History may be written by the winners, but fiction often finds its truths in the experience of the losers. Such is certainly the case with Gone With the Wind, which brings America’s bloodiest war—and the Southern privileges it vanquished—to life with irresistible power (albeit with a blinkered sense of moral responsibility and historical reality when it comes to the unprivileged and enslaved). Although it is filled with dozens of characters—from the noble but timid Ashley Wilkes to the blustering but stalwart maid Mammy—it is Scarlett’s book, and the combination of scheming, seduction, and sheer will by which she survives the collapse of her way of life makes her a heroine with few peers in American literature.
I read this book at 13. Prior to this I was an avid reader; after reading GWTW I was a fierce reader. I felt how it was to be totally immersed in a book and that reading would be the fire in my life.
An truly epic yet also deeply personal story of survival. While the author and main character demonstrate pro-Confederacy sentiment, some of its conclusions are surprising. Readers who want pro-Confederacy propaganda can read it as such. But readers who acknowledge the skew of its viewpoint will find something much more complicated and interesting. What main character Scarlett O'Hara is willing to let go of and what she clings to make her a fascinating study of the American psyche.
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