Our Gone with the Wind book review

Today, critics consider Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind to be a great American novel, with over 30 million copies sold. Since I have never read this 900-plus page, big beautiful book before, I decided to read it before I died! And, that’s exactly what I did. Here is our Gone with the Wind book review and book banter.

At first, I was afraid this would be just another predictable romance novel designed for ladies only. But, I was wrong about that—Gone with the Wind is so much more than mushy love-and-kisses and happily-ever-after sentiments.

Instead, this epic novel portrays the lives of well-to-do Southern farmers and slave owners, and how they enjoyed their privileged lives prior to the Civil War. Then, once the war begins, their drama and hardships deepen, and the book becomes a story of determined survival.

It’s a story about history and endurance, told from a Southern perspective. While I believe that owning a person as a slave is shameful, I still really appreciated reading about how those Southern households functioned. Interestingly, their perspective was one that I had not considered before, and it was extremely compelling.

After reading, I still considered slave holders to have done something shameful and wrong (even the ones who were nicer and more generous with their slaves), but I empathized with their situations.

The author, Margaret Mitchell, related a lot of history about living conditions prior to the Civil War. Then, she contrasted those wonderful times with the more difficult and even horrific situations they experienced through those long years of fighting the North.

And then after the war, the author told how Southerners had to rebuild their lives and cooperate with their conquerors. And, for some Southerners, those subsequent years must have been humiliating. As I read this novel, I did pick up on some of the humiliation that Scarlett O’Hara had felt in her interactions with the Union soldiers and Northern business people.

Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop. And once I continued reading, I began to understand why this novel was such an award-winning and best-selling book. The author, Margaret Mitchell, brilliantly used her descriptive words to paint the Southern way of life so that I could experience it—almost as if I were right there as the events unfolded.

I have to confess that I really liked both of the main characters, even though they could be very ‘unlikable’ people at times. Please continue reading our Gone with the Wind book review, and later, share your comments about Scarlett and Rhett.

The renowned Scarlett O’Hara is the principal protagonist. When she was younger, Scarlett was very spoiled and self-entitled. Even worse, she was greedy, jealous, scheming and conniving.

However, despite all her ugly flaws, this pretty young woman could have had any man she desired! Young men were drawn to Scarlett like doomed moths are drawn to a flame. They would do anything for her, and she took advantage of their gullibility.

Despite her selfishness and self-centeredness, Scarlett also had good characteristics. However, to appear strong to her peers, she kept those positive attributes a secret.

For instance, Scarlett was devoted to her family, and she especially admired and loved her father. And, as she grew into adulthood and experienced hardships, Scarlett revealed a tough determination to accomplish her goals—she fought and worked hard to do what seemed-to-be impossible tasks.

At the same time, she could be quietly considerate, kind, and loving. Because of those complexities, Scarlett was a compellingly interesting character. As the novel progressed, I think the writer exhibited tremendous talent as she revealed more and more about Scarlett’s personal qualities.

Because of her bad qualities, I don’t think I would have liked Scarlett at first, had I known such a person in real life. But as she matured, she worked hard, she sweated, and she sacrificed to attain her objectives. Therefore, I found myself empathizing with her losses and hidden insecurities and I wanted her to succeed.

Because I started to care about Scarlett, I was really hoping she would overcome some of her flaws and be a nicer, happier person. Whether she did overcome those flaws, I will not reveal—it will remain a secret for you to discover.

I loved the first time Scarlett met the desirable, handsome, but older Rhett Butler. It was funny scene, but embarrassing for her, as well. Still, I sympathized with Scarlett and felt her humiliation.

I think that’s when I started subconsciously giving Scarlett advice as I read her exploits—advice like ‘don’t do that, Scarlett’ or ‘that’s not a good idea, Scarlett’, or ‘that’s just plain wrong, Scarlett’! Despite my unspoken guidance, her dealings with Rhett would get more complex as the story progressed.

Rhett Butler was an entrepreneurial Southerner, but he also did business with the Yanks. To him, business was business, and he had no sentimental attachments to his Southern heritage.

He was practical, shrewd, and loved money and women. So naturally, the wealthy and attractive Scarlett O’Hara beguiled Rhett Butler. Their relationship was complex, but was also intriguing and compelling.

Those two characters are what made Gone with the Wind a great success (along with the historical perspectives). Trust me, you will not be able to stop reading this book as you learn more and more about Scarlett and Rhett.

Despite the realistic character development of Scarlett and Rhett, the author stereotyped some of the secondary characters. For instance, I’m thinking about the Black servants in Scarlett’s house, and how they spoke and acted.

As in all stereotypes, those representations had a basis in fact. But, the author exaggerated them to almost comedic or cartoonish proportions. Maybe the author did that on purpose—I’m not sure about that. So, some of those secondary characters were less convincing, engaging, and compelling to me.

Overall, though, the author expertly juggled lots of characters. Cleverly, she made most of them very realistic as they coped with their day-to-day lives.

The author told her story from the perspective of well-to-do slaveowners, like Scarlett O’Hara’s family. So, their perspectives differed from mine. But, does that mean I shouldn’t read their controversial views? No, in fact, I do need to read and understand each of the character’s perspectives.

By now, we have all heard of the ‘clan’. In the South, many people considered this clan to be an innocent social club for men. Today, we know that is not true—it was not innocent, and they did some vile things in the community. However, many of the characters in this book believed it was an innocent organization. Most importantly, they believed that the male members were doing good works in their communities.

Anyway, in this novel, the ‘club’ met secretly and dispensed justice as they saw fit. And, if the recipient of their ‘justice’ happened to be Black, then any barbaric punishment was okay.

Many of the male characters in this novel were members of this clan. Ironically, most of them considered themselves to be Christians, or followers of the teachings of Jesus Christ.

To me, that is completely impossible. Based on the teachings of Jesus, a slave owner or clan member cannot be a Christian. Therefore, that clan was not merely an innocent social club!

So, that’s just one of many historical revisions in this novel. However, those beliefs were accurate representations of how southerners felt and how they lived. So, it was important for me to read what they really felt—not what I think they should have felt.

After reading this book, I have decided that Gone with the Wind is one of the most surprisingly compelling novels I had ever read. I became so engaged with the characters, especially Scarlett and Rhett.

Both personalities were so well-developed and became like real people to me. In addition, they were characters who were very unique in their way of thinking and living, and maybe that was a big appeal.

This was one of Scarlett’s most difficult moments. There was a war going on, and everyone’s life was in a tumult. In the book, this was such a gripping scene, and one in which the book told so well. And, I’m not just talking about romance—it was much more than that!

TAKEAWAYS

You must read this book before you die!

Despite my fears that this might just be a romance novel, I set the goal of reading this bestselling book before I died. And, I succeeded, and I’m glad! This was one of the best books I have ever read.

If you haven’t yet read Gone with the Wind, I highly recommend that you do. It’s a wonderfully written work-of-art that will be hard to put down. You’ll have to continue reading to find out what Scarlett and Rhett will do next! It was a fantastic adventure.

Margaret Mitchell, the author, led a life that was just as interesting as her characters. She was a reporter for the Atlanta Journal Sunday Magazine. And, while recovering from an injury, she started writing Gone with the Wind.

After it was published in 1936, it became a great financial success and received stellar reviews. During World War II, she worked for the American Red Cross, and later created scholarships for Black medical students.

Unfortunately, she was hit by a car while walking to the movies. Eventually, she died from her injuries at the young age of 49. Posthumously, Mitchell received many awards for her writing. In 2000, she was named an honoree in the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame.

Thank you for reading our Gone with the Wind book review! If you’ve already read the book or watched the movie, please share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Content and photos by Doug Martin and Our Book Banter