Andy Marr's Reviews > Gone with the Wind

So sorry you did not enjoy the book. I loved the book and the movie as well. Hope your next read is a 5 star rating!!

Thank you, Cheryl! 🤓

Your so welcome. I love when we can agree to disagree😊

Ha ha, this was a favourite of mine in high school. In fact I read it twice. I also loved Wuthering heights which, since re-reading a couple of years ago, bored me senseless so I suspect I would be hating this rather racist book now too!

Well, for the first time, coming across an outlier rating for this one! Kudos.

I agree, didn’t like the book or the movie. It’s a distorted view of history.

I can follow your criticism, and I’m still very curious about this book and the movie.

Pat on partial hiatus no new friend requests pls wrote: "Ha ha, this was a favourite of mine in high school. In fact I read it twice. I also loved Wuthering heights which, since re-reading a couple of years ago, bored me senseless so I suspect I would be..."

Haha! I've always steered clear of Wuthering Heights, but I know a few of my own favourites from 20 years ago would fail entirely to cut the mustard now (Paolo Coelho, I'm looking at you) :D

Meghna wrote: "Well, for the first time, coming across an outlier rating for this one! Kudos."

There's always one, Meghna :D

Toni wrote: "I agree, didn’t like the book or the movie. It’s a distorted view of history."

Absolutely, Toni! The love and gratitude displayed by the slaves towards their their masters was just ridiculous. I genuinely can't believe this one's stood the test of time.

Nilguen wrote: "I can follow your criticism, and I’m still very curious about this book and the movie."

I totally get that, Nilguen. And, let's face it, I'm in the minority here, so there's every chance you'll love the book as much as I hated it :D

Haha! Well, that's too bad! I've read this one twice (in my younger years) and have watched the movie more than that. I would never do that with Shantaram! 😂

Oh Andy - you’ve burst my bubble! This was a favourite of mine in year 12. Somehow I dare say I would view it quite differently now 😂!

I like your review, though.

In this, we are as one. Deeply deeply troubling. I kept thinking "one minute. Are we supposed to be empathizing with Scarlett?! When she is being served by human chattel? Well fiddle dee dee.

Yikes!!!

I haven't read the book, never seen the movie, don't have the tee shirt!
Well done, Andy!

A short snappy and powerfully eloquent review! 🥸🥸 WOW!

Bravo! That’s why I’ll never read this Lost Cause propaganda

I could say ‘Frankly my dear Andy, I don’t give a damn’, but I do!
I’m aware this novel has attracted controversy.
I haven’t read it - but did go to cinema as a teenager and started to leave after 2 hours only to be told it’s a half-way break!
CB

I almost bought this two days ago. Something made me put it back and pick up Emma instead! 😁💖

It's a very interesting topic regarding reading or watching books/films during times that dont reflect the standards of today's society. Not saying we should enjoy pieces of work like this necessarily - but is there some worth in reading such books to understand the times? I haven't read or watched this - but am tempted.

Any thoughts, anyone??

Racist from start to finish, for sure.

I absolutely agree with you, Mark, and I would have found it easy to overlook the racist elements if the book had indeed reflected the opinions of the day. However, I read a few papers after finishing the book and it seems that, although this was barely noted in the mainstream white press, Mitchell's book was called out for being racist from the moment it was published. There was also unrest following the release of the movie, though the producers had attempted to limit the racism. If you're interested, there's a fantastic article about the book's initial reception by the New York Times. It helped me make sense of my frustration on finishing the book.

*God's nightie!*
Appropriating.

Andy wrote: "I absolutely agree with you, Mark, and I would have found it easy to overlook the racist elements if the book had indeed reflected the opinions of the day. However, I read a few papers after finish..."

Cheers Andy - I'll have to check out more about this book, you've piqued my interest!! I'll check out the article you refer to.

But I liked your succinct review.

Dear Andy: Thanks. I've been to the Margaret Mitchell house in Atlanta and the tour guide gives you the "some of her best friends were Black" excuse.

Julio wrote: "Dear Andy: Thanks. I've been to the Margaret Mitchell house in Atlanta and the tour guide gives you the "some of her best friends were Black" excuse."

That is terrible. I am so sorry you had that experience, Julio. I have friends on the Board of the House and I will share that with them. Unless it was 50 years ago that is not in keeping with the official position of The Margaret Mitchell House. I lived in Atlanta for 15 years and was often at the Margaret Mitchell House. (For one thing it is one of the most common sites for author talks. I have seen Richard Ford, J. Courtney Sullivan, Janet Dewart Bell, and Tayari Jones there among others.) I have also attended several excellent panel discussions featuring prominent African American Studies, Gender Studies and History professors discussing depictions of race, gender and class in Gone With the Wind and other works. This is a story written by a particular person at a particular place in a particular time, and the House addresses it that way and treats it as a taking off point for talking about historical popular perceptions of race, gender and class through the last nearly 90ish years. It is really upsetting to hear that docents might be offering up such drivel. (Also, Mitchell was a rich young woman living in Midtown Atlanta in the early part of the 20th Century. She had no Black friends. At that time north/south street names changed at Ponce de Leon Avenue so White and Black alike knew where to stop walking. Black and White people did not hang out.)

I also 1-starred this for the same reason and Andy, but regardless it is a reflection of how the antebellum era was perceived by most Americans in the 1930's and beyond. Many more people went to movies than read any polemics or history books -- this is the information most people worked with for many years. Some to this day.

Bonnie G. wrote: "Julio wrote: "Dear Andy: Thanks. I've been to the Margaret Mitchell house in Atlanta and the tour guide gives you the "some of her best friends were Black" excuse."

That is terrible. I am so sorry..."
Thank you for such a detailed review of the Margaret Mitchell House, Bonnie. I'm glad to hear the place has become a site for the discussion of race and gender in the South, ante and post bellum. On a related note, I once visited the state capitol building in Montgomery, Alabama and was shocked to learn it is an unabashed paean to the Confederacy, including cement quadrangles hailing every state that seceded.

Julio wrote: "Bonnie G. wrote: "Julio wrote: "Dear Andy: Thanks. I've been to the Margaret Mitchell house in Atlanta and the tour guide gives you the "some of her best friends were Black" excuse."

That is terri..."

Oh, that is absolutely true, Julio. That Alabama Capitol Building is horrifying. Until a few years ago they were still flying the Confederate battle flag and that flag is still part of the state's crest. I should note that the legislature no longer meets there, I am not sure the building is used for anything other than to highlight Alabama's allegiance to the Confederacy. What do you expect from a state that celebrates Robert E. Lee Day on the federal holiday MLK Day?

If you get back to Montgomery, the new National Lynching Museum is fascinating and amazing, and of course utterly horrifying. It is really the only thing that makes Montgomery worth visiting IMO..

Also, for other revolting celebrations of the confederacy Stone Mountain (just a couple minutes from Downtown ATL) is a must see, The area around Stone Mountain is majority Black, but the expected audience still shows up on weekends to watch the laser show and gaze up at the Confederate answer to Mt. Rushmore while singing I'm Proud to be an American.

Gratia once again. Bonnie. The National Lynching Museum sounds like a horrific must-see. I have been to Stone Mountain and seen the Stalinesque carved statues of Davis, Lee and Jackson. I understand the park now features a few plaques that try to explain why this monument is important while putting "slavery and secession in a context".

Julio wrote: "Gratia once again. Bonnie. The National Lynching Museum sounds like a horrific must-see. I have been to Stone Mountain and seen the Stalinesque carved statues of Davis, Lee and Jackson. I understan..."

Yes, that happened, Julio. There was a lot of outcry to sand smooth the mountain (really a hill) but we ended up with plaques of penance. Facing the truth is a process. A very lengthy process.

Exxxactly!

when in the book did margaret mitchell preaise slavery?