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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
No quiero pensar en esto, me duele demasiado y las lágrimas apenas me dejan escribir. Pensaré en esto mañana.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Gone with the Wind is a completely inaccurate and deeply problematic portrayal of history - you have to go into the book acknowledging that up front. The racism, the glorification of the “Lost Cause,” and Margaret Mitchell’s white feminism make this a difficult read. It is an epic novel, an American classic, but you must keep those things in mind as you go in.
There are the three main things that I was enraptured by when reading the story:
There are the three main things that I was enraptured by when reading the story:
- The character that is Scarlett O’Hara. She is one of the most entertaining train wrecks I’ve ever read. She’s selfish and ruthless, and she is THAT Bitch. She’s so messy to read about, and I found myself admiring her at times. Not morally of course, but just her determination to survive and push through anything. Throughout the book, when she’s in a high stress situation she repeats the phrase “I’ll think about it tomorrow”. I remember when I first read this book as a teen that stuck with me as someone who was anxious overthinker. It’s a pretty good mantra to have when something is so overwhelming that you need to shelve it away for a bit, tbh.
- The romance between Scarlett and Rhett. Full of passion, tension, messiness! And it’s quite shocking in parts, especially if you consider it was written in the 1930s. They’re both kind of terrible, but with each other they’re perfect. It’s all about wondering if they’ll ever work it out or if they’ll destroy each other before they get their happily ever after. Which is why the heartbreak of the ending works because, you kind of need to be left wondering. And also, you need to me reminded of Scarlett’s determination to win him back (“After all, tomorrow is another day”).
- The descriptive writing. It’s such a vivid and gorgeous form of writing, and probably why it was very easy to then adapt to film. You can visualise the Georgia landscape, the grand parties, the hunger, the heat, etc. Margaret Mitchell was a talented writer.
She was also a racist. It’s impossible to ignore.
I had to put down the book several times when I was frustrated and pissed off with Margaret. As I mentioned before, what a white feminist. After the Civil War ends in the story, opportunities emerge for Scarlett to take charge of a business and Scarlett finds that she does a better job than the men. It’s just that she didn’t have the opportunity to do this work before the war because of societal restrictions. However, while Margaret celebrates that for Scarlett, she also writes that formally enslaved individuals shouldn’t be given the right to vote or govern because they’re “illiterate”?
I had to look up when Margaret was born (1900), and it’s clear that she was influenced by the Lost Cause narrative that the previous generation no doubt passed on to her. I wish I could contact her from beyond the grave, dissect her brain, and give her a stern talking to (mildly speaking).
And that’s just one of the hundreds of examples of racism in the story. It’s uncomfortable. It’s fake news. You can see exactly why the book captivated the audiences who were reading this in the Depression Era or watching the film during WW2, with iconic phrases of “I’ll never go hungry again” being spoken. But in our present day, we need to read these kinds of books, analyse and review them with our modern lens, and see how it connects with our present.
I’m really keen to read “The Wrath to Come: Gone with the Wind and the Lies America Tells” by Sarah Churchwell now that I’ve finished the novel, to read about how the myths written in GWTW still affect and shape how America sees itself to this day.
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
I loved it!!! I loved the history, I loved the characters, I loved everything about it.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
You definitely have to read this for what it is, a book from the perspective of people in the south during and after the American Civil War.
I've never seen more than a few snippets of the movie and hadn't had interest in it from what I believed to be the annoying portrayal of the main character. No it was accurate. Scarlet can be the most annoying selfish person of any of the characters but she can also be the most forward thinking and sensible. That's one of the great things about this book, the people are dynamic and three dimensional, making the relationships real. Melanie of course is the best of them for being steadfast and loyal and far stronger than anyone gives her credit for. Right up until the end.
The ending of the book will drive you crazy but at the same time I don't think it could have ended any other way.
As a side note: I listened to this on audiobook and I just want to give a "shout out" to the reader Linda Stephens - what an amazing job with the different accents and slightly different voices, you would think it was more than one reader. She made it a delight to listen to.
I've never seen more than a few snippets of the movie and hadn't had interest in it from what I believed to be the annoying portrayal of the main character. No it was accurate. Scarlet can be the most annoying selfish person of any of the characters but she can also be the most forward thinking and sensible. That's one of the great things about this book, the people are dynamic and three dimensional, making the relationships real. Melanie of course is the best of them for being steadfast and loyal and far stronger than anyone gives her credit for. Right up until the end.
The ending of the book will drive you crazy but at the same time I don't think it could have ended any other way.
As a side note: I listened to this on audiobook and I just want to give a "shout out" to the reader Linda Stephens - what an amazing job with the different accents and slightly different voices, you would think it was more than one reader. She made it a delight to listen to.
dark
sad
slow-paced
Scarlett seems to go through the entire range of human emotions. As the reader, you go through those same emotions but usually at a different time.
emotional
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes