Gone With the Wind

I just finished reading Gone With the Wind by Margret Mitchell. It took me quite a long time to get through, but it was a mostly enjoyable experience.

One night, right after I started reading it, I was eating alone and reading at a local restaurant. This is, by the way, one of my favorite things to do. Anyway, I was reading and the manager came up behind me, asked me how my meal was, and then asked me what I was reading. I showed him the book and looked up at him. He was black. I felt embarrassed to be reading a book that portrays such antiquated and unflattering views of blacks. This was strange for me because I can never remember feeling guilty for reading a book. Well, the following conversation revealed that the manager was more amazed that I was reading a classic instead of something from Oprah's book club. So, I got over my feelings of awkardness fairly quickly.

I think that this book was good enough to win the Pulitzer (which it did). The characters are very rich and well flushed out, and the plot is structured very well. I must admit that the attitude the books characters and author have toward black people was quite alarming and disturbing at times. There was even one slur toward Jewish people made by the main character that just blew me away when I read it. However, for anyone who is interested in reading a good novel with historical elements (the details on the Civil War, particularly the fall of Atlanta, are very good) I would recommend it.