One of my reading goals of 2020 is reading at least few classic books. It seems only fitting that the first one I finished in this category is truly epic and classic 'Gone With The Wind'.
GWTW is a novel by American writer Margaret Mitchell, first published in 1936.
Before going into the book and movie details, let me put down some interesting facts about GWTW -
- As of 2014, a Harris poll found it to be the second favorite book of American readers, just behind the Bible.
- More than 30 million copies of this novel have been printed worldwide
- it received the prestigious the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937
- The author 'Margaret Mitchell' wrote no other book after GWTW, it is the only novel she wrote in her lifetime
- She started writing it in 1926 and eventually finished in 1936. Also the book's final moments were written first and then wrote other events that led up to them
- The book is accused of being 'racist' and has great deal of racism, in content as well as language. The N-word and the euphemism “darkie” are all over the place
- The movie with the same name was released in 1939. It received 10 Academy Awards (eight competitive, two honorary) from thirteen nominations.
- For movie, casting took 2 years and the "search for Scarlett" led to 1,400 women being interviewed for the part.
- After the first release in 1939, the movie has been re-released many time with improved technology and restoration. But there is no known re-make.
Now coming to the novel - frankly this post is not a book review. There are ample reviews available on net that describe the story-line, characters and era context. What i have put down is how I have perceived the characters.
As an Indian, I didn’t study the American war history in my academics. What I know about it has been cobbled together from bit of my reads and research lately.
GWTW is a war era novel but undoubtedly remarkable and unique reading experience.
It is indeed a long read, near to 1000 pages. Took me 4-5 times the time compared to what I take for any std size novel.
But I have never been so enthralled in any book. In spite of its length, I was never bored and constantly picking it up for reading as and when I could.
It is very difficult to place this book in a single genre. GWTW is not just a romantic story involving Scarlett, Ashley and Rhett but also a well researched account of the American civil war.
Along with portraying the era, characterization and artistically-drawn relationships are the best things about this book. Each and every character is so brilliantly portrayed, and the lead characters are so fully rounded that you can barely believe they're fictional.
Both Scarlett and Rhett, bounce off the page and overwhelm your thoughts even after you finish reading the book.
During the read, you may like or dislike these lead characters, but they encroach your mind throughout.
There is everything in here. A brutal war and its aftermath, moving romance, virtues of ethics and morality, all centered around one of the most complex characters in all of literature, Scarlett O’Hara. It is a bold of author to sketch the protagonist female as selfish, spoiled brat, materialistic bitch.
But in spite of all this, she still emerges as powerful, fiery woman.
Then there is Rhett, the only character with the ability to conquer Scarlett. He is an absolute alpha mate.
Just like the ladies in Atlanta I found myself at times entranced by his charms, but at many occasions I did not like him as well. I sympathized with him and was often amused by his sarcasm and satire. A classy anti-hero.
The evolution of his relationship with Scarlett is so carefully and artfully structured that the final 100 pages will make your heart ache.
I haven't watched the whole movie yet, but have seen few clips on web.
Both, Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, seem perfectly fitting in the characters of Scarlett and Rhett.
So overall, an incredible classic converted into equally epic movie, immensely special and the one that will posses you for a while.
GWTW is a novel by American writer Margaret Mitchell, first published in 1936.
Before going into the book and movie details, let me put down some interesting facts about GWTW -
- As of 2014, a Harris poll found it to be the second favorite book of American readers, just behind the Bible.
- More than 30 million copies of this novel have been printed worldwide
- it received the prestigious the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937
- The author 'Margaret Mitchell' wrote no other book after GWTW, it is the only novel she wrote in her lifetime
- She started writing it in 1926 and eventually finished in 1936. Also the book's final moments were written first and then wrote other events that led up to them
- The book is accused of being 'racist' and has great deal of racism, in content as well as language. The N-word and the euphemism “darkie” are all over the place
- The movie with the same name was released in 1939. It received 10 Academy Awards (eight competitive, two honorary) from thirteen nominations.
- For movie, casting took 2 years and the "search for Scarlett" led to 1,400 women being interviewed for the part.
- After the first release in 1939, the movie has been re-released many time with improved technology and restoration. But there is no known re-make.
Now coming to the novel - frankly this post is not a book review. There are ample reviews available on net that describe the story-line, characters and era context. What i have put down is how I have perceived the characters.
As an Indian, I didn’t study the American war history in my academics. What I know about it has been cobbled together from bit of my reads and research lately.
GWTW is a war era novel but undoubtedly remarkable and unique reading experience.
It is indeed a long read, near to 1000 pages. Took me 4-5 times the time compared to what I take for any std size novel.
But I have never been so enthralled in any book. In spite of its length, I was never bored and constantly picking it up for reading as and when I could.
It is very difficult to place this book in a single genre. GWTW is not just a romantic story involving Scarlett, Ashley and Rhett but also a well researched account of the American civil war.
Along with portraying the era, characterization and artistically-drawn relationships are the best things about this book. Each and every character is so brilliantly portrayed, and the lead characters are so fully rounded that you can barely believe they're fictional.
Both Scarlett and Rhett, bounce off the page and overwhelm your thoughts even after you finish reading the book.
During the read, you may like or dislike these lead characters, but they encroach your mind throughout.
There is everything in here. A brutal war and its aftermath, moving romance, virtues of ethics and morality, all centered around one of the most complex characters in all of literature, Scarlett O’Hara. It is a bold of author to sketch the protagonist female as selfish, spoiled brat, materialistic bitch.
But in spite of all this, she still emerges as powerful, fiery woman.
Then there is Rhett, the only character with the ability to conquer Scarlett. He is an absolute alpha mate.
Just like the ladies in Atlanta I found myself at times entranced by his charms, but at many occasions I did not like him as well. I sympathized with him and was often amused by his sarcasm and satire. A classy anti-hero.
The evolution of his relationship with Scarlett is so carefully and artfully structured that the final 100 pages will make your heart ache.
I haven't watched the whole movie yet, but have seen few clips on web.
Both, Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, seem perfectly fitting in the characters of Scarlett and Rhett.
So overall, an incredible classic converted into equally epic movie, immensely special and the one that will posses you for a while.
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