Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
I am sure millions of words have been written about this book, so let's keep this review brief.
It's racist as hell. Kind of interesting for that, because it lets you see the kind of lies people tell themselves to allow them to approve of slavery, but it needs to be read with a critical mind.
The love 'triangle' is tedious beyond all belief.
Scarlett is an inconsistent character - we never know whether we are supposed to admire her for her 'gumption', pity her for the traumas experienced during the civil war, or hate her for being thoughtless, selfish and allowing cruelty to flourish with her blessing. Somehow, we are expected to believe she's good at business because she's good at arithmetic; even though she sells faulty goods, lies, has temper tantrums, alienates her customers, and has literally no psychological insight into anybody around her.
The pacing is terrible, there's a long saggy bit in the middle, and then the ending is rushed.
However, it is evocative and the writing mostly pulls you along. It's an easy read, despite the length.
It's racist as hell. Kind of interesting for that, because it lets you see the kind of lies people tell themselves to allow them to approve of slavery, but it needs to be read with a critical mind.
The love 'triangle' is tedious beyond all belief.
Scarlett is an inconsistent character - we never know whether we are supposed to admire her for her 'gumption', pity her for the traumas experienced during the civil war, or hate her for being thoughtless, selfish and allowing cruelty to flourish with her blessing. Somehow, we are expected to believe she's good at business because she's good at arithmetic; even though she sells faulty goods, lies, has temper tantrums, alienates her customers, and has literally no psychological insight into anybody around her.
The pacing is terrible, there's a long saggy bit in the middle, and then the ending is rushed.
However, it is evocative and the writing mostly pulls you along. It's an easy read, despite the length.
I love Gone with the Wind. Scarlet has always been my favorite female character! She's so fiery and fun to read!
Having never seen the film version (I know) I was anxious to read Mitchell's original novel since I still had few preconceived ideas of the plot and character depictions. While on the whole I enjoyed the epic story of Scarlett O'Hara, there were just enough pieces that kept this book from fully grasping me until about the last 200 or so pages. In Scarlett, Mitchell has created a truly compelling heroine; at once both completely detestable in her selfishness and a strong woman to be admired in a time when she was going firmly against social expectations. However, where the novel lost me was in the overly long "down time" both during the war and in the early days of Reconstruction in Atlanta. It felt that the action and character arcs stalled and became repetitive, which is unfortunate in a novel that covered such ground and scale and included so many truly memorable (if not entirely likable) characters, particularly Melanie and Rhett Butler. Perhaps more interesting for me though was the novel’s function, despite being a work of fiction, as something of a glimpse into the Southern side of the Civil War and its aftermath. While I found myself more often than not cringing at the depiction of the slave characters, both through their manner of speaking and the way they were spoken about in relation to slavery and emancipation, as a glimpse into how this reality of America’s history was viewed by those closer to it the novel was enlightening, if not still problematic in its romanticizing and perpetuation of stereotypes. Overall, I enjoyed the character journey that this novel took me on and look forward to eventually watching the film (I know).
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2016 Reading Challenge- A Reread of a favorite book
I read this book when i was probably about 10 or 11 years old. Now at 30 something ;) years old, this book is like a brand new read. There were so many pieces to the story that I did not understand when i was child, such as the backdrop of the civil war and it's fullest impact to Georgia society. I didn't remember the Ku Klux Klan involvement at all in the first book. Glad I re-read this.
I read this book when i was probably about 10 or 11 years old. Now at 30 something ;) years old, this book is like a brand new read. There were so many pieces to the story that I did not understand when i was child, such as the backdrop of the civil war and it's fullest impact to Georgia society. I didn't remember the Ku Klux Klan involvement at all in the first book. Glad I re-read this.
This is my most favorite book of all time. I read it several time. I need to read it again its been awhile and I am a person that never reads books twice...
The story of Scarlett O’Hara is one of hardship, strength, going against the mold, love, and, above all deep rooted selfishness. I wrestled a lot with the blatant racism of this novel while also considering how this literature has rooted itself as a classic. I am so glad I read this with 25 year old eyes because 16 year old Allie could not even comprehend how beautiful yet heartbreaking this story was
Why are these classics soo derm LONG ... It took me 3 months to read this book because nothing really happen expect bland racism (well given the time not suprising actually but that still a) is NOT GOOD or acceptable and b) this book has a 4.3 rating and that gives me the ick)
It was meh, the romance was meh and all in all meh
It was meh, the romance was meh and all in all meh