So this post was originally a book review of Gone With the Wind, but I’ll be honest, it was terrible. My emotions were all over the place because I loved the book yet hated it all at the same time. Since writing that review, I’ve seen the movie. I’ve decided to change things up a bit and discuss how the two compare (especially for those of you who have only seen the movie).

Gone With the Wind: Book versus MovieGone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Published by Grand Central Publishing on 1936
Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Classic Literature
Pages: 1037
Goodreads

Gone with the Wind is a novel written by Margaret Mitchell, first published in 1936. The story is set in Clayton County, Georgia, and Atlanta during the American Civil War and Reconstruction era. It depicts the struggles of young Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner, who must use every means at her disposal to claw her way out of the poverty she finds herself in after Sherman's March to the Sea. A historical novel, the story is a Bildungsroman or coming-of-age story, with the title taken from a poem written by Ernest Dowson.

Gone with the Wind was popular with American readers from the onset and was the top American fiction bestseller in the year it was published and in 1937. 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 have been printed worldwide.

Quick Book Thoughts:

First of all, let me say that I loved the book. I mean, it killed me, but I loved it. Here were some of my snarky reasons I had crafted in my original review to convince you to read Gone With the Wind.

  1. Who doesn’t want to read a 1000-page book (or 50-hour audiobook)?! You’ll spend so much of your life reading the novel, you’ll actually die before you finish.
  2. Who doesn’t want to read about a salty brat who stomps around and makes horrible life decisions? You don’t? Well good, because Scarlett O’Hara is definitely not that.
  3. If you want to read the most epic love story of all time and then get your heart ripped out and shattered into a million pieces and then the pieces are scattered all over and you can never find all of them and then you are left a shell of a person you were before, then read this novel! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. You’ll cry. You’ll cry. You’ll cry. 

The Book Bottom Line:



In all seriousness, I freaking loved this novel (but also hated that it emotionally wrecked me), and I think everyone else should have to suffer, too. 

How the Movie Compares:

Well, it doesn’t. The book is infinitely better, of course, BUT the movie is definitely enjoyable.

  1. The movie decided that it needed to switch up some very important scenes, which definitely rattled by book-loving heart. Why make things happen differently than they did in the book?
  2. Scarlett’s motives are SO MUCH BETTER REVEALED in the book. She seemed quite ditzy in the movie, but she’s wicked smart and conniving in the novel. She’s pretty dang awful, yes, but she’s a self-motivated survivor. You can’t fault her for that!
  3. The emotional scenes were heavily diminished in the movie. I don’t know if it was because Clark Gable looks like he’s about to laugh IN EVERY SINGLE SCENE or what, but the scenes where your heart gets ripped out in the book almost seem comedic in the movie. That frustrated me quite a bit. On the whole I felt as though the movie was less emotional. 
  4. The ending was RUSHED like crazy! You’d think after a 4-hour movie they could have found other less important scenes in the beginning to cut out so that they didn’t have to pile all the hard-hitting finale scenes right on top of each other. Again, it resulted it point #3.
  5. BUT the movie was certainly beautiful. My goodness the sets and costumes were gorgeous! And I definitely felt as though I was transported back to the book that I loved.

The Movie Bottom Line:

If you’ve seen the movie and haven’t read the book, READ THE BOOK. You’ll enjoy it more. 



Have you read (or seen) Gone With the Wind? Were you as obsessed as I am?!