Gone with the Wind discussion

It' one of those books, for good or bad (I happened to love it) that stays.

I plan to read it again, the first chance that I get.

I was a huge fan of the movie, but was supprised by just how how much I ended up loving the book when I finally read it. It's definately one I'm going to read again and again.

I had the opportunity to read this book as an "extra credit" project for English in the 8th grade. I couldn't get past chapter 10 (and I really think it was less). I know that my age may have contributed slightly (I read at a 10th grade level in 3rd grade so I had been reading "adult/mature" books for a long time. But I don't like the movie either. I suppose I should try to read it today but I just don't feel like I will enjoy it and since it was such a dry read I would rather put that effort towards "The Odyssey" or "Anna Karenina."

I first saw the movie at age 12 and fell in love. Watched it countless times until I finally picked up the book at 18. At the end, even though I knew what was going to happen, what had to happen, I was beside myself. I remember chanting in my head, "He's not going to leave this time, he's not going to leave this time..." That is one powerful book.

And Scarlett is so much MORE in the book. Yes, she's arrogant and driven. But the book shows that her motivation isn't totally self-serving. Talk about a character arc.

So good, so good. One of the best books ever written.

Aw i loved this book and movie! I saw the movie when i was 10 and as i got older I read the book. I love love love it! it's one of my favorite love stories, it's by far a classic.

This is one of my favorite books of all time. I first read this as a teenager and make sure to re-read it at least every two years. The movie is great (again one of my favorites) but I agree that Scarlett's character in the book has so much more depth.

A must read in my opinion.

This book had been in my grampa's shelf for many years and my mom used to tell me about the character scarlett, all those times i never cared much for it. It was then after a couple of years that my cousins brainstormed over the characters in the book.
I was just 17 and honestly it was my first ever romance book since i was never-ever a fan of romance titles.
I would never have believed how much emotionally involved i was with GWTW that i could relate to most of it. Sure no one seem to like Scarlett, she muddled, she fancied herself to be in love with Ashley, ignored Rhett, hurt the feelings of many with her flippancy but she had the strong will. Had she not that will, her family would not have survived through the crisis. In her own way she was magnificent. Her boldness, determination, practicality, power and wisdom claimed my admiration.
GWTW is my most favourite novel. Threads of emotion, love, reality, pain, passion, betrayal, joy, truth, mistakes, failures,victories,grief, beauty gently woven to create this fantastic book, Mitchell surpassed my greatest expectation from a romance novel.

I used to watch the movie with my mom whenever it would be on tv. I loved the story and the civil war era. I happend to be living in Charleston when the filmed the sequel, Scarlett. It dawned on me farily recently (2ish years ago) that I had never read the book. I picked it up and loved it even more than the movie. There is so much more to Scarlett than what is portrayed in the movie. I went along and read the other 2 books based on Ms. Mitchell's characters. Athough they didn't completely follow along with the original story, it was exciting to have the story continue.

Veronica wrote: "This book had been in my grampa's shelf for many years and my mom used to tell me about the character scarlett, all those times i never cared much for it. It was then after a couple of years that m..."

Well put. I read this book as an adult and absolutely loved it! I wished there was a sequel written by MM.

Besides A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, this is my all time favorite book. I have issues with the movie pertaining to the stereotypes of slaves. I don't believe Margaret Mitchell did that in her book (as much) but the movie was embarrassing as far as how the slaves were portrayed. That aside, the book is one of my treasures. I have an original copy of my grandma's!

GWTW is my favorite book of all time. I loved the perfect casting of Clarke Gable and Vivian Leigh for the movie, but I always felt the movie didn't do justice to the book or more importantly, Scarlett. To me, she's always been the ultimate survivor despite her very human faults. It's time to read it again!!

Yes, she survived all right. I haven't revisited that book in awhile. Last time was in the 70's yea those many moons ago. LOL

Ahhh the amazing-ness of the classics!! I absolutely LOVED this book and not to forget, the movie was fantastic too!! I found that it was very difficult for me to put this book down. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I would possibly reccomend this book to anyone who hasn't read it yet. What can I say..? It's a classic. :-D

Movie was fantastic, although very long. I should purchase the video or the DVD if I get the chance. And maybe buy a copy of the book.LOL

I loved both the film and the book. The character might have all kind of flaws, but she is so strong that I can't help but envy her.

Me too:-) I loved both the movie and the book.
I wonder, do anybody have any recommendations? Some books that are similar to this one?

Siman wrote: "Me too:-) I loved both the movie and the book.
I wonder, do anybody have any recommendations? Some books that are similar to this one?"

GWTW is one of my favorite books but I LOVE Jane Austen's novels. I would recomend them, although they aren't similar they are classics. Another one that deals with racism is to Kill a Mockingbird. I don't think I've read a book that was similar to GWTW it's such an original story.

Debbi wrote: "I had the opportunity to read this book as an "extra credit" project for English in the 8th grade. I couldn't get past chapter 10 (and I really think it was less). I know that my age may have con..."

Maybe you just were not at the right "emotional" level to enjoy it in 8th grade? Give it another go. Plus, there is a good deal of factual history involving the Civil War in the book.

Gabrielle wrote: "Siman wrote: "Me too:-) I loved both the movie and the book.
I wonder, do anybody have any recommendations? Some books that are similar to this one?"

GWTW is one of my favorite books but I LOVE..."

Thank you for this:-D Ah, me too, I love Austen she is wonderful in another way. To Kill a Mockingbird is definitely a to-read then;)
Yes, I can see that asking for a book that is similar is impossible, GWTW is too unique

I like Jane Austen too. But I think that it is a good think that she wrote only a few books, because I find her stories- as pretty as they can be- a little redundant. All her characters evolve more or less in the same circles, the background is very similar, and we find many characters that are pretty resemblant.

Of course not everybody had the chance (or misfortune) to live in a century which was a turning point in History.GWTW is way more complex.

Personally I also enjoy french author Zola, because his stories take place during a great period of the french history. Of course to enjoy Zola, you should not be afraid of descriptions !

Yes, but that might be due to Austen's own restricted circle and experiences, since she tried to capture life as it was - she could only write based on her or her acquaintances’' experiences and knowledge. But I definitely agree that this lack of excitement and complexity can be related to the lack of and lack of knowledge of grand events.

Emilié Zola? Hmm, I would like to try that;) Haha, I am slightly apprehensive of loooooooooong descriptions - but I have a tendency to quickly skim them instead of reading them, so I will survive

Yeah Emile Zola is a pure naturalist: he offers a glimpse of the french industrial revolution, the second french empire and the third republic.

But I have no idea if the english translation is any good.

How much of the style of an author can be translated in an other language?

Hmmm, I see - I've learnt French, but I won't be able to read a complex novel...

Well, an optimistic answer would be that it depends on the translator;)
But my answer would be: little, a translator translates a work into their interpretation of it - thereby the style, etc. become their understanding of the author's style - it becomes altered

So, I prefer reading a work in the original language (when possible)

One of my all-time favorite novels. However, Im not sure it would make it today because I remember it took about three chapters for Mitchell to describe the family relations and history before the story actually took off. I don't think today's readers have nearly as much patience, and I confess that I don't either! Still, it was fantastic and I can't recommend it highly enough for those of you do have the patience!

I read the book when I was in eighth grade just to see if I could read this very large book... and also we have this point system and it had the highest points. So I decided to give it a whirl... after looking on the internet to see what the book was about I was laughing to myself because it was a romance book. For the past two years it seemed I read nothing but Stephen King (AKA horror). I did end up reading the book in one week and if I had gotten more time to read it would have been less. I just feel that people should know that this book is so amazing that a 8th grader to loved horror even read it and cried at the end and when Bonnie died!

Eleutherna wrote: "Yeah Emile Zola is a pure naturalist: he offers a glimpse of the french industrial revolution, the second french empire and the third republic.

But I have no idea if the english translation is any..."

A lot is lost in translation! I've read Isabel Allende in Spanish and in English and I found out I'd rather read a book in it's original language, whenever possible.

If I could read anything in another language and have a translator there would be nice. I can read some Hawaiian. But not enough. Only middle school Spanish so not alot. I can look at poetry in another language and it sounds so lyrical.

I read hucklberry finn both in french and english and the french translation was awful ! I don't know if I had a faulty translation (kindle edition) but the french translation was so simplified and even modified that the book seemed different.

Since then, french books in french, english books in english.

And hopefully one day i'd be able to do the same in plenty of other languages.

For those interested in french books with historical backgrounds or from another time: (I don't know how those titles are translated in english, sometimes it is quite different from the original meaning)

my personal favorites
Victor Hugo, Notre Dame de paris, or les miserables
Marcel Pagnol; Marius, Fanny, Cesar
Rousseau: les confessions
Zola; au bonheur des dames
Anne et serge golon, Angelique
maurice druon les rois maudits
michele barriere

They are only the ones that I could remember right now, but there are many more.

And have you read Ken Follett?

I like Marcel Pagnol, have read him in English. I have read Hugo, Les Miserables in English, and want to read Hunchback of Notre Dame, prob in English. If I were to read French, I don't know if I would be doing myself or the book a disservice.

Thank you for this thread! I read this book back in the late 80's I think I was around 15. It is the only book that I actually sobbed while reading it. I think I may read it again. I didn't care for the movie, like others have posted it just did not touch on the many facetts of Scarlett.

Whenever I get overwhelmed with the pressures and stress of my life I read GWTW (which makes it about a yearly event!) If Scarlett can survive the not so Civil War and Reconstruction then I can survive menopause, pressures at work, a move and renovations at a not so new house, my parents growing older, the loss of a favorite pet..... ;)

Siman wrote: "Me too:-) I loved both the movie and the book.
I wonder, do anybody have any recommendations? Some books that are similar to this one?"

So Red the Rose by Stark Young is another novel of family, emotion and the civil war. The House of Mirth is another American novel about a strong willed a beautiful heroine searching for love.

Some of it is written in dialect. The deliberate mispellings are very hard to read and very outdated. It's still a good story but I wonder if it would still be read if not for the movie.

I think it would still be read today without the movie; it is a Southern classic.

It sure is. Maybe the movie would ruin it for some dye hard Margaret Mitchell fans. It added a nice visual touch to what the novel was all about.

It's been awhile since I've seen the movie, but I think it followed the book very closely. I thought it added to the book, which I did find a little tedious at times. I had to read some of the dialogue out loud to figure out what was being said.

This is simply my favorite movie and book, and though I love Pat Conroy and Colleen McCullough equally as writers, this narration has a grander sweep. It's more than love stories set during emancipation-it's about survival, moral and the conflicting decision that each character has to make after the'South' has fallen.
Nothing would ever be the same again; It was the end for some people(death) and the beginning for other's (reconstruction). Not many books can boast such memorable characters as Rhett, Scarlett, Ashley, Melanie or Mammy-they simply are burned into the minds of readers long after the book is closed, because the depthness of their being is crafted so well by Ms. Mitchell.

This is an epic saga, which I love as well.

Scoutsbff wrote: "Whenever I get overwhelmed with the pressures and stress of my life I read GWTW (which makes it about a yearly event!) If Scarlett can survive the not so Civil War and Reconstruction then I can sur..."

Re Shannon's comment on The House of Mirth and comparing it with Gone With the Wind, I must beg to differ. Edith Wharton was a cool observer of the society she lived in and sometimes satirised it mercilessly. Margaret Mitchell, on the other hand, glorified a way of life that caused endless struggle and hardship for most people, except the Scarlett O'Haras and Rhett Butlers of that world. I hate this book and the power and influence it stillseem sto exert over people.

Robyn wrote: "Scoutsbff wrote: "Whenever I get overwhelmed with the pressures and stress of my life I read GWTW (which makes it about a yearly event!) If Scarlett can survive the not so Civil War and Reconstruct..."

I didn't mean to imply that Mitchell and Wharton had similar life experiences or views of the world, nor that their literary voices are the same. All I meant to say is that if you enjoyed one book that is an epic, is American and has a strong female protaganist, you might enjoy another. Or you might not.

Is Scarlett strong though? She always seems to be weeping and falling into men's arms, sometimes the unfortunate Ashley's, but more often , of course, into Rhett's.
I can't understand why all you Americans and Canadians are seduced by this book. I don't even live in America but thought from a young age that authors like Carson McCullers and Joyce Carol Oates were a more authentic southern voice.

Robyn wrote: "Is Scarlett strong though? She always seems to be weeping and falling into men's arms, sometimes the unfortunate Ashley's, but more often , of course, into Rhett's.
I can't understand why all you ..."

Scarlett is strong because she never breaks and she depends on herself. Carson McCullers is an authentic Southern voice, and I think a far better writer than Miss Mitchell, but I'm pretty sure Oates is from Detroit. I know everything I ever read by her is set in Detroit/Windsor. That's just an impression. I don't like her works so don't know too much about her.

But how do you think Scarlett coped at the end when Rhett threw her over? Do you think she would've just picked herself up and got on with things, or collapsed in a screaming heap?

Isn't Scarlett the embodiment of the 'old' South, i.e., stubbornly holding on to romanticized memories; resisting overwhelming forces of change; refusing to recognized and embrace the good, precious and valuable around her while pining after the delusion of an 'ideal' - the list of comparisons goes on and on. Likely, like the 'real' South, Scarlett would have continued to struggle and suffer unless and until she achieved some level of emancipation from her own self-absorption, immaturity and myopia.

I couldn't agree more Kathleen!

The size of the book made me think twice before picking it up but after reading i was sad why it got finished.

Robyn wrote: "But how do you think Scarlett coped at the end when Rhett threw her over? Do you think she would've just picked herself up and got on with things, or collapsed in a screaming heap?"
I don't have the book to check, but I think I remember at the end Scarlett thinks she can find a way to win Rhett back. She never fell apart in the book but was always the one to find a solution.

Before I could finish the book, I already searched for the sequel. I chose Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley. I was quite satisfied by how things turned out. I love the love story of Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler. I still am gaga over the book coz I only read Gone with the Wind recently. I will definitely read the book over and over again until I get enough of Rhett Butler. hahaha lol