleaved with tissue...). Also, the main concept of the book, Scarlett's going back to her roots and finding herself before she can be happy again, and learning how to set Rhett free (you know the proverb... if you love someone, set him free, if he comes back he is yours, if he doesn't, he never was yours) is excellent. It is basically a story about growing up (she's 35, but it's never too late) and an excellent one. I think it would be more acknowledged and successful without GWTW (I mean, IF GWTW had never existed and Alexandra Ripley simply wrote a novel about a woman founding her lost love again, it would be a great success, and on its own right.) I gave this book a rate of 5 stars because it is good as a stand-alone story. For me, it's not a sequel. It's a different story about a different woman. Gone With The Wind is not a novel that was meant to be continued. It is a whole and complete story by itself. The mere idea of writing a sequel was an insult to the memory of Margaret Mitchell who CLEARLY STATED that the novel is not meant to be continued. I don't know whose idea it was to write a sequel, I know it wasn't Ms Ripley's (who was specially selected to do the job as far as I know), but I guess it was mainly for money. At least they shouldn't have made a movie of this book, that was really awful and most of the story, with the murder case and all, doesn't have anything to do with this book so I don't know what were they thinking. "Must have" books for you if you liked GWTW and/or Scarlett: "Charleston", "On Leaving Charleston" and "New Orleans Legacy" by Alexandra Ripley and "Lost Laysen" by Margaret Mitchell. Also, please, have in mind that these books paint a very idealized picture about the old South so don't forget to pick also an Alex Haley novel.
|
