Amazing Reader! I think I'm going to enjoy this story very much. Really excellent book - about which I was surprised at the story. You hear about Gone with the Wind over years and years in reference - but nothing you hear can tell you the story. Its just an excellent story. Will definately read/listen again. ( )

Eh, I got about halfway through it and found myself still waiting for it to get better. Scarlett remains pretty despicable at least that far in. Maybe she gets better later, but I decided I didn’t have the patience to find out.
Not badly written, especially for the time period, but decidedly not my thing. ( )

My mother never stopped for illness or disinclination. She was the Protestant Work Ethic come to life, and I both admired and disdained her for it, as my moods dictated. In the last summer of her life she confided that as a teenager she had missed school, pretended to be sick, so that she could read Gone with the Wind. I was intrigued to find that there was something that kept my mother from her goal of perfect attendance, and I bought a copy of it. I'd never read the book - I fear weighty tomes - but now, three years after her passing, I have finished her favourite book, and in doing so, immediately I can see why she loved the book. It is all-encompassing and incredibly powerful.

I have been to the plantation where parts of Gone with the Wind wer filmed (I believe it was Boone Hall), seen its stately columns and lovely wide lawns. I didn't need Mitchell's descriptions to imagine what Tara looked like. The characters spring to life on the page - the imperious, selfish Scarlett; Rhett, manly and handsome, a rake; the wan Ashley, out of place in Reconstruction Atlanta; Melanie, who is truly and deeply good; Mammy, with her white apron and fierce loyalty.

In Grade 13 (it was a thing in Ontario until the end of the 1980s) I took a class in American History, and was bored stiff for most of it. I learned more about the American Civil War from this novel than I ever did from that class. That speaks to really fine historical fiction.

It was an excellent book. I feel all sorts of pride for getting through 1,056 pages. It's long, but if you're wavering about the investment of time, pursue it. The book is worth every minute you pour into it. ( )

Histrionic Personality Disorder marries a Sadist. Hilarity ensues. ( )

WOW. That's my one word summary of this book. And that one word is meant both in good ways and very dark, very bad ways. Gone with the Wind is a powerhouse, again a double-edged sword. I had always mentally brushed off the novel, thinking it was one of those poorly written, fluff pieces that is so often what a popular bestseller amounts to. I was WRONG. This book is well written and contains extremely well-developed and vividly portrayed characters and lays their emotions bare. No holds barred. Ultimately it has disturbed me more deeply than any other book I can remember reading. Its racist diatribes are the worst I have seen. And these rants go on at length including countless demeaning descriptions of slaves, and in particular, former slaves. It is a love letter to the Confederacy and their perceived white supremacy. It condones the KKK, and all of their vile, despicable actions. And I am not talking about artistic license for the sake of literature. I am talking about heartfelt, clearly expression emotions of beliefs held by the author. There is absolutely no other way to explain this book. In that respect, it is a vile, disgusting, disheartening work. It's hard to look past that, but assuming we do, I'll move on to other aspects of the book.

Gone with the Wind also contains the most vividly portrayed and well developed characters I can recall in a book. The plot is masterfully woven throughout. The attributes of each of the main characters become quite clear, as well as their relationships to one another. While, of course, Scarlett's character is defined in much more detail in the book (as opposed to the movie that we are all familiar with). And although, rarely, I thought I might be on the brink of discovering an admirable characteristic in her; ultimately I failed to do so. Because both she and Rhett are so narcissistic and hateful, I could never develop a sympathetic feeling for either one of them. Nor could I ever empathize with their "romance", which I never viewed as such. There was no romantic feeling at all for me between those two, or in fact in the entire novel. The only character I could like, fully embrace and develop an empathy for is morally upright, nearly angelic Melanie. And I discovered sadly, even she is full of the bitter poison of racism. In fact, I was appalled to find out that she was responsible for possibly the most vile quote I have yet come across in a book; to the effect that she would teach her children hatred of the Yankees and she hoped they would pass that hatred to their children, and they to their children, and so on down the generations. I think you can begin to see why I said I found this book so disturbing.

It is a dark, bleak, war-torn landscape that is portrayed and the characters are masterfully crafted to match the setting. From the beginning, it is clear that this is no happily-ever-after tale. But, again, it's most powerful and extemely disturbing message is one drenched in hate, racism and division. It's a message that has scarred our Country from its inception and continues to affect our lives on a daily basis. ( )