My Unforgettable Journey with Scarlett O'Hara

Hello there! I'm a bookworm, and I've been following various book bloggers for a while now. This novel kept popping up in their recommendations or reading lists, and I have to admit, I'd never read it, even though I'm old enough to have done so. I also hadn't seen the movie adaptation. From what I gathered, the story revolves around the romantic entanglements of the main characters set against the backdrop of the Civil War. Initially, I had some reservations, given all the mixed opinions I'd heard about Scarlett O'Hara. Some people think she's just a fool, and even the author, Margaret Mitchell, didn't exactly have kind words for her character. Still, I was curious to read the book and form my own opinion. And boy, was I surprised when this novel, which I'd approached with some skepticism, ended up breaking my heart, turning my world upside down, and leaving me in tears on the last pages...

The Wind Done Gone by Margaret Mitchell reviews

BOOK DETAILS:

First published in: 1936 Genre: Historical Fiction.

INTERESTING FACTS:

It took Margaret Mitchell over 10 years to write her only novel. Her novel 'Gone with the Wind' won the Pulitzer Prize just a year after its publication. The book was dubbed 'the novel of the century'. Even today, it's still incredibly popular and a bestseller. The Russian translation of the novel came out in 1941, under the title 'Winds of Change'. It wasn't until 1982 that the novel was fully released in the Soviet Union. Interestingly, the original title of the novel was supposed to be 'Tomorrow is Another Day'. One story behind the novel is that Margaret Mitchell wasn't even planning to publish her work, but did it as a joke for her friend, who was surprised that Mitchell was writing a book. There's also a rumor that Mitchell hated her novel, just like her main character, and got annoyed whenever people compared her to the main character.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell reviews

📚 PRICE, WHERE TO BUY:

I've got a two-volume set that I bought ages ago from Chita - Gorod for a ridiculously low price of 181 rubles for two volumes (talk about a bargain!). Book prices are through the roof these days, and it all depends on the edition.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell reviews

But there's an e-version available online that you can download for free and read using my app. I ended up with around 5000 pages (spoiler alert: I read both the physical and e-versions). xa0

📚 ABOUT THE EDITION:

I've got a pretty basic edition, to be honest. I'd even call it the budget version.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell reviews

This is a 2-volume set from 2016, using the same translation as the 1982 version: T. Ozerksaya for volume 1 and T. Kudryavtseva for volume 2.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell reviews

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell reviews

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell reviews

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell reviews

The page quality isn't the best, but the paper is dense and gray, which might be off-putting for some readers. To be honest, I didn't really notice while reading, I was too caught up in the story. The total number of pages is around 1400 (you can see the page count on the stickers in the photo below - I planned to read 50 pages a day, just like the Joint Readings group).

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell reviews

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📚 PLOT:

I dove into Scarlett O'Hara's story, a young and beautiful woman living in a relatively affluent family. She attends parties, socializes with neighbors, and breaks young hearts. The world outside her own doesn't really interest her unless it personally affects her. Scarlett's heart belongs to Ashley Wilkes - tall, handsome, and intelligent. She's dreamed of Ashley proposing to her, but unfortunately, those dreams aren't meant to be. The start of the Civil War sets off a chain of events that changes Scarlett's character and perspective on life.

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📚 MAIN CHARACTERS:

Scarlett O'Hara - the belle of the ball (although the author describes her in a very different way), with a slender waist and piercing green eyes that drive all the eligible bachelors in the area wild.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell reviews And Scarlett knows how to use her natural charm to her advantage. At the start of the novel, she's just 16 years old. What's on the mind of a 16-year-old girl? Dresses, parties, and of course, admirers.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell reviews She's young, beautiful, and loves basking in the attention of the opposite sex. On the surface, she seems shallow, selfish, and vain.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell reviews But as the story unfolds, she's forced to confront some harsh realities that will change her character forever. Scarlett shows a grittier side - she's tough, resilient, and fiercely protective of those she loves. Despite her lack of book smarts, Scarlett's strength and determination will surprise even the most skeptical of readers. Not to mention, she's a true Southern belle at heart. Scarlett's got her Irish entrepreneurial spirit, which teaches you to measure life by material categories, not to get lost in the clouds. And even her famous line 'I'll think about it tomorrow' shows that she's too busy to get distracted by outside thoughts when it's time to seize the opportunity. xa0

Rett Butler - now he's one of my favorite literary characters. Tall, handsome, charming, sharp-tongued, cynical, yet intelligent and with a business acumen. He knows exactly what he wants and how to get it. People like Rett never go out of style because they've got a thirst for life, and a good life at that. You can accuse Rett of cowardice, arrogance, pride, selfishness, greed, but he's a noble man who's helped many, a loving father, and a passionate lover who's stolen many hearts. Despite his charm and charisma, I think nobody stood a chance against a man like Rett. And I loved his one-liners, his sharp and biting remarks, delivered in such a calm and innocent way that his opponents didn't even realize he was mocking them. People like Rett are called 'gentlemen rogues'.

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📚 SECONDARY CHARACTERS:

Gerald O'Hara - a shrewd Irishman who married into wealth and high society, all without a penny to his name. His iron grip and strong character helped him build a fortune, despite being an outsider in the South. He earned the respect of his neighbors and eventually won over the upper class with his charm.

Gone with the Wind reviews

Gone with the Wind reviews

Gone with the Wind reviews Scarlett's fiery personality is a trait she inherited from her father, but she also has a strong dose of O'Hara's Irish blood, which makes her more impulsive than her mother's calm and collected nature.

Ellen O'Hara - Scarlett's mother, a refined, elegant, and poised woman who kept the entire estate in line. She's the epitome of female beauty and strength, with a unique blend of softness, intelligence, and subtle authority. She always spoke with a calm and even tone, and her servants respected her, but as a wise and intelligent woman, she made sure her husband was happy and content.

Gerald considered himself the master of the house.

Gone with the Wind reviews by Margaret Mitchell Despite his mother not passing down her character traits, Gerald still looked up to her and aspired to be like her, but his Irish heritage ultimately took precedence over his French roots.

Gone with the Wind reviews by Margaret Mitchell

Gone with the Wind reviews by Margaret Mitchell Ashe Wilkes - I have to admit, I was initially put off by the feminine name "Ashe", but I grew accustomed to it. In my opinion, Ashe is a bit (or a lot) of a "softie", not cut out for the harsh realities of life. He came from a good family, received a European education, read a lot, studied literature and music, and you could say he's a bit of a dreamer, too airy for his own good, unlike Scarlett, who was more down-to-earth and measured life by material standards, not abstract concepts. Ashe, in my view, turned out to be a weak person, not suited for life's circumstances, unable to adjust on the fly, stuck in the past and still living in it. You could call him a man of the "lost generation".

Melanie Gamilton - she's a sweet and gentle soul, Melanie, who can be a bit annoying with her perfect judgments, excessive kindness, and responsiveness. But at the same time, Melanie always stays true to herself, her convictions, and the people she loves. In my opinion, Melanie's not exactly a beauty, she's just a petite, fragile little mouse of a girl, unremarkable, quiet, and unassuming, but incredibly kind and compassionate. She sees only the good in people, even those who don't deserve it. And how many times she defended Scarlett when Scarlett treated Melanie with a lack of sincerity? How much love and goodness is in her! At the beginning of the novel, Melanie seems weak, fragile, and delicate, someone you'd want to protect from the harshness of the world. But as the story unfolds, her strong character becomes more apparent in this delicate soul.

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OVERALL IMPRESSIONS FROM READING THE NOVEL:

When I started reading the novel, I had a certain preconception - I thought it would be another love story, and I'm a fan of realism, preferring books with real-life stories at their core (The American Tragedy, for instance).

The novel started off as incredibly dull, tedious, and bland. This is because the first 100 pages are dedicated to describing Scarlett's life and her parents' marriage, how they got married, how they built their fortune, and so on.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell review To be honest, I found those early scenes then (I'm serious, I just wanted to get to the good stuff) kind of boring, and I was eager to dive into the chapters where Scarlett's romance with Rhett Butler would unfold. I have to admit, the second reason I struggled to get through the first 100 pages was Scarlett's character herself. I just didn't find her smart or relatable, and her carefree attitude really grated on me, which made me want to put the book down.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell review But I'd be lying if I judged the book solely on its characters. So I kept reading, and it was worth it. I dragged out the first 100 pages over two weeks, but once I got hooked, I was reading till deep into the night, unable to stop. This story had me completely under its spell. It's such a monumental novel, so full and complete, that I felt like I'd lived those years alongside the characters. And the characterizations – wow, what a job Margaret Mitchell did! Each character felt so fully fleshed out, so vividly drawn, that I could picture them in my mind like they were real people. None of them felt flat or one-dimensional. Every single character that came out of Mitchell's pen felt like a complete, standalone person. Honestly, it felt like I was reading a true story, and Mitchell was just describing it, not making it up. When I was reading this masterpiece, I totally believed that it took her 10 years to write. The work that went into it is just incredible, especially considering Mitchell's background as a journalist. She somehow managed to bring the war and its aftermath to life in a way that felt so real, so vivid.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell reviews I really enjoyed the translation of this novel - I savored every sentence, every phrase. The translation turned out to be so eloquent and concise that I wanted to dissect each page to use as quotes! The translators did an enormous job of adapting the text. By the way, I encountered a lot of unfamiliar words in the text, and I had to 'Google' them almost every chapter, just like with the novel The Financier.But that's also what gives the text a special atmosphere - I love literature that's rooted in history. In fact, I have a soft spot for books written in the last century, as they have a certain atmosphere that you won't find in modern novels.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell reviews I read the book in both print and digital formats - whenever I had a spare minute, and I didn't have the print book with me. I devoured the second part in exactly 7 days, without taking a break. I made a lot of bookmarks throughout the text, but it's impossible to include all the favorite quotes in the review.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell This is a rare case where a book has left me so shaken that I couldn't shake off the emotions for a long time. I was completely absorbed in the story, and the characters felt so real that I felt like I was watching a TV series or had witnessed the events firsthand. I'm still struggling to put into words just how emotional this book was for me.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell reviews I was reading the last pages with tears in my eyes. This story broke my heart, turned my world upside down, and I haven't experienced such strong emotions from reading a book in a long time. I could go on and on praising this genius novel and singing the praises of its author, Margaret Mitchell.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell reviews I couldn't help but feel a connection with all the characters - they're all so well-developed, independent, and relatable. Even Scarlett, the one that's being hotly debated online, has a way of evoking emotions. Some people admire her strength, while others criticize her harshness towards her loved ones, her carelessness, and even indifference towards her family.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell reviews I think that's exactly what Margaret Mitchell aimed to do in her novel - show a multifaceted heroine, ambiguous, someone you can love and hate, but she'll definitely leave you feeling something.

Scarlett is a complex character, woven from both strengths and weaknesses, and that's her charm, her bold and stubborn nature, and that's her allure, her feminine magnetism, if you will.

It's what drew men to her, and it's what captured Rhett Butler's heart.

The novel Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

So, what happens to the heroine in the end of this epic saga? And what kind of ending did the author herself have in mind? The question remains unanswered, as even the author didn't know what became of Scarlett and left the ending open to interpretation.

Many fans were disappointed by this, and they clamored for a sequel, eager to find out what would happen next to Scarlett and Rhett.

But Mitchell remained resolute in her decision, refusing to write a continuation...

Maybe she was just tired of the story after 10 years, or maybe her creative spark had fizzled out. Who knows?

For those who still want to know 'what happened next', there are several fan-made continuations out there. One of them is a novel by Alexandra Ripley (also known as Ripley in some translations) called ''Scarlett'', which was adapted into a TV series.

I haven't read the continuation yet, and I'm not sure if I even want to know what happens to Scarlett next.

As I read through the story, I found myself falling in love with the characters. Maybe it's better to leave them just as they are?

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THE HIGHLIGHTS:

✅ The characters are so unique and memorable.

✅ The plot is engaging and hard to put down.

✅ The historical foundation is solid.

✅ The translation is high-quality and easy to read.

✅ The story is well-paced and flows smoothly.

✅ There's plenty to think about long after you finish reading.

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THE LOW POINTS:

❌ The beginning is a bit slow.

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📚THE VERDICT:

My review of "Gone with the Wind" is a bit all over the place, to be honest. The book left me with an unforgettable impression that's hard to compare to any other novel I've read. It's just that "Gone with the Wind" is such a unique masterpiece that draws you in gradually, and even after finishing the book, you'll still be turning it over in your head for a long time!

My rating: 5 out of 5 ⭐

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