Margaret Mitchell
1936
Around 1040 pages
Most people know Gone With the Wind as a racist old movie, but the movie actually toned down some of the more racist aspects of the novel. Which makes it a tough pill to swallow, especially given its remarkable length. Prepare for a very white washed ode to the Confederacy.
Scarlett O'Hara is a the spoiled daughter of a wealthy owner of plantation in Georgia. The novel opens on April 15, 1861, just before seven states, including Georgia, declare their secession from the Union. Scarlett's upset, because Ashley Wilkes, her neighbor who she secretly loves, is about to marry his cousin Melanie. Scarlett makes a scene, which is witnessed by the very smarmy Rhett Butler. Scarlett plays every card in her deck to keep Tara, the plantation, afloat during the Civil War and reconstruction, while maintaining her obsession with Ashley the entire time.
Gone With the Wind exists in a different reality, where slaves were happy to be slaves. It's a world white people want to live in, which explains its popularity at the time. The romanticization of the Ku Klux Klan will make you gag. Of course, it's not all Mitchell's fault for being so misinformed, but it's still difficult to stomach.
On the positive stylistic side, the influence of Thackeray and Dickens is clear here. And I do love following the morally questionable exploits of fiery women. Mitchell also really uses foils effectively. I found Scarlett's reactions to sweet, angelic Melanie to be deeply amusing.
An important piece in the puzzle of systematic racism in the United States, so I guess worthy of being on the List? I don't know what the fuck the criteria is anymore.
RATING: **---
Interesting Facts:
Interesting Facts:
As of 2014, a Harris poll found it to be the second favorite book of American readers, just behind the Bible.
Mitchell received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for the book in 1937.
More than 30 million copies have been printed.
The only novel Mitchell ever published.
The only novel Mitchell ever published.
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