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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
This was a re-read for me. I had just read "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson and it made me curious about Southern culture and race relations... I read Gone with the Wind in high school and liked it, and I wanted to reread it now 15+ years later.
First of all, in the edition of the book that I got, there is an introduction by Pat Conroy-- this introduction TROUBLED me. It laid out the book as something that Southerners cling to as an ode to a bygone era (despite it being written in 1936, 70 years after the end of the Civil War) and glorifying slavery and the Ku Klux Klan and the Southern way of life in general. I didn't remember it that way from reading it as a teenager... I thought to myself "What am I about to read? I liked this as a kid?? Oh God."
The first part of this book, leading up to and including the Civil War, I actually enjoyed a lot. Scarlett O'Hara is a great character (in this part of the book at least) and not your typical heroine, either of the era in which the book was written, or now. She's a little bit of a sociopath, but in a feminist way that I enjoyed. Scarlett was a tough character that Got Shit Done and I loved it. She also had some anti-war sentiment that was so practical and I totally sympathized with. She just did not get why all the other Southern ladies were so into the war effort. Scarlett just wanted it to end so she could have pretty things again and she did not care one bit about Southern Pride. The book lays out all the hypocrisy and foolishness of the South continuing to fight a losing war for the sake of their "beliefs." Great action scenes in this part of the book, the devastation of the latter part of the war, Scarlett's return to Tara finding that she has to scrape out a meager existence and the beginning of her PTSD toward starvation, all very memorable and compelling. There is definitely a lot of troubling racism in this part, but it pales in comparison to what comes later.
What I'd consider the second part of the book is the Reconstruction phase after the end of the War. We witness evil Northerners invading the South and sucking the life out of it. Scarlett is again in Get Shit Done mode and becomes a Scallawag herself. This is where the book began to bother me. The South is portrayed as being mercilessly kicked when it's down. The men have seemingly "no choice" but to form the KKK and fight back against freed slaves who are talking to and/or raping white women. The justice system is literally described as black men getting a slap on the wrist for murdering a white person, but if a white person murdered a freed slave, they'd be hanged without question. Northerners are routinely taking trainloads of freed slaves around to rig elections to keep the Carpetbaggers and Scallawags in power. How did this book go from being scornful of the waste and hubris in fighting a losing war, to portraying the Southerners as a downtrodden people being systematically beaten down, disenfranchised, and demoralized while nobly keeping their Southern ways and fighting back? It's like a different author took over the book at this point. This part of the book troubles me the most because I envision what Pat Conroy described in the introduction- his mother would read them this book every year as kids as some kind of token of the Southern identity. If the Southern identity is as a noble people stripped of their wealth and power that had to systematically fight back to regain some control against the Northerners and freed slaves... Well that's just a really frightening identity and it would actually explain a lot of the extant racism in the South and is this book contributing to that?? It's horrifying to think of.
The last part of the book starts when Scarlett marries Rhett. This part is just a soap opera of stupidity. Scarlett was never touted as an intellectual person but was supposed to be able to read people and manipulate them. How then does she NEVER understand Rhett, even a little, until the very end? This just makes no sense to me. Of course the stupid Ashley drama is facepalm-worthy but it's kind of a thread that ties this whole book together so I'm okay with it. But the drama with Rhett just does not make internal sense with Scarlett's character.
In all if you just look at the first part of this book, it's great, I love it. After that it just spirals into a disgusting racist mess. There is little to redeem it after that point.
First of all, in the edition of the book that I got, there is an introduction by Pat Conroy-- this introduction TROUBLED me. It laid out the book as something that Southerners cling to as an ode to a bygone era (despite it being written in 1936, 70 years after the end of the Civil War) and glorifying slavery and the Ku Klux Klan and the Southern way of life in general. I didn't remember it that way from reading it as a teenager... I thought to myself "What am I about to read? I liked this as a kid?? Oh God."
The first part of this book, leading up to and including the Civil War, I actually enjoyed a lot. Scarlett O'Hara is a great character (in this part of the book at least) and not your typical heroine, either of the era in which the book was written, or now. She's a little bit of a sociopath, but in a feminist way that I enjoyed. Scarlett was a tough character that Got Shit Done and I loved it. She also had some anti-war sentiment that was so practical and I totally sympathized with. She just did not get why all the other Southern ladies were so into the war effort. Scarlett just wanted it to end so she could have pretty things again and she did not care one bit about Southern Pride. The book lays out all the hypocrisy and foolishness of the South continuing to fight a losing war for the sake of their "beliefs." Great action scenes in this part of the book, the devastation of the latter part of the war, Scarlett's return to Tara finding that she has to scrape out a meager existence and the beginning of her PTSD toward starvation, all very memorable and compelling. There is definitely a lot of troubling racism in this part, but it pales in comparison to what comes later.
What I'd consider the second part of the book is the Reconstruction phase after the end of the War. We witness evil Northerners invading the South and sucking the life out of it. Scarlett is again in Get Shit Done mode and becomes a Scallawag herself. This is where the book began to bother me. The South is portrayed as being mercilessly kicked when it's down. The men have seemingly "no choice" but to form the KKK and fight back against freed slaves who are talking to and/or raping white women. The justice system is literally described as black men getting a slap on the wrist for murdering a white person, but if a white person murdered a freed slave, they'd be hanged without question. Northerners are routinely taking trainloads of freed slaves around to rig elections to keep the Carpetbaggers and Scallawags in power. How did this book go from being scornful of the waste and hubris in fighting a losing war, to portraying the Southerners as a downtrodden people being systematically beaten down, disenfranchised, and demoralized while nobly keeping their Southern ways and fighting back? It's like a different author took over the book at this point. This part of the book troubles me the most because I envision what Pat Conroy described in the introduction- his mother would read them this book every year as kids as some kind of token of the Southern identity. If the Southern identity is as a noble people stripped of their wealth and power that had to systematically fight back to regain some control against the Northerners and freed slaves... Well that's just a really frightening identity and it would actually explain a lot of the extant racism in the South and is this book contributing to that?? It's horrifying to think of.
The last part of the book starts when Scarlett marries Rhett. This part is just a soap opera of stupidity. Scarlett was never touted as an intellectual person but was supposed to be able to read people and manipulate them. How then does she NEVER understand Rhett, even a little, until the very end? This just makes no sense to me. Of course the stupid Ashley drama is facepalm-worthy but it's kind of a thread that ties this whole book together so I'm okay with it. But the drama with Rhett just does not make internal sense with Scarlett's character.
In all if you just look at the first part of this book, it's great, I love it. After that it just spirals into a disgusting racist mess. There is little to redeem it after that point.
No es un libro sencillo, pero sin duda vale la pena. Es descriptivo, es profundo, es histórico, pero es una historia increíble llena de giros, dolor, muerte, codicia, traición y pasión descontrolada.
Scarlett será siempre un personaje que recordaré, la mejor antagonista creada.
Scarlett será siempre un personaje que recordaré, la mejor antagonista creada.
Ahhh dit was zo'n mooi boek! Heb hier echt enorm van genoten. Uitvoerig beschreven en de karakters zijn allemaal zo interessant! Vond het ook echt fijn dat de hoofdpersoon eigenlijk ook helemaal geen goed persoon is, dat maakt het lezen echt veel boeiender. Dit is wel echt een all-time favourite!
Can't read it without crying buckets. One of the best books ever. Period.
BREATHTAKING! The characters were absolutely amazing, colorful and real! Smothered with flaws & even seemingly irrideemable, yet life-like & utterly believable. Ashley drove me absolutely mad, and I was in a constant state of tug-a-war over whether I loathed or loved Scarlett's character and Rhett constantly made me want to slap and kiss him all at once. Some of the best writing I've ever encountered. Everyone should read this at least once!
I rated this book five stars despite the clearly racist depictions of slavery and “darkies”. This epic novel describes Scarlett’s life and the racist views during the Civil War - which continued to be held when this book was written and, for some, continue today.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
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
Magnificent in every metauniverse in literary terms!
I was perfectly happy with the movie - an all time favorite - and the book is SO MUCH BETTER! I love Scarlet O'Hara with all her flaws. Truly a must-read classic for a wonderful glimpse into the heart and mind of the Confederacy. I loved reading a well-written book on a well-documented historical time from the point of view of those who LOST the war. This was a book-club pick and one which I probably never would have bothered picking up since I loved the movie already. I am so glad I did!
It's been a few years since I last read this book, and I still love it. I don't know if it's socially acceptable to love this book anymore, with the overt racism - but I do anyway, just as I love Assassin's Apprentice full of murder, and The Handmaids Tale stuffed with subjugation and tens of other books filled with suffering. It's not the suffering that appeals, but the strength in which the characters face the suffering. Gone with the Wind shows the way different people deal with their pain, Scarlett, Rhett, Melanie and Ashley, and it's these characters that make it an epic masterpiece.