Gone with the Wind

Alright, here is the real reason that I haven't blogged in a month. Every spare minute I had was being sucked away by all 1448 pages of this book. I loved every minute! Saturday morning I finished it, much to the confusion of Ruthie who wanted to know why her mother was crying/sobbing.

While I was in college I watched the movie and really thought it was the worst movie every made. First, no happy ending. I'm a sucker for happy endings and so it was a big disappointment. Secondly, not knowing what it was about, I thought Scarlet should have been a nice person. Why does anyone want to watch a movie with about a bad person that doesn't have a happy ending?

Needless to say, I never really thought about reading the book. However, based on a few people's recommendations and knowing my husband would be out of town a lot, I thought I would give it a try. The book was way better than the movie (as they always are) and I enjoyed all the description and background information that was given.

In the Jacket cover there is a quote by the author, Margaret Mitchell, that I love:
"...in an interview with her publisher, she was asked what Gone with the Wind was about. She said, 'If the novel has a theme it is that of survival. What makes some people come through catastrophes and others, apparently just as able, strong, and brave go under? It happens in every upheaval. Some people survive; other don't. What qualities are in those who fight their way through triumphantly that are lacking in those that go under? I only know that survivors used to call that quality 'gumption.' So I wrote about people who had gumption and people who didn't.'"

Here are a few thoughts that I had about the book:

-Scarlett is not a good person. Once I got over that, I really liked her. It was a little frightening how many times I thought that I am just a little bit like her. More than a few of you have seen my temper, especially when I don't get my way (those of you who haven't just need to talk to Matt;)

-Melanie was my favorite character, but her goodness was a little overbearing sometimes. I've never been one to always look at the positive, but it worked so well for her. By being blind to the bad in others and loyal, especially to Scarlett and Rhett, she lived a happy life. I think I could learn something from that.

-Rhett, I loved Rhett. He is an evil person, but so much better than Scarlett because he knows it. Without him I don't think this book would have gone anywhere. Scarlett was too selfish and Melanie too good, but Rhett was a little of both.

-I don't think I could have ever been a southern bell. The fact that you couldn't leave your house once you thought you were pregnant would kill me. Nine months is already long enough if you have somewhere to go and someone to be with.

-I thought the story about the civil war being told from a Southerner's point of view was very interesting. When you learn about it in school it seems like all you hear is the slavery issue. There was a lot more to it than that.

What's next? Matt is thrilled that he get to watch the movie with me soon! Thanks to those who recommended it. Great Book!