Gone with the Wind

Everyone has heard of Gone with the Wind. And, like Mark Twain says, "A classic is something everyone wants to have read and nobody wants to read." Well, let me tell you, Gone with the Wind is not The Luck of Roaring Camp.

This is a page-turner.

Don't let its size frighten you. This is a page-turner.

The prose is simple but lively. The characters are even more lively. You'll find firebrands, milksops, scoundrels, romantics, angels, villains, and coquettes. Yes, Scarlett O'Hara deserves her fame. You could never like her, but you love to read about her! She's always doing something outrageous, and then suddenly you feel sorry for her.

The sections that give historical overviews of the Civil War last at most 3 pages before the plot is zipping along again. The dialogue is even zippier.

However, there are a few problems with the book. The main is the portrayal of slavery/blacks and the KKK. Blacks are characterized as children. The "good" ones love their owners, are deferiential, and dislike the "bad" ones who are stubborn, thieving, lazy, short-sighted, impulsive rapists. I can handle some romanticizing of the South, but I draw the line at that propaganda. The other problem, the KKK, is linked to the first. The KKK is portrayed as a band of chivalrous gentlemen who are forced to take justice into their own hands, merely to prevent the blacks from harming their women. Once again, I have a big problem with that.

However, these issues do not outweigh the fun. I think today's readers easily recognize the problems with them. (Hurray, for once, for political correctness!) So dive into this classic and show up Mark Twain.