The Wind Done Gone: A Novel

I browsed through the bad reviews of this book believing that it was mainly cultural differences that caused such reactions, but now I don't think that was the case at all. I read this book without reading "Gone With the Wind" first. I didn't understand it but thought maybe because I hadn't read it's precursor that was the problem. It wasn't! The idea of the black side of the O'Hara family was a wonderful one. I think the writer had good intentions when she began formulating her plan for a book. However, the diary format does nothing for this novel. Not sure whether the writer was too lazy to do a full-blown story or if she really thought this was a good way to approach the novel. Cynara deserves her own story but not in the form of a diary! Diaries work well for some as in the case of Alice Walker's "The Color Purple." But Ms. Randall you are no Alice Walker, yet. I think you have the potential but this was not a story that could be rushed through as you have done.

Takes a little bit to get into - the beginning is bit confusing, but if you read the dust jacket it will help. Also, you pretty much need to know the story of GWTW to get the settings down pat. But by the time I got 1/2 way through, I could not put it down. Alice Randall is really quite talented. NOTE: I suspect the word "parody" on the cover is a concession to the owners of GWTW rights, because "parody" implies funny, and this is not funny. It is, however, an excellent companion piece to GWTW. The truth probably lies somewhere between the two of them.

I happen to be one of those rare individuals who enjoyed both Gone With the Wind and The Wind Done Gone. However, they differ wildly not only in perspective but in style, scope, quality and consistency. Gone With the Wind is an ambitious work that required a great deal of research and thought. It handled numerous characters and their lives with Dickensian skill. And it was of epic length. The Wind Done Gone is a very brief contemplation on the flip side of the world depicted in Mitchell's novel. I expected Randall's work to be longer and far more detailed considering how strongly she suposedly feels about the subject matter. It doesn't really compare in scope. It is more like an essay in terms of impact. I wish that Randall had been more ambitious in her project. I would have better enjoyed reading an answer to Gone With the Wind that had been given the same amount of time and effort that the original was obviously given. It is indicative of the flaw of many recent novels, the writer lacks the stamina to deliver an authentic classic. If you are at all interested, it is worth a look. However, it does not live up to the hype. But, after all, it is her first novel.

I just finished reading TWDG and may I say how SORELY disappointed I was! I had such high expectations! Especially considering that some people had paid hundreds of dollars for this book on eBay before it went into mass publication. The writing style leaves something to be desired as the main character, Cynara, always asks seemingly inane questions about things only to ask even more questions for answers! It seems everything in this book was mainly "Is it this...or this is it?", "Do I do this...or do I do that?" and it goes on like that for 200+ pages. I do give Ms. Randall points for the main concept but the execution was terrible. Better luck next time!

Although I was offended by the defrocking of mythical heroes like Ashley and Melanie, by the time I finished this book I understood that somewhere between the "white" story and the "black" one, a reader might find something close to the realities of life in the old South. I believe only an avid GWTW fan can enjoy this book to its fullest. Everyone who has seen the movie will recognize Mammy and Prissy, but only if you know GWTW well enough to know who Pork, Dilcey and Jeems are will you appreciate them in 'Done Gone.' I admired Randall's skill in staying true to the sketchy characterizations of the slaves in GWTW while fleshing them out in her book. Certainly 'Done Gone' is far more true to the original novel than was the awful but authorized sequel, 'Scarlett,' which only used GWTW as a jumping off point to write a novel about Ireland. I am only sorry that Randall found no place to include Big Sam - one of the real heroes in GWTW.

I was less interested in its connection to Gone With the Wind (a piece of fluff fiction in my opinion anyway) as to the mind-blowing perspective warping insight The Wind Done Gone offers as compared to that mindless piece of chattel.
I also found the diary form of the book enlightening as Randall captured the gradual improvement of the main character self-education.
Lets face it: Great literature always champions for the truth and does so with courage honesty and without working about social convention. This book does these things and at the same time `outs' the sinister nature of a book that justifies evil through nostalgia.
Gone With the Wind Fans, this book is not for you.

This book by Alice Randall makes me think about the blacks that were at Tara/Tata and what their perceptions are pertaining to life as slaves. Mammy,had to be a very smart with the ability of wearing many hats, because her position held so much power on the plantation which "American History" does not give her credit for having. Cynara, was rather complicated, because she had always felt inferior to Other who was her half sister. I know I will have to read this book again to pickup things I did not get the first time, but I did enjoy the book a great deal.

I have yet to finish the book because it is so poorly written and extremely hard to read. Judging by the comments on here it seems that anyone with anything over a 2nd grade ready level is also finding it difficult to follow. And naming charters "Other" just makes it even harder to follow them through out the book. I came here hoping that others that have finished it could show me a light at the end of the tunnel, but now I see I'm just wondering around in the darkness. I'll try to finish it over time b/c I really want to read it but to just sit down and enjoy it. I really don't see that happening.

When I saw "The Wind Done Gone" at the library, I figured I better get this while I can. I liked the book, but it kept changing too much for me. For one, it is not like she mentioned the names of the characters in "Gone with the Wind", but if you follow along, you can guess who is what. Then, you really can't catch the story with the changes that this book produces.By the jacket on the book, I was under the impression that Cynara leaves R. to marry the Congressman, but I find that that isn't so. You really don't know where you are in the book, because she kept going from one scene to another with very little preparation. Still worth a look see for your own discretion.

I give this book no stars (I had to click one before it would let me submit). It was not well written at all. And I agree with the other person, it's more like a big joke than anything. Why would someone want to take a great novel and turn it into something like this. I was very disappointed.....I did read the whole thing because I didn't want to judge to fast, but it was bad writing at the beginning as well as the end.

Alice Randall's original concept for "The Wind Done Gone" was for it to be a parody of "Gone with the Wind" in the style of "Shamela." I haven't read "Shamela" (or "Pamela," which it is based on), but from what I have gathered, "Pamela" is a story about a virtuous woman who scorns her employer's advances, while in "Shamela," this woman is turned into a whore who was playing her employer all along.

If Randall was trying to make a story like that, then she succeeded. If "Gone with the Wind" was a world of strong, intelligent, good white Southerners and their stupid but kind-hearted black slaves; then "The Wind Done Gone" is a novel where those white people are shown to be morons and fools who understand little and are really controlled by those they thought they ruled (unless they're gay, like "Dreamy Gentleman" and "Beauty" - then they're nice people). In this sense, "The Wind Done Gone" succeeds.

Unfortunately, Randall was so busy ripping down the characters of "Gone with the Wind" that she forgot to create her own. I totally agree that Cynara/Cinnamon/Cindy is a Mary Sue. Unfortunately, she's not a very interesting one. She spends most of the story whining and moping about how she is so beautiful yet no one will ever accept her because she is black and she can't believe her parents betrayed her and on and on and on... The only time she does anything is when she leaves R. and enters into an improbable menage-a-trois with a black Congressman and a black woman who reminds her of Mealy Mouth (Melanie). By that time, I could care less.

With a boring heroine (and that's particuarly insulting, considering what a complex heroine Scarlett O'Hara was) and a story that goes nowhere, this book doesn't have much. I didn't buy that any of the characters of "Gone with the Wind" would act as they did in this book. The idea of Scarlett taking blame for something Cynara did, Melanie killing a slave out of anger, or Gerald having sex with Mammy is preposterous. However, if Randall had managed to make an interesting story, I would have forgiven it. Unfortunately, she didn't. The only character who really benefited from any revision was Lady (Ellen O'Hara) but the revelation that she had black blood seemed to only make an unclear point. This book is good as a curiosity, and nothing more.

I would love to read a good sequel to the original _Gone With the Wind_, but I have yet to find one. This is the worst one yet. In fact, I didn't even finish it. This is one of the most poorly written, self-indulgent, bits of dreck through which I have ever tried to wade. "Parody" is supposed to involve humour, but the clumsily constructed prose impedes the author's attempt to amuse. I suspect the only reasons this piece made it to bestseller status were 1) riding on the coattails of the actual Pulitzer winning novel on which it is supposed to be based and 2) the publicity granted it by the lawsuit brought by Margaret Mitchell's estate.

Aside from the poor writing, it denies the reality created in the original novel by its very premise. The author of this slave diary is supposedly Scarlett's half sister by her father and Mammy. Gerald would NEVER have fathered a child with Mammy. Especially Mammy! As stated in the original book, she would have mumbled just loud enough for the white folks to hear all about it, even though they would have to pretend they didn't. He respected Ellen entirely too much and no way would that ever be part of Margaret Mitchell's vision of him, although I suppose it's possible he may have visited women like that Belle Watling in Atlanta, but it would have to be far enough away so that Mrs. O'Hara's feelings and pride could spared, certainly not in her own house or plantation! I can see Alexandra Ripley's version of Scarlett going to Ireland. I can even believe in the version of Rhett's childhood in _Rhett Butler's People_ because MM alludes to something like that in GWTW, but Gerald in the slave quarters? Nope, not buying it.

The reader seeking a new take on a classic novel would be far better served by such offerings as _Pride and Prejudice and Zombies_ or _Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer_. _Wind Done Gone_ belongs on fanfic.net, not in print where people are tricked into paying for something that is not worth the ink to print or the time spent digitalizing.

I was reading the reviews on this book and was absolutely amazed at the range of feelings it illicited. The story was engaging to say the least. Who can not relate to dysfunctional families, families full of secrets and fears. Granted, most slaves were probably not murderers as mammy and garlic were, but this is a work of fiction not fact. Is the thought that slaves could be angry and cruel as well as whites surprising or scary. Cyndi was a woman searching for where she fit in her world, why is that so bland and boring? Cyndi had a difficult relationship with her mother, an affair with a married man and was denied the love of a father who never acknowledged her. In these times where many children are denied by their fathers, many people in marraiges have affairs and dysfunction is the norm rather than the exception, I'm surprised by the reviews which stated that the book was absolute garbage and had no merit. The book is not my favorite but it was enjoyable. The slaves as well as the white characters were multilayered. It debunks the myth that slaves were happy fools ready and waiting to serve the master. Thank You
Mrs Randall.

This book is especially zingy for those of us who memorized GWTW when we were young teens, but got more and more uncomfortable with the racism in the novel as the years went by. But "The Wind Done Gone" isn't about racism, per se; it's about feminism. Just as Scarlett was ahead of her time, so Cynara takes us beyond the "token" feminism of working and flouting social mores to understanding one's self as a victim of and contributor to society's often crushing pressures to conform.
Randall's writing is conversational, captivating, and often brilliant; her depiction of an introspective woman is relevant to any time or place (just like Lucy Snow in "Villette," by Charlotte Bronte). Scarlett's charm lies in her defiant refusal to think about her actions as they reflect or affect the society in which she lives; Cynara's provocativeness lies in her inability to do otherwise. "Cindy" is what Ms. O'Hara might have been if we'd known her at age 70. I love them both.
Read this! It is not a cutting, disrespectful, sarcastic perspective on GWTW; it's a revisionist retelling in the spirit of "Wide Sargasso Sea."

In Japan (where I live, long story) there is a thing called "doujinshi" which is a kind of underground comic book that fans and amateur artists create, parodying famous characters from anime, novels, you name it. They're sold at a big convention called the Comic Market in Tokyo twice a year. The books are a way for fans to show their devotion to the artwork and characters from the anime series the like, and explore with the characters (often with sexy results, and there are many sexual doujinshi and books that postulate male/male relationships between characters from Gundam, Pokemn, etc.). In Japan, the doujinshi are seen as parodies, and are not worried over by the copyright holders (except in the most extreme of circumstnaces), and in fact, the underground comic world of the doujinshi is one of the most creative you can find anywhere -- virtually all game, animation or manga companies draw their talent from the artists working in this field. That someone took this creative "doujinshi" type approach to explore a famous work from America does not surprise me, although I am disappointed at the ruckus it caused. Still, I believe that the corporate suits won't be able to stop this kind of thing from happening in the future. Go, creative people everywhere -- you are the greatest!

The Wind Done Gone is a brilliant portrayal of how things really were. Randall told the other side of the slavery story that Gone With The Wind failed to mention. Randall did not let southern slave owners off the hook. After reading The Wind Done Gone, no one should walk away feeling content with Gone With The Wind's portrayal of happy, simple slaves and benevolent, kind masters. To tell the story of slavery without violence, rape, whippings, etc., is to do it an injustice.
Blacks were not simple-minded or happy with their lot in life. If anyone were to pick up Frederick Douglass's Autobiography or Down By the Riverside, watch the movie Roots, etc., they would understand and know that life on the plantation was not a zippity-do-da day. Slaves had feelings, hope for freedom, ingenuity; slaves were real people. You cannot tell a story, involve a mammy, and not mention her children and how she was denied the right to mother them. You cannot tell the story of slavery and leave out the dehumanization and stripping of rights. Likewise, you cannot tell the story of the south without slavery. Gone With the Wind, clearly involved slavery, but left out all the more ugly and more brutal facts of this peculiar institution. Alice Randall's account of the South is very real. She just tells her audience what really happened with slavery; while Gone With the Wind tells what white southerners thought happened.
Guess what sport fans?? If you're looking for an accurate depiction of slavery, not a romanticized version, The Wind Done Gone is as close as you're going to get and sometimes the truth hurts.

If I could give this a zero I would, since I have found no redeeming qualities. Granted, I am a GWTW fan, but the fact that Ms. Randall could exploit another person's thoughts, words and ideas is outrageous. Not at all insightful, with no depth.
For anyone with any knowledge of the characters in Margaret Mitchell's epic, it is blasphemy to think that Mammy killed three of Gerald and Ellen's children, that Pork actually poisoned his previous owner, that Mammy drugged Ellen to make her sleep with Gerald... I could go on and on, but I don't want to.
Instead of using this opportunity to truly show another view of life at Tara, Ms. Randall takes away the charm of these characters as they appear in GWTW. They lose the three-dimensionalism and reality that they were created with. You can read about the research Margaret Mitchell did to ensure the historical accuracy of her novel -- just what did Ms. Randall do, except poorly piece away at the monsterous chip on her shoulder?
This is not a parody, this is not a piece of literature. This is an example of someone with no ideas of her own trying to mooch off of the fame of a classic. I was originally angry that the Mitchell family did not fight harder to prohibit the publishing of this "book," but I now realize that they had nothing to defend themselves from -- no one could possibly think that this is a threat.

Although it calls itself a "parody" (for legal reasons, I imagine) this is not a humorous book. It is more the flip side to the saccharine romantisim of the original "classic". I much prefer this version. Her expressions cut to the heart and make one remember the horrible history of the south and experience the beauty of a free soul. Truly a story to enlighten those of us who take it all for granted.

The fact Alice Randall parodied an existing work greatly weakened what are otherwise extremely valid and powerful points. She is clearly an exquisite, thoughtful writer, and that is evident in the gems of thought one can glean from the book, like, "Forgetting is to forgiving as glass is to a diamond," (Chapter 16, page 31) As with the book, THE COLOR PURPLE, I think TWDG would have been far better received and more widely acclaimed as a standalone and wholly original work. Plus, I'm sure reviewers would have still referred to it as being "the flip side of Gone With the Wind," or the like.
Alice Randall has enough in her own family background(granddaughter of white Confederate soldier) and Ivy League academic credentials to have written this from the vantage point of her own history rather than grafting Margaret Mitchell's work -- a racist icon, deserving of toppling, though it may be.
However, this does not mean I don't think people shouldn't read this book. On the contrary, Randall's delicately crafted metaphors and prose are epiphanal feasts for soul and mind.
I just have this overall distaste for any writer's work that blatantly piggybacks off another's, regardless of the point they're trying to make. I felt much the same away about the other GWTW takeoff, SCARLETT, and the writer of that frankly wasn't as good as Randall, just more prolific.
My only hope is Randall will follow this book, quickly, with something that is unequivocally her own voice.

`The Wind Done GoneEis not a parody of GWTW, as is stated on the cover of the book, but it is a story based on GWTW and told from the point of view of a minor character. Anyone who has already read GWTW can easily find the threads that Randal used in writing her novel. `The Wind Done GoneEis told though the journal of Mammy's daughter Cynara. Early on in the novel the reader discovers Cynara's lineage and also why she does not show up more in the original story. Throughout Cynara's journal the reader discovers more and more incidents that both line up with GWTW, and also a new depth to some of the more minor characters. Reading about the portrayal of Ellen O'Hara (`LadyEin this book) not only created a completely new image of that character, but also gave an insight into what it meant to be black (I would elaborate, but I don't want to spoil it for future readers!).
I would like to end this by pointing out that neither `The Wind Done GoneEnor `Gone With The WindEare really an actual portrayal of life in the South before and after the Civil War. Both are works of FICTION, and should be read with that mind frame. If you want to read about the HISTORY of the South, I would recommend picking up Frederick Douglass's Narrative, which is one escaped slave's actual account of his time in slavery, or `Down by the RiversideEby Charles Joyner, which talks about life in a South Carolinian slave community. Both of these books would give you a more realistic view to slave life than either TWDG or GWTW.

While I feel that The Wind Done Gone is a very well written and thought provoking book, I am afraid that readers might see it as historical fact. By viewing this text as historical fact it would be seem to be an exact representation of the way that life was for a child on a Southern plantation. While I agree that the life of a mulatto child in Southern America would have been easier than their African counterparts the way that Randall depicts the life of "Cynara" is truly
one of romantic ideals, that has been stripped of all brutality. By not digging into the brutality of slavery a romantic view takes over and the traditional view of a beaten field hand is driven from one's mind. The best way to get the most out of this text is by combining it with books such as Narrative of the Life Of Frederick Douglass. By doing this the life of field hand is served through Douglass's account. All of the blood, sweat, sacrifice and toil that went into a southern plantation. With the use of both of these books one would be able to see the harsh brutality of slavery under the American plantation system, as well as the ability for mulatto children to "blend" into society (In The Wind Done Gone). Because of this, it is essential that The Wind Done Gone is seen as fiction that is ment to entertain and be thought provoking but not provide hard evidence of a slave's life in these times.

This has to be one of the most boring, stupid books I have ever read and I do read alot! I, along with lots of other people, awaited with anticipation the publication of this book. I was thrilled when Ms. Randall was given the right to publish her book. It should have stayed on the shelf! I found it very insulting to my intelligence and so obviously a rip off of "Gone with the Wind" that only someone with their head in the sand for the last 60 years or has never read a book could think it otherwise! I think the story certainly should be told from the slaves point of veiw but it was written so poorly that it was very hard to find a story among the ravings of this woman "Cindy". I love history and have read it all my life. This book, however, was not history but an attempt to make a fast buck.I do realize that the book is fiction. However, when given a license to portray a time in history we must try to be as true to the story telling as possible. Better luck next time Alice!

I bought this volume in a gift shop at the Oak Alley Plantation in Louisiana. How utterly fitting. What I expected was a biting satire. What I got instead is a lovely, lyrical book that could virtually stand alone, but is so much more rewarding in context. Ashley, those red-haired twins, Prissy--they're all here. I can't help but wonder what Olivia DeHaviland would make of it, especially her character, Mealy Mouth.
Ms. Randall makes her point, taking characters in direction I never would have expected, just as Margaret Mitchell did so many years before.

I think many people have jumped the gun on this book, thinking it is a sequel or something of that nature to Gone with the Wind. And it definatly isn't that. I have to say that this book is something that should've been written. I will give the author credit for that insite. It also has some good entertainment value. It is humourous at times and give good perspective on lives on the other side of the original story. I gave it only three stars because, first, some of the details in this book do not go along with GWTW. Secondly, as a warning, if you haven't read GWTW, it will not make much sense. All in all, it really is a good read.

This book is a letdown in several aspects. First of all, after reading the original book, I was looking forward to a compelling, witty parody based on GWTW's flaws. Even more, I was looking for the unsung characters of GWTW to speak their piece and give the story a fresh black perspective. Unfortunately, all I got was a lot of black folks scheming on and gossiping about their white counterparts.(There's nothing funny about babies being killed, women drugged up on laudanum, and slaves being killed for being in gay relationships with their masters, either). Alice Randall didn't give me one damn reason to care about Cinnamon at all (or any of the rest of the characters. If I hadn't have read GWTW, none of these folks would be worth the read). Stylistically, Randall has talent as a writer. I think if the book had been bigger and she'd gone into more depth with the characters and their motivations, it would've been just as good as GWTW. Come out with the unabridged version, Ms. Randall. I'm sure you had a bigger book than this in mind. Make those publishers print those extra 200 or so pages and you'll have a hit!LOL!

when i started this book i thought it would a be genuine parody but all alice randall did was steal the characters from GWTW and construct a baffling story around them.

the book is told from the point of view of other, a black woman who is presumed to be scarlett o'hara's ill-gotten half sister. other gives her version of the events in GWTW, but her viewpoint is pointless. anyone who has read GWTW knows that scarlett is unlikeable so other isn't giving us anything new. other herself is more unlikeable than scarlett ever was.

i could not believe in this story at all because it is not a parody but a straight plagiarism of the characters from GWTW. i'm giving this three stars because alice randall is actually a good writer. some of her passages are really really good. i think she should have just created her own original characters and written a book instead of taking margaret mitchell's. i give the story no stars and the writing three stars.

I wanted to like this book, I really did (hey, its main character is named Cindy!). I was rooting for Randall to be able to publish it as a parody despite the lawsuits brought by the Mitchell estate, and it truly does lend an interesting perspective on what life might have been like for slaves in the deep south. (I especially enjoyed Cindy's comment that slave owners did not need to pay for sex in a brothel because they could "steal poontang" anytime they wanted.)
The first third or so of the book is quite good. But I found some of the events that occur later in the book too unbelievable, and I thought there were a few too many gratuitously sexual passages. I think the book is still worth reading, but the rave literary reviews I had read caused my expectations to be set higher than what the book delivered to me.

I waited all summer to borrow a copy from my local library, and I'm glad I did. This book isn't worth the paper it is printed on!!!
As a historian I am very interested in the plight of slave women. So, when I heard about this book I was looking forward to it. I must confess it is a good idea, if it had been done right. But this book was not written by a woman who knew what she was doing nor was able to take on such a challenge. Looking at the first couple of pages I found the print and margins were very large. I thought this was to take on the appearance of a diary. I was wrong. The publisher did this because the author didn't give a lot of detail and had nothing to say so they had to make the book look bigger then it actually was. The writing was poor and simple. I wonder if the author had connections because if an average person would have written this book it would NEVER had made it to print. The book did not flow and at times I felt as if I was reading a young child's attempt to write a book. No, I take that back, a young child could have written better.
If you wish to read about slavery in the south read: Aint I a woman? This is a great book. Also Cecilia: a Slave girl, is a really interesting story of a true event that is very horrific and sad.(But its not about the south)

An earlier posting made reference to The Wind Done Gone as being "dishonorable towards all the CSA men fought & died for." This novel is making an attempt to portray the demise of the "Old South" through the eyes of a black woman, as opposed to a white woman in Gone with the Wind. How can this be seen as dishonorable, let alone more dishonorable than to disregard the system upon which the Old South was built upon, namely slavery? To condemn this book simply because it attempts to tell the same story through different eyes is foolish. And as one reader pointed out, a woman's attempt at finding her place in the world should not be considered boring or whiney. The quality and importance of The Wind Done Gone lies not in its structure or form, but in its ability to challenge an established idea and cause the reader to question an accepted idea, uncomfortable as it may be. The Wind Done Gone provides an opportunity not for entertaining reading but intellectual exploration of an important part of American history. The fact that it explores this by adapting characters and places which have been made familiar to many by a famous novel only increases the effects of the story.

This book is a book that you either love or hate. There is no middle ground. For the most part its a book that many people will say "how dare Ms. Randall question the people who are part of the Tara legacy? People, this is a book about a slaves on a plantation. It just so happens that the plantation is part of a American literary history. To assume that the slaves did not have a story to tell is to assume ignorance. It's another perspective, that's all. The book may not have the literary prose of Ms. Mitchell, but as a black female, I get what was beneath Gone With The Wind.

After reading this book, I was left wondering what the author was trying to do (in relation to the preceeding and far-surpassing work "Gone With the Wind"). Was she, I wondered, trying to bank off another writer's superior creativity and fame? Who knew - I certainly didn't.
Then I heard her explain herself on National Public Radio, and I realized she's a revisionist.
Apparently, Mrs. Randall has a problem with "Gone With the Wind" for its racist undertones, as well as the way it portrays blacks in menial fasion. Guess what, sports fans? That's largely the way things were in that time and place. And since when is it abominable for art to reflect real life and times? That old classic IS an old classic because it truly portrayed a time and period; it was also well-received because it was original.
Because Mrs. Randall's book meets neither of these criteria - accurate portrayal and/or originality of thought - it will never be a classic. Not even close. And the cardboard, stock characters don't help matters, either. The wind done gone, all right, and it took any shred of literary integrity with it. Hope this helps.
--Brandon

This book was barely readable. Thank goodness I got it from the public library. Trying to keep up with the characters from Gone With the Wind and matching them to the characters in The Wind Done Gone was difficult. I wish Ms. Randall had left well enough alone. Her account of the Slavery South left much to be desired. Maybe just in her mind a slave was cunning enough to "persuade" a white man or woman what to do. However, that is just not what our ancestors knew about. Had a slave been able to persuade or con his/her master, Black folks would be in a lot better place in society today. This parody is a farce.

"The Wind Done Gone" is a miracle of a book. The ridiculous attempt to suppress it has, I hope, aided it by giving it the publicity it deserves. The author has compared her book to a patchwork quilt, and it is like that--full of marvelous colors and textures. It traces the life of Cynara, Scarlett's black half-sister (named, incidentally, for the woman in the poem from which Mitchell's book takes its name). Jumping backward and forward in time, the story brings to full, fascinating life all those who existed only as happy stereotypes in Mitchell's ponderous tome. But Randall's book doesn't depend on a familiarity with Mitchell's for its power. "The Wind Done Gone" is fully capable of standing on its own.

The Wind Done Gone, while not really a paradoy, is a great read and a book that needed to be written. It's time someone contradicted the sentimental pap of Gone With the Wind with a little truth. It's time we took a real look at strong black characters who survived slavery. It's time we saw enslaved people as complex human beings.
I read the whole novel in one sitting.
There is a sense of humor in this novel and it does make a laughing stock of Mitchell's characters, but it is thankfully not a minstrel show, which is what many of the current reviewers seem to think it should have been.

It took me 4 to 5 hours to finish this book. The writing style is simple, the plot is thin and the characters are shallow and uncomplicated. Familiarity with GWTW is required since this book could not possibly stand on it's own. It is a vindictive answer to GWTW evidenced in Scarlet's demise and Rhett's emasculation, not a parody. I always considered GWTW silly and melodramatic so I eagerly anticipated this book knocking it down a few pegs. I was interested in another person's interpretation of GWTW, unfortunately the book itself is uninteresting.

After reading some of the other reviews, i felt compelled to defend this book...

Yes, you will be disappointed if you're expecting a hilarious novel that utterly pokes fun at the ridiculous portrayal of the slave and slave/master relationships described in GWTW.
Yes, you will be disappointed if you're expecting a book written with flawless grammar.
And you'll be disappointed if you're expecting all the Black characters to be presented in a pristine, "noble-minded" manner.
You're also sure to be disappointed if you're expecting a big book.

Maybe I enjoyed this book a lot because I did not have any expectations from it (I was just curious as to what the author would do with such promising material). And I believe that if you approach this book based on its premise (a brief glance in the life and mentality of a bi-racial woman growing up in her White half-sister's shadow during the reconstruction era) rather than that of GWTW (essentially, a love story), then you might not be as disappointed as some of the other readers.

Just to clear up a few things:
* The heroine's grammar is inconsistent as a reflection of her dual nature; she is both educated (her White side) and "cultural" (her Black side). She has consistently flowed in and out of both worlds and her writing style presents that duality perfectly. The same explanation goes for the title of the book as well: ebonics is how many Black people spoke back then and Randall's usage of it is another way to emphasize Cynara's odd relationship with Scarlett (as her sister, saying exactly the same thing, only from a different perspective and in a different manner of speech - basically a metaphor for the entire book).
* Slavery in the U.S. was so... harsh? (I'll just leave it at that word) It is ridiculous to think that slaves didn't develop some very tough psychological traits to deal with the inhumanity. That some slaves were mean? manipulative? brainwashed? maybe even evil? Yes! That is believable. And Randall does not cut her Black characters any more slack than she does her White ones. (And why should she? There are historical accounts of slaves snitching on those planning to run away! Stuff like that happened!)
* Finally, a parody can be humorous OR satirical - it does not have to be both and considering the content of the book, I for one am overjoyed Randall stuck with satirical. I feel that too much humor would have demeaned the book, presenting it merely as some sort of "joke".
As far as I'm concerned, the funniest part of the book is... well, the book itself, the concept that there is not only "another point of view" of Scarlett's life, but that this is in fact the more realistic one. What panache Randall! Bravo! This book had me thinking long after I'd put it down.
I do wish it'd been longer tho...

"Waste makes me angry!" Declares Rhett Butler in the movie production of Gone with the Wind. "And that's all this is, a terrible waste." I had similar feelings after reading The Wind Done Gone. When I first heard about it, I was instantly intrigued by the concept, but it didn't take long for my hopes to be dashed. This book had the opportunity to be the defining criticism against the 1930's idealistic memories of the antebellum era, and instead the historically void, angst-ridden and sex filled plot leaves you feeling empty.
It truly is the anti-Gone with the Wind book, but if you take that dubious honor away, the book has no merits of it's own left to stand on.
The reason I gave it two stars: One, the overall cleverness of the idea, however badly it was executed, and two, for the fun I had figuring out the GWTW characters from their "nicknames".

Being a huge GWTW fan, I felt compelled to read TWDG. I was looking forward to it, but was sorely disappointed. I was looking forward to the story told from the point of view of the slaves, which seemed like an interesting way to write this novel. The character of Cynara is nothing more than a mulatto version of Scarlett O'Hara, strong and independent, but also spoiled, indulged and self-absorbed.
There was nothing new or revealing in this book, just a jumbled, disappointing mess.

I went to see this woman speak at The Margaret Mitchell House, where she was graciously invited and treated very well. She was incredibly rude, UN-gracious and really beyond description. For instance, when asked if she knew of Margaret Mitchell's aid to African American students during her life, she refused to acknowledge the speaker. She cannot validate her views, therefore ignores anything to the contrary. Now is that not censorship on her part? I also find her book is without value at all. She has dregged up all kinds of lame, inaccurate views of GWTW and seeks to make money off of some one else's talents. (Mitchell's). I not in agreement with the censorship of her book, or censorship in general. But after meeting this woman in person I can understand how the keepers of Ms. Mitchell's estate had valid reasons for their suit. She is an embarassment to the people she claims to vindicate. Even if all this weren't true, the book isn't even any good!

I eagerly awaited the publication of this story, and read it within 24 hours of receipt.
I agree that a book needed to be written debunking the romantic myths of GWTW and give a more realistic POV. Unfortunately, this was not the book. I found many (not all) of the characters far-fetched and I found it difficult to get a true feel for Cynara and where she was coming from outside of her conflicting feelings for Mammy and "Other".
I also found the alternate names for the characters quite distracting, although I understand why it was needed, it certainly took away from the continuity and enjoyment of reading.
As a "parody" (using the term loosely), it simply cannot be understood without reading or seeing GWTW.
I was hoping for so much more, and was severly disappointed.

Listen to the other reviewers: this is NOT a parody. It's not funny. I was expecting funny. What I got was one of the most dark, haunting, poking-into-uncomfortable-areas experiences with literature I have ever had. And I loved it.

As other readers have noted, it turns the romanticized pro-slavery ideology of GWTW on its head. If you don't want that, okay--don't read it. But it's done in such a masterfully emotive way that reading it is painful, humiliating, mesmerizing and sweet/sad. It's an experience everyone should at least try. There is such a wealth of careful detail here, and every bit of it hangs together, i.e., is plausible based on the events depicted in GWTW. (I always did wonder why bad things seemed to happen to Melanie whenever the slaves were close by.) The one thing I'd say Randall forgot to address was Will Benteen and Suellen O'Hara's claim to Tara.

Alice Randall's Wind Done Gone was worth the wait. The author jolts our complacency about the Gone With the Wind days without, as many might have been lead to believe, focusing overtly on the Mitchell story itself; Wind Done Gone is less a parody, and more just a look at an era. Randall is seemingly subtle, using rich, sensory language (capable of both soothing and alarming) to tell this long overdue story; her twist on the story is thorough, clever and often amusing. I particularly liked her creative spin on the character names. "Mealy Mouth," "Twelve Slaves Strong as Trees" and "Other" all seem to capture an element of the original characters while at the same time making the new roles very relevent to Randall's own story (read the book to figure out who they are!) And the roles are new. The author has brought to life a world very different from the one we have accepted from Margaret Mitchell - these people and these places aren't what we thought they were at all. Randall's thoughtful take on this long-overdue parody is beautifully done. It was certainly no easy task, and she managed it masterfully. Wind Done Gone is an important book to have been written, it made me think, and I hope others can enjoy it and learn from it as I did.

mrs. randall's work provides insight into the lives of people of color in the south during reconstruction. the book tells the story of a mulatto former slave who survives by usine her wits to get what she wants. the book analyzes the effect slavery had on each of her close relationships and her ability to build new ones.
its a good book and very entertaining, but it is NOT a parody!! besides referencing a few characters there is virtually no resemblance to GWTW.
first, the book is written in diary format. second, the story is told almost exclusively during reconstruction, GWTW began well before the civil war and ended during reconstruction. third, the diary details the life of a former slave and written from her perspective. since the main character was sold away from "tata" at a young age, by definition her story can't match that of GWTW.
each one of the characters of GWTW are referenced, but you wouldn't know it if the reader was not told before reading the book.
overall, its a good story and an interesting read.

By definition - a parody is supposed to be caricature, a distortion, a lampoon. Ms Randall was interviewed on early morning daytime television with a her publisher when the estate of margaret mitchell was attempting to stop publication of the book wind done gone. Ms. Randall appeared overtly defensive of herself and her written work - and attemped to site parts of her book as a 'parody' of GWTW - which from her descriptions of characterizations and similar scenes bear no resemblance to the Margaret Mitchell book (although she would give the impression of it to be some form of vindication for something unknown).
Her work may give insight into the lives of early African Americans in the south during the post civil war reconstruction. It would appear the publisher was attempting to drum up business by jumping on the coattails of a classic american novel.
I recommend - renting Oprah Winfrey's "Beloved" for a more true taste of post civil war reconstruction in the lives of african americans

While Alice Randall's book is a difficult read at time and very desnsely written, I feel like many of the negative reviews here miss the what the author was trying to accomplish. Many reviews object to the way in which Randall changes Margaret Mitchell's character saying that it taints the legacy of Gone With the Wind, but that is the whole point behind this incredibly intelligently written book...to show the skewed perspective from which GWTW was written. Randall set out to reveal a more complete picture of what the antebellum South was like, debunking the romantic myth that Mitchell portrays for a more complete vision of the contradictions and unequalities that existed in Southern society. She is giving a voice to a unrepresented group of people in American history, a reality brushed under the carpet by Mitchell's limited view of Southern society.

This book is not easy to read, but it is worth your time to understand a worthwhile and untraditional, but still very relevant, view of the relationship between white and black in the antebellum South. Randall is not retelling Mitchell's story, but presents her own original narrative using some of Mitchell's characters.

I must confess that I am an avid fan of Gone With the Wind. However, I began reading this parody with an open mind. I am the first to admit that GWTW presents a romanticized view of the Old South, and I was looking forward to a novel that would show the other side of the coin. I thought I would find a novel that showed me how the slaves felt in contrast to the idealized notions of Confederates. Instead, what I found was a tabloid, highly ridiculous work. If Alice Randall has something political to say about the Old South, or Gone With the Wind (and no doubt she has valid foundations) then she should say it. She should say it clearly and openly instead of resorting to mud slinging with this trashy rendition of another very well written, if one-sided, novel. What she has written is not thought provoking, it is spiteful, soap opera silliness. Her style is wonderful, and I have no doubt that should she set her mind to it she could amaze and inspire us with her writing. I hope that she will do so in the future.

If the estate of Margaret Mitchell had not made so much noise about this book, no one would know it existed. Pick it up and read a few pages. It is not a parody, it is a joke. Save your money and get this one from the library if you have to read it. It's episodic and lacks a narrative with any continuity. Don't look to fall in love with any of the characters.

I read the book because I like satire, and I have always wanted to see Scarlet get slapped back! Since the book had been controversial I couldn't resist reading it. However, about half way through, the "Wind Done Gone" lost it's 'bluster' and fizzled out for me. The narrator just kind of loses interest for you. I'd suggest reading it "just because" so you can say you've kept up with the times.

I understand parody to contain humor of some fashion - there is nothing humorous about self-conscious, bad writing. Were we supposed to roll over laughing, holding our sides, at the conceit of calling Rhett Butler "Debt Chauffeur?" I hope not, because it's only an unsatisfying use of a thesaurus. Alice Randall had some interesting premises here: The idea that Ashley may have had a male lover in his past, or that Ellen O'Hara may have had a black person in hers... This could have been fascinating and such a page-turner, but in Randall's hands it's just self-satisfied show.

I would have been thrilled to read a version of Gone with the Wind from the perspective of the slaves on the plantation. I'm a big fan of everything GWTW and have enjoyed, to some degree, all of the works that take the story as their starting point. Unfortunately, using it just to get publicity for a book which would never have been published without the connection is a disservice to reader, and other writers.

The Wind Done Gone is a book to be appreciated and enjoyed on many levels. It is, first of all, a subtle literary parody which, in my opinion, will make any thoughtful reader reconsider assumptions about the history and myth of the antebellum South. At the same time, The Wind Done Gone can be read as a short novel that intrigues one as it flows from an arresting beginning to an effective and satisfying denouement. The narrative moves effortlessly, and certain lyrical passages can be savored for the language alone. Regardless of which aspect appeals, you will not be the same after you have read this book.

What a total disappointment! After finally getting around to reading"The Wind Done Gone
the final question on my mind was not "I wonder what happened to..?"or
Where The Mulatto children of Tara were, It was "Why did I bother to read this Book?!"
Ms Randall manages to take the beloved characters of Margaret Mitchell, and turn
them into a group of shallow, often bloodthirsty People.(Mammy And Prissy both
commit murder.)You find yourself constantly asking "whats the point?My advice to
anyone who enjoys a good read.... Dont buy this book!

I wanted to like this book, I really did. But it was so poorly written and boring that it took me several days to finish it. And I made myself finish it, because I was hoping that it might get better, or have a good ending, or...something! The day after I finally made it through, I read a 700 page novel in two days, but TWDG kept making me nod off. My recommendation, if you REALLY want to read it, is to put yourself on the wait list at the local library. There's no harm in waiting a bit; and while you wait, you can read better books.

The author and accompanying media seem to imply that if you dislike this book, you are clinging to a pro-slavery fictional South portrayed in "Gone with the Wind," that you are being stodgy and unwilling to face facts.
Can I dislike this book just because it was really bad?
Sadly, this volume was not worth the highly-publicized legal battle that was waged over it. Though described as an unauthorized parody from the African-American POV of the time, this book is an utter failure. (Did I mention the title is also pretty bad?)
The book centers on the mulatto half-sister of GWTW lead Scarlett O'Hara, Cynara. Cynara is the daughter of Captain O'Hara ("Planter") and Mammy, Scarlett's strong-minded, down-to-earth nursemaid. "The Wind Done Gone" chronicles Cynara's life in Tara and in the post-Civil War Reconstruction, where she is raised alongside her glamorous half-sister but denied the same love, attention and privileges. Then "Planter" sells her, and she ends up in a brothel. Ironically, one frequenter of the brothel is Rhett Butler, the dashing handsome husband of Scarlett (who is constantly--and irritatingly--referred to as "Other"). She becomes his long-term lover, and naturally we are supposed to sympathize with Cynara and not with "Other..."
Where to begin?
Despite the red sticker on the cover, this is not a parody: a parody indicates humor or satire, of which this book has neither. It's too relentlessly self-conscious of Its Mission to be truly amusing, and too heavy-handed to be a successful satire. (Here's hoping that someone with the witty style of Dave Barry tries a satire of GWTW) The writing style is, like many pieces of literary fiction, rambling and present-tense, sometimes lapsing into stream of consciousness.
As a main character, Cynara fails. While "Other" is decidedly unlikeable in the original work, she has the rare quality of fascination that draws the reader in and makes them read about a character whether they like him/her or not. Sadly, Ms. Randall does not have the capability to do this with her characters; I felt that Cynara's only function in the story was to compare her to "Other." When Cynara got involved with dashing, handsome, virile Rhett Butler ("R") I began to wonder if Cynara was Randall's alter ego. She's annoying contemporary, as well as being delightfully PC; also, I saw little maturing and learning in her thoughts, as well as little of the touted intelligence that she is supposed to have.
Cynara, in fact, spends so much time comparing herself to "Other" that I found the description of "independent-minded woman" irrelevent. She frets constantly about Other's prettiness, her glamor, her relationship with "R"--and it rapidly becomes childish and tiresome.
And though this was touted as a viewpoint from the slaves, I was appalled to see how they were portrayed. This book gave Randall an opportunity to portray the slaves as being oppressed and maltreated, yet retaining inner dignity and will. Rather, she had them violent and aggressive toward others, including the infant sons of "Planter" (chop it down to simple terms "they were killing innocent babies" and it doesn't sound so fair, does it?). I was shocked. REALLY SHOCKED. Like "St. Louis" I was rather disgusted that the worst part of slavery was gleefully twisted around, thus negating its very horror.
I can only imagine why Ms. Randall was so determined that TWDG be a parody of GWTW -- either a deep-seated psychological fixation, or a determination to boost her first book sales. But I do know that had she not been so relentless in her pursuit of making this so-called parody, she could have produced an excellent novel. If you could strip away the preoccupation with GWTW, Scarlett O'Hara, and the PC-ness of it all she could have written a decent novel. (Minus the infanticide mentioned in the previous paragraph, of course)
Quite honestly, I'd have welcomed a witty parody of GWTW that could pointedly show the plight of the slaves and lampoon the "gallant South" (it is admittedly fun to read about). Sadly we'll have to wait for someone else to do so.

GWTW fans all know that Scarlett's father,
Gerald O'Hara, was not the "Captain". He was
merely "Mr. O'Hara", even to his wife, Ellen.
The Captain was, of course, the dashing Rhett
Butler, Scarlett's third husband.
Aside from a few general errors, the book
could have been a great comedy. Unfortunately,
it survives as another mediocre novel that took
itself too seriously. But that is only my opinion,
and I could be wrong.

I actually read this book a few years ago, but only now did I finally get around to reading the autorized GWTW sequel, 1979's "Scarlett," and I thought it important to know all three before commenting. I think all three must be considered together, because together all three have powerful and important things to say about the America I live in.

That "GWTW" was an artifact of its time is a valid statement, and its inherent racism would also be easy to dismiss as an artifact of the 1930's were the not the book so enduringly popular, and so hotly defended by its white readers. Its authorized sequel, "Scarlett," attempts to address this problem, mostly by simply writing out the black characters.

I am glad this book exists. I am glad it was written and glad that the courts allowed it to be published. It has its faults--it's far less successful when it deviates from being a GWTW mirror and goes off on its own--but I am glad that the mirror does exist. TWDG opened my eyes to things I'd never thought of before (Oh. You mean, Mammy had a NAME?)and I am glad I read it.

Poor Margaret Mitchell. A parody is great when it is done well. When a book as poorly written as this one claims to be one, we all suffer. The book is dull, thinly written, and all involved should be ashamed. The estate should have sued becuase how bad it is and not because she stole characters. I'm amazed by the positive reviews. I must have read a different book.

Sometimes you read a book or see a movie and you wonder about the lives of the characters when they are not involved with the plot of the book. This book adds depth to characters that we are already familiar with. I liked the book and the writing style very much.

Fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed this work. As a GWTW fan, I've never really been able to engage with the "official" sequels. By inventing a new character and reinventing the storyline, Alice Randall was able to pull me into the narrative. Before I realized it, I couldn't put the book down.
Let me say, I didn't agree with all of the plot twists. ...But that doesn't make them less interesting. AND that's just my opinion! This book made me re-analyze the original novel and appreciate both this new book and the original all over again.
What a great tribute to the original. And it's a great first novel.

I am a huge fan of "Gone With The Wind" and as soon as I heard about this book, I knew I had to have it. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. I laughed so hard at some moments I almost cried. It was fascinating to read about such classic characters from someone else's perspective. To find out that I was not the only one who thought Ashley was a bit too much of a dandy was hilarious. Thank you so much Alice Randall for giving us fans something new to talk about.

A ridiculous attempt to steal from the Pulitizer Prize winning novel, Gone With the Wind. If you liked GWTW, you won't like The Wind Done Gone...even the title is ridiculous. I don't see how anyone would waste time reading The Wind Done Gone. I see it got bad reviews and it deserves them

The book has a few genuinely amusing scenes, but overall it falls short of parody: it's neither biting nor insightful. The premise is awe-inspiring, but the execution could have been so much better in abler hands.
This is another example of Hype over Substance, which is unfortunate.... the book might have been a better read if it had been given a slow word-of-mouth buildup. As it stands, you can't separate the book from the publicity, which makes the author's average writing ability seem worse than merely average.

For God's sake! I wish someone who hadn't gone to Harvard had written this book. It's a great concept, but so obviously filtered through a self-conscious upper middle-class intellect. It's all so "dear"--the language, the socially/racially correct politics of it all... I lost interest about a third of the way through. How disappointing!

The controversy around the printing is what attracted me to this book as much as my hatred of Gone With the Wind. The Wind Done Gone was hard to read due to fairly constant changes in writing style (formal to informal to almost speaking in tongues). I found the story haunting and disturbing. I wanted to put it down but the story wouldn't allow me that peace. I cannot say it is my favorite book or really recommend it to anyone who thinks the souths past is romantic, but if you want a little realism in your life this is the book for you.

This is book should be on every thinking person's reading list. The language is beautiful, unfamiliar to many, but it's the language of thought, the highly personal language that the main character Cynara, speaks inside her head. It is almost a long prose poem which unfolds a completely different, utterly plausible point of view to GWTW, and in so doing makes you, the reader, realize that how important it is to question what you take for granted, what you assume to be true. For some of us, who first read GWTW as young teenagers it was a revelation to reread it after reading The Wind Done Gone and see how cleverly Ms. Randall refers to incidents in Ms. Mitchell's book, in so doing reveals an utterly different experience of the American South. This is an important book and its appreciation should not be quashed by those who are unwilling to let go of a cherished romantic view of the past.

I've read "Gone With The Wind" SO many times (a dozen would not be an exaggeration), and Gerald O'Hara (Scarlett's father) just did not strike me as the lascivious type, a man who fathered children with slaves. This is a man who was SO much in love with his wife, Ellen, that he lost his mind after she died of typhoid fever during the Civil War. Moreover, from the description of Mammy in Margaret Mitchell's novel, she was hardly a temptress in the Sally Hemings mold...not even in her younger days!
The book just isn't believable and I agree with the one Southern reader. I'm not a prude, but it's TOO trashy.

I read all of the reviews and heard all of the controversy. I still had to read the book. The title was excellant. The story was too jumpy, the characters were strange (I could not figure out who was who).
I am still interested in another version of "Gone with the Wind" but this was not it. Peace and Blessings!!

Oh dear. The book that the Margaret Mitchell Estate wanted to ban. Why? Because, rather than seeing it as a parody, which Houghton-Mifflin's attorneys claimed, they said that Alice Randall's work was a sequel. Really? Well, no not really. For aficionados of Margaret Mitchell's only major novel, it's easy to spot who's who in this thought-provoking companion. There's `Other', `R.', `Mealy Mouth' and `Dreamy Gentleman'. But the star of this show is Cynara, the mixed race half-sister of Scarlett O'Hara. Alice Randall, an African-American whose ancestors include a Confederate calvaryman, was keen to address the heritage of mixed race Americans, so frequently ignored. Additionally, wanting to explode myths which have gone into the collective must have spurred her on to script this excellent first novel. So while we never see a shade of `Scarlett,' we know she's there. We also know that `Other' shuns reading, give or take the odd invoice, whereas Cynara uses the written word to understand the world into which she has been born. It's a powerful moment when she tells us of how she read that she was owned. A very different kind of bill! AR goes behind the original characters, exposing their ulterior motives. Why is `Dreamy Gentleman' so damned passionless when confronted by `Other'? And were the slaves really that scatty, or was it just a ploy to better their meagre lots? The cover of this book included the words `unauthorized,' and it was to my great pleasure that I read it over two days, in a Santa Monica library. Because we certainly can't buy it in our shops.

There were so many things to dislike about this book! The character development was non-existent. I read the entire book in an afternoon, I was completely unimpressed to read the words of an inferior author insulting the work of a superior author. It was such a waste of my time and money. Trust me, you don't want this book in your library.

While Ms. Randall shows much promise and nerve, this novel comes off as a whining (at times) bore. Cindy is so wrapped up in her jealousy for "other" she makes it her sole purpose in life to one-up "other". Ms. Randall could have really done something had she given the main character more of her own identity, rather than conforming to "other".

I agree with some of the reviews. This book is neither a parody nor a sequel. It is a perspective on a period of history that has generally been taught from only one point of view. Most historical accounts (fictional or otherwise) of the civil history of this country have been told from one important perspective. Gone With the Wind was a caricature of the traditional perspective. The Wind Done Gone is a clever, witty and an easy dose of another important perspective. This country still has a lot of race issues and we cannot begin to work through them without really listening to all perspectives represented throughout our entire history. This book will help you put yourself in the shoes of the faithful servants of the time and will help you to begin to understand their dignity and their predicament. It opens up the dialogue.

Ms. Randall's novel is an extremely courageous piece of literature that uses colorful and eloquent language to communicate an important message. I could not put the book down once I started.
And like so many great novels, The Wind Done Gone invoked many questions in my mind and encouraged me to rethink my assumptions of this time period. Everyone should read this book, especially with an open mind and eagerness to learn about alternative perceptions of Southern reconstruction.

A disappointment. If you must read - check it out from the library - save your money. A collector item? I don't think so and the Mitchell's should be ashamed - it certainly isn't worth a fight - however, I'm happy that it has given some fame and wealth to an African American woman. I do trust though that Ms. Mitchell will find a new career. The book is not worth the paper it's written on.

I was hoping for MORE. I know it would be hard to follow a novel as great as Gone With The Wind, but even the dialect that was soooo good in Gone With The Wind is missing in this book.
I hated that Randall tarnished the reputation of Mamie. I loved that character in Gone With The Wind, and now I am so disappointed.
I love books and I am glad that I own this one, but I was not impressed.

The Wind Done Gone is the most unorganized, unimaginative and completely [...] work I have ever attempted to read. Randall insults Mitchell's God given talent as a writer. I must forwarn all readers that you are better off reading the National Enquirer it will contain far less soap opera trash than Alice Randall's book. The book unfolds slowly and the characters are one dimentional. I strongly believe Alice Randall's does nothing for the African American cause except make herself look uneducated and single minded. Please don't buy this book.

I am a law school student and looked this book up online after reading about the legal battle for this book from the U.S. Court of Appeals. Let me begin by saying I have not yet read this book. It seems to me, however, many of the readers did not take this book for what it was supposed to be. It is designed to be a parody (not necessarily a humorous one even though that's what parodies are typically associated with) of the incredibly one-sided depiction of the south that occurred in GWTW.

I am not arguing that GWTW is not one of the greatest pieces of fiction ever written. That does not speak to the racist overtones in the piece. From what I read in this case, it seems as though the author was attempting to show the erroneous depictions through parody by using the same character ideas and plots. Many of the posters were outraged at what this did to GWTW, but if you endeavor to read this book, take away from it what is meant, the oppressive racial stereotypes that GWTW portrayed that had a negative impact on society. It's designed to enlighten people of these fallacies not ride the coattails of GWTW.

Do not read this book, it is a waste of time! The slaves in GWTW are not potrayed as stupid people. GWTW is about a women living in the South before, during, and after the Civil War. I'm sorry, but there used to be slaves. It is a part of history, and no one can change that. Margaret Mitchell could not change that, so of course she is going to include slaves in a book about the civil war. It is rude of the author of The Wind Done Gone to use the characters from GWTW and turn them into something they're not.

This novel was basically a interwine of Margaret Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind" which I also love. But this novel "The Wind Done Gone" can use extra more explanation of some of the characters. The book is taken of out context and is not clear enough to follow at first but then it does later in chapters.

This book should never have been allowed to be published. The characters and story of "Gone With The Wind" are not only etched in the hearts of millions of fans, but are copyrighted in law. To take those characters and use it in this manner is despicable and illegal. GWTW is one of the finest novels ever to be written and one of the best movies in motion picture history. "The Wind Done Gone" takes wonderful, classic characters and mocks & belittles them. GWTW was an incredible story of the Old South, a time and place that has been forever lost to the forces of political correctness "The Wind Done Gone" is nothing more than politically correct propaganda.

Alice Randall is so incredibly amazing and well written. Obviously these negative reviewers do not understand the art of making something one's own. What is art, but interpretation? I congratulate Alice Randall in being so insightful and taking such a unique perspective. Read this book!

A postmodern pastiche in the style of Robert Coover's A Night at the Movies. Beneath a gentle narrative tone of wistful nostalgia the author exacts revenge from GWTW for neglect of racial realities with strident reverse stereotyping. Unpleasant.

The judge that allowed this disaster to lift ideas and outright quotes from Gone With the Wind should be kicked from the bench. A no talent writer with an axe to grind is a pitiful read. I thought the authorized sequel stunk, but this is much worse. This book was a gift, but it went into the trash.

Ohhh, where do I begin? First and foremost I would just like to say that this book is an absolute MOCKERY to one of the best and most beloved pieces of american literature ever published. That being said, it was just poorly written, plain and simple. The author did not stay true to the characters at all. I could not even imagine the charachters doing and saying half the things written in this book. Rhett and Cyrana were locked in Bonnie's playroom boneing while her dead body layed there?? Uh-huh...and how exactly did she get in there without anyone noticing? And I hardly believe that any parent who just lost a child, much less "baby crazy" Rhett Butler, would do this. Furthermore the jealousy of the main charachter was like an irritating itch throughout the whole novel. I guess that was supposed to be the theme anyway, but come on...it's like if Scarlett has a pimple on her left ass cheeck, Cyrana had to have a pimple on her left asscheeck too...it was just ridiculous and a little over the top. DISLIKE!!

this book is horrible!, if you are a fan of," gone with the wind," ( or not,) this book is a yawner from the start. Talk about your mealy-mouth characters! they seem to be all here. Especially cynara? or cindy(what the heck is the name anyway) A truly one-dimensional character that will bore the hell out of you.

I'm not sure what I'm more upset over, the outrageously high cost of this book, or the fact that it's without a doubt, the worse written book I've ever read. It's fragmented, unbelievable, and reads like it was written by someone who couldn't hold a thought together. My advice is not not waste your money OR time.

This is just absolutley WONDERFUL! They say it's a parody but I think it is an eye-opening, mind-bending, thought provoking probable truths of the other side of the story(ies) that are only beginning to be told.
Alice Randall takes us to some dark places in this country's--perhaps world's past. Yet, none of it is surprising, just THE beautiful harsh cold reality.
Well done! Thanks and PEACE to Ms. Randall.

This book is a total disgrace. I am a teenager raised in the South, who had many ancestors who fought for the Southern Cause. This book is dishonerable towards all the CSA men fought & died for. Im am throughly upset anyone would purchase-much less buy this sorry, shameful excuse for a book. This is merely a book setting a perfect example of reverse descrimination and I am ashamed of anyone who would ever consider reading the trash. GWTW was a beautiful FICTION novel, and this book couldnt have been more disreputable than it is. I hope Ms Randall will come to her senses eventually.

When I was a teenager, I read GWTW at least 50 times. For one whole year (sophmore, junior?) I read this novel continuously. The moment I finished it, I'd start over again at the beginning.

I got to know those characters like they were my family, and pictured each in my mind fully formed. Years later I saw the movie and of course now I can't get the actors' images out of my mind, but for years I lived my own fantasy of Tara, Atlanta, and the lost world of the South.

Alice Randall has brought all of these characters back to life in a powerful way. She has created new aspects to characters I loved, and wholely new characters that fit into the pantheon of GWTW perfectly. I couldn't put this book down and read it in one weekend. If you like GWTW, you will love this book.

Well, fiddle de de and la de da. Here we go with yet another example of reverse discrimination thinly veiled as literature. What a waste of paper, ink, and the readers' time and money. Ms. Randall has a WAY overinflated view of herself and of the value of her work.

What an enlightened and humorous take on GWTW. It was so refreshing to read Ms. Randall's account of a time that wasn't at all as "black and white" as some would like to believe. This book is a delighfully entertaining work that shows sheer creativity on the part of the author. A must read!!!!

I thought this was a fantastic read.
Re-reading GWTW a few years ago, I was surprised to discover how much of the racial/slave story I had managed to overlook the first time round. This novel was a refreshing look at what might have been going on in those secondary plots.
The writing is at a higher level than Mitchell's book; this is not an easy read, nor is it intended for devoted fans who are primarily interested in the love story of the original.

The author has her narrator("Cinnamon") spend most of her time comparing herself to the fascinating Scarlett,in a game of wish-fulfillment one-upmanship. Even though she's calling the shots,as it's her book, Scarlett still comes out miles ahead. Perhaps it was only that way for a certain strata of society,but there WAS once a beautiful world of chivalry and gallantry and bravery and even some idealism-even if misplaced-just as there has been throughout the ages in other societies,such as "Ivanhoe" presents.The story may have been one-sided,but it's the side MM chose to tell,and there's kernel of truth in the "myth" of the Old South,as in all myths.

Margaret Mitchell has nothing to fear from this silly so-called "parody",which is really a subconscious-or not so subconscious,in fact-effort to knock from her pedestal,that epitome of heroines-Katie Scarlett O'Hara and the wonderful Melanie Wilkes.As if Rhett would ever give any other woman a serious thought-he was obsessed with Scarlett.That's why he turned to women like Belle Watling.And to imagine Mammy killing the male babies,when she had been devoted to Ellen O'Hara from Ellen's childhood.Thank goodness this book isn't a pimple on the fanny of the classic GWTW,because what it is a a travesty-and not even a well-written or engaging one at that.GWTW will still be read and loved for all time,like the classic it is,when this book is selling for a quarter at garage sales.I didn't even pay that,thank goodness-the woman gave it to me,and I read it and burned it with the rest of the trash.I'd give it a negative star if there was such a rating.Ludicrous and laughable-try again,Ms Randall,and try to get over the jealousy of Scarlett and Co. Again,Margaret Mitchell need not fear,LOL.

I'm not sure what I'm more upset over, the outrageously high cost of this book, or the fact that it's without a doubt, the worse written book I've ever read. It's fragmented, unbelievable, and reads like it was written by someone who couldn't hold a thought together. My advice is not not waste your money OR time.

I enjoyed this perspective on life in the South both before and after the Civil War. This is a point of view that is missing from our American History. What struck me was the interconnectiveness between the blacks and whites and the scramble of blacks for some sense of empowerment over their lives. It boils down to sibling rivalry on a scale unimaginable to our modern times.

I read this book in a weekend and did not like it at all. I really feel [buying the book] was a waste of my money. It was hard to read, difficult to follow and lacking intelligence of the heroine. Also, I found it rude and quite crass that at the end of her book she gives a multitude of thanks to friends and family and totally eliminates thanks of any kind to Ms. Mitchell, who without her book, Ms. Randall's could have never been written!

While I believe that the issues Randall claims to be addressing in her literary parody of Margaret Mitchell's epic novel should be explored, I feel Randall lacks the craft as a novelist to "explode" the myths created and generally embraced by the collective consciousness of those who've read Gone With the Wind or seen the derivative film.

I had high hopes for this novel, but like many here, I felt I had dirty needles in my eyes for how boring the writing was. I couldn't even finish it. Somewhere I dropped from the middle to the end. And what plot? What parody? What character development? I agree with some of you who believe the writer only used Cynara to go on about her own sordid fantasies involving RB. LOL! You've got to hand it to Miss Randall for the publicity spin. Fiddle-dee-dee!

Like many GWTW fans, I supported Alice Randall and the publishing of this book. I rushed out and bought it right away, keeping in mind it was a parody. I struggled through the first 16 pages. But, I MADE myself finish this book. The book (Cynara's diary) jumps around so much, the characters are sketchy and just not likeable. The portrayal of the much loved characters such as Ellen O'Hara and Mammy are disappointing to say the least. This is simply NOT a good book. I am sorry I bought this book...I am even sorrier I wasted an evening reading it.

Who in the publisher's house doesn't know the meaning of "parody"? This book is not a parody of "Gone with the Wind" but a moving companion piece to the GWTW world of Margaret Mitchell.
For almost seventy years, we have had Mitchell's view on the old South, the heroine Scarlett O'Hara and "Wind Done Gone" is an amazing work of fiction on the African-American point of view, its heroine, Cynara, Scarlett's half-sister.
The story is told in first person, stream of consciousness, which may be difficult for some to follow, as the author weaves back through Cynara's memories and revelations. Stream of consciousness isn't as straight-forward as a point by point, outlined presentation, but more realistic presents the human experience. I feel the author's style, presenting this as Cynara's diary is a wonderful way to tell this story.
There are some surprises along the way as Alice Randall gives detail to some of Mitchell's characters that were lesser characters to Scarlett and Rhett in GWTW. Not only the twists that change Mammy and Prissy from old derogitory stereotypes, but the detail she spins into the characters of Gerald and Ellen O'Hara, Scarlett's parents. Ellen, here called "Lady", is more interesting here than in the original, I think!
For those who are so affronted that a new frame of reference is given to a historical period, and a **work of fiction**-- well, no book is for "every one". However, look at any other real event in American history - in any country's history - in any one's life- and there is always more than one point of view!!! The original accounts of "Custer's Last Stand" from the Caucasian point of view were vastly different than the Native Americans' account of the battle. The American account of the final days of the defense of the Alamo are sharply contradicted by the Mexican accounts!
If anything, Alice Randall's book adds a richness to Mitchell's classic. And it means I can read GWTW and watch the movie without cringing when it comes to the depiction of the slaves.
I read the reviews on the store before I bought this book and have to say I enjoyed this book much more than I expected. Don't get so wrapped up in the mythos of GWTW that you forget that **it is a work of fiction, as is The Wind Done Gone** or that you forget that in art, as well as life, there is always more than one point of view, and the world is not just as it is seen by yourself and your culture!

This is probably one of the worst books I have ever read. I was so excited to read it, and I was bitterly disappointed. I understand that it is an "unauthorized parody," but I feel that the author relied on cliches and didn't really make readers think much about the different perspective of the protagonist, as I had hoped.

Anyone who is a fan of GWTW will NOT enjoy this PARODY. I found it to be poorly written, and was extremely suprised at the way the author kept having Cindy switch back and forth between good grammer and composition; and poor old darky jargon. I don't recommend this book. In fact, I think I'll sell my copy.

[...]But, this book is so god-awful I'm taking the opportunity to warn others to stay away. I didn't make it past page 60. I'm thankful I borrowed it from the library. I would have been angry if I had paid good money for it.

It's obvious that the author didn't think much of "Gone With the Wind". This book is a slap in the face to a classic American novel. First of all, the author pretty much re-writes the history that we all love in "GWTW". The lead character is supposed to be a love-child of Gerald O'Hara and Mammy, REALLY? This book just goes down hill from the first page. They never really refer to any of the "GWTW" characters by name. Like Scarlett is "Other", Rhett is "R", Gerald O'Hara is "Planter". Even Tara is referred to as either Tata or Cotton Farm. Which kinda makes things a bit confusing trying to remember the characters from "GWTW".

THE most important part of "Gone with the Wind" is Scarlett O'Hara. The Wind Done Gone makes her seem like this ugly broken down pathetic old maid. Not the stubborn and strong opinionated woman fans have grown to love. Even Rhett seems weaker and more pathetic in this book.

If you're worried about tarnishing the image you have of "Gone with the Wind" don't read this book. If you're just interested in reading a train-wreck excuse of fan fiction, assuming the auther is a fan, then go ahead. It might be good for a few laughs.

I think I need to re-read "Gone with the Wind" to wipe my mind of this travesty!

I was greatly amused and relieved to read this book and to refer international readers to it as an important and well presented parody of one of our most famous novels. GWTW had become unrivalled and unchallenged historical fiction. Randall's parody released the buried embarrassed response of many to this less than complete portrayal of life in the old South.

GWTW certainly was one-sided in its portrayal of the Old South, and I can see how that could be a deal killer for a lot of readers. Although I consider GWTW to be one of the greatest pieces of American literature ever written, I was VERY excited by the idea of TWDG. The idea of building a "back story" around the black characters in Mitchell's novel is BRILLIANT! So much could be done with this idea to address issues of race and slavery, as well as to broadside a popular piece of American literature through counterpoint.

Unfortunately, this great idea is wasted because Randall is utterly lacking in talent. The thing that immediately bothered me about TWDG is the extraordinarily poor use of dialect. One sentence has the main character narrating in perfect grammar with strong vocabulary and then in the next sentence she's all "he do dat" and "me go sleep." Randall should have picked one voice for her main character and stuck with it. This alone represents terrible hack writing, but I must go on and say something about the (snicker) "plot."

The plot, which should be subversive and controversial, fails to rise above the trashy romance novel level, and the (I think they're supposed to be shocking) sex scenes wouldn't shock anyone except my Amish Aunt Minnie. I actually laughed out loud several times as I read them because I pictured Clark Gable/Rhett Butler saying some of this ridiculous dialogue.

The plot here is so flaccid that Randall inadvertently undermines her own book. The white characters remain more interesting than any of the black characters. This despite the fact Randall gives them tons of dirty linen to air in an obvious (and pathetic) attempt to make them interesting. Her black characters are non-entities, which I believe was her beef with Mitchell in the first place....right?!

As a result, by writing TWDG, Randall is only spray painting a nasty word on the castle walls of GWTW when what she needed to do was bulldoze the original, dance gleefully on its grave, and create something very powerful in its place. But that would take a skilled writer, and Randall just doesn't have the goods.

"Taking on" GWTW is a great idea, especially to stir up discussion around issues of racism and slavery in our country and our history. However, to do an idea like that justice requires a talented author (i.e., not Alice Randall). Maybe Toni Morrison should take this on? I'd read that!

I bought this book for my daughter in laws birthday we both enjoy good books and both love to read when I received the book I almost hated to give it away the book is well written easy to read easy to follow and very enlightening I believe anyone that loved the gone with the wind book will like this one one of the best I have read for awhile

After reading this book, my entire book club went...
... what was the point? We couldn't quite understand where the author was going with it. If someone out there has a clear understanding, please share

NOTE: MY TOPIC IS ABOUT THE WIND DONE GONE AND NOT SLAVERY(which I hate)!

Not liking the negro portrayal in GONE WITH THE WIND,Alice Randall therefore created her own version, a parody of the acclaimed southern classic.Therein lies the problem.

The trouble with parodies,it so intertwind with the original that it can be used as a sequel,a retelling or a new story with characters copied from the original but this time superior while degrading the original.So much so,readers begin to accept these false truth as the true truth.Not openly but in disguise, words like "what if" & "perhaps".Why?Because people always like scandals to famous chracters fiction or not.When that happen, a novel,even w/ the purest intent and purpose,gets butchered.

Here are some cases to prove my point & where the book failed:

1.THE PARODY/CONCEPT ITSELF-The whole purpose of this book is to show negroes aren't dumb and capable.If you read GWTW,as others call it"White-washed"&"Romantized",is in fact a love story.Plus Mitchell was trying to show how a civilization changes after a war,what better way to illustrate it than the old south?

But why portray negroes like that?

Obviously these fools didn't see Aunt Pitty,Hugh Elsing or Ashley.Aren't they white,helpless,pathetic and idiots?

If you read GWTW, What about the courageousness&modesty of Pork,The industriousness

&loyalty of Dilcey?What about Uncle Peter who single handly raised Charles&Melanie,who looked after and Protected Aunt Pitty?What about Rhett and Scarlett declaring Mammy as a smart old soul?Aren't these persons Negro and admirable traits?

2.MAMMY KILLING THE 3 SONS-In p.663 GWTW, a yankee tells Scarlett "do you think i can trust my babies to a negro?" She thought otherwise,and now Mammy kills Gerald's sons.Its thesame as saying negroes can't be trusted and they kill white babies and Randall was trying to show Negroes in a different light.This damages her&the book's credibility.Noble as her intent,but no good can come out of evil means.Its better to kill 10 people than 1 baby,as the saying goes.

3.GERALD/MAMMY-Check the background story of Ellen/Gerald.There can be no doubt of his fidelity.It takes a great deal of emotion for a person to get unhinged after a loved one's death.

4.CYNARA-She is an exact copy of Scarlett even their ages are thesame but this time she smart,beautiful,brown,a good mother compared to Scarlett.She even has Scarlett's strength & Rhett even prefers her.Ridiculous!if Rhett likers her than Scarlett he would've married her instead,or divorce scarlett after he have is way with her,Rhett boast of being ill-bred so his rep. wont matter.Why this nonesense of mistress and after death marriage?

The book,despite being well-written,feels like a parasite after reading created by a first-time author who wants instant fame,fortune making others accept and embrace that her work is better while destroying others hard work. If you want a book about the attrocities of slavery then buy UNCLE TOM's CABIN which is BETTER than this one.

NOTE: MY TOPIC IS ABOUT THE WIND DONE GONE AND NOT SLAVERY(which I hate)!

I picked this up based on the "Unauthorized Parody" sign on the cover - ridiculous, as the author of GWTW has been dead for decades. This pathetic book takes everything fine about GWTW and sullies it. In her author description in the dust jacket, Randall says she wondered about the mulatto children of Tara. Perhaps there weren't any! Poorly written and contributing nothing at all to the body of American literature, this book is a sad waste of time.

This was probably the most anticipated book, for me. I couldn't wait to read it. Well, I liked the book much more in my imagination, what I thought it would be about. The hype surrounding this book is for nought! As an African American Gone With the Wind lover, I was truly excited about reading the story from the other perspective. How disappointing! I'm not sure why the Margaret Mitchell Estate had such a problem with this book, seeing that it doesn't even resemble the story at all. It is badly written, doesn't stay true to the events in the original, and never fleshes out any of the characters! Don't waste your time or money.

I found this book's perspective startling and thought-provoking. While some may find the basic conceipt farfetched or the sexuality gratuitous, the reflections of modern perceptions of race and gender provided by this "dark mirror" of an American Classic allow us to begin to see those who are superficially different from us in a new light. Worth the read!

Being a huge fan of Gone With the Wind, I had to read this alternative account of the story. And let me tell you, it is a completely alternative account! Only a small percentage of the story seemed consistent with the characters developed in Margaret Mitchell's novel. Some parts were downright bawdy and indecent--unnecessarily, I thought. The book redeems itself a bit by shedding some light on some curious situations in GWTW...for instance, why all three of Gerald's sons died in infancy. It also explores, seemingly authentically, the psychological effects of servants raising the children born into an aristrocratic life. Other than that--skip it. I think the concept behind the book is wonderful, but could have been done MUCH better.

I loved this book!!! This book was an excellent depiction of the culture that existed in the south that is too often ignored. This book finally gives the black mistress a voice. It is well documented that many wealthy white southerners not only had black mistresses but would even have two families. In many cases there true love was actually their black significant other and not their white legal wife. However a white man being in love with a black woman was not socially acceptable. I think anyone that is offended by this book is offended that the antebellum south isn't being depicted in the light they would like it to be.

I'm writing because so many hated it for 'spoiling' -GWTW-. Surprise! It complements it wonderfully.

Speaking as some1 who was oppressed & who was raped ["God made cripples for whites who don't have niggers," i was 1ce told, quite seriously, by a 'Christian' Preacher], rapists *do* rape whomever they can regardless of race, age & social position; it's an act to 'prove' superiority. If Tara didn't have mulattos, it would've been an *extremely* odd plantation. History [as opposed to the let's-pretend-it's-real-past of -GWTW-] asssures us there were more mulattos than 'pure' blacks by 1776. Scarlett can easily be believed to have ignored what she didn't want to see [& -GWTW- is clearly written by Scarlett]; Hades, i *lived* w/a 'Scarlett' more than .5 of my life. As for 'Planter' not oppressing the oppressed; ever read of the "brown eyed/blue-eyed" study? It's enough to make 1 shiver.

From the stupidity to assume Scarlett's randy father [he's *described* as 'hungry for life" & that, dear souls, includes a lust for flesh would've been satisfied w/his obviously frigid wife [did you *read* -GWTW-?!] when there was black flesh which was O-so-free-&-plentiful, to the blind folly of accepting Ashley Wilkes' bisexuality [*every* slave-owning society accepted 'experiments' w/the 'inferior' slave; i'm only surprised Cynara didn't hint that Scarlett {Other} 'experimented' w/Prissy] in a era before people "accepted" that gayness was 'evil', to the world-weariness of Belle {'Beauty' in -TWDG-} toward her whores & the egalitarianism of the whorehouse's after-hours, to the doomed brillliance of pre-Reconstruction Washington & Frederick Douglas' free-spirited house parties [which have been documented by whites; check out his house in D.C.], -The Wind Done Gone- explodes the Victorian hysterical blindness about all matters sexual to look starkly at the horrors black people suffered ... the darkness that lurked behind Tara's glittering beauty. If Cynana overcompensates w/her love affair w/'R', it's readble as that: the attempt by a black mistress to 'beat' the Other who threw away *every*thing while others had literally nothing.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

This was my summer to read the stories that have until now been silenced, edited, or lost in the telling of southern history--this is one that should be on everyone's list. READ THIS BOOK!! Twice. Its better everytime.

ok first off i didn't finish the book but so far i am very disappointed in this book. yes gone with the wind was very one sided and sugar coated the slave days, I'm not disputing that. But this lady has ruined some great characters, like Mammy. Mammy would never have slept with Gerald, let alone had a child with him. She was a very proud person and thought Gerald to be below her, she work in the house of Royalty. Plus she basically Raised Ellen, she loved her like a daughter. So that right there has ruined the book for me. She jumps around a lot and it gets confusing. Also i was horrified when I read the bit about her being in the room with Rhett the night Bonnie died. That little girl was his life, I am just going to leave it there. I wouldn't suggest this book unless you really didn't care about the gone with the wind characters.

Thank God. I checked this book out at the library. It would have been a waste of money to buy it. I found it to be boring so I pressed on reading up to chapter 15 but it didn't get any better so the book went back unfinished. I think the controversy around this book was mainly for publicity to get people to buy it. It's so sad that most were disappointed.

To the point; The plot is boring, the herione is boring, the storyline and characters are not believable. Total waste of money. And a disgrace to a wonderful piece of american liturature. I am willing to read a parody, spin off, or background story based off of Mitchell's GWTW. However, Ms. Randal did a poor job and wasted good paper on this flop. She could have made this story MUCH better.

I love books and have read my favorites 10-15 times. I can honestly say that this book is one of the the most dreadful I have ever read. I don't have a problem with the author taking an American African point of view. I have a problem with the stardard of writing and the story line. Talk about someome making money off someone else. If you want to read a great book about the war from an American African stand point read "Jubilee" by Margaret Walker. This book should never have been printed.

This is a must read ... Alice Randall opens our eyes and superbly shows us an alternate portrayal of one of Americas favorite books. I'm so glad she won her battle in court to have this published, because this story needed to be told ...

Yes, actually I do. To warn potential readers from reading the most crappy book in the face of the Earth.
Gerald betraying his adored Ellen?
Mammy betraying her most loved mistress?
Ashley being gay? (Since when is dereaming gayness? And didn't he love Melanie?)
Melanie killing a slave out of anger? (This offended me the most, because I have always loved Melanie)
Rhett prefering this lame loser wannabe to Scarlett?

It's an insult to GWTW.An insult to Margaret Mitchell. An insult to the south.

Just because some plantations had mullattos doesn't mean everyone had to.

If you have read GWTW, don't let this horrible, disgusting object cheat you out of your time, or your love for one of the most beautiful books of American literature.

i came on the store to read some reviews and i was shocked by some of the blatant ignorance and obliviousness i've seen here, particularly from the man from lousiana. people need to acknowledge how rampant the rape of slave women was. it does not matter if the slave woman was a classically "pretty" woman (according to some) like sally hemmings. black women of ALL shapes, sizes, hues, and hair textures were singled out for rape by their masters, overseers, and slave catchers. why did they do it? because they could. did they have to be attracted to the women? not really, because it was free and available sex, without any chastisement or responsibility. i have a simple question for the gentleman from louisana: if a man is so low of character as to have slaves, treat people as chattel, and think of them as property to do with as he wished, what makes you think he would have a problem breaking the "miscegnation law"? (besides, who was actually going onto every plantation and enforcing the law? come on) hello, the man is already a slave owner, why not have sex with his slaves? they're his property, he can beat them to death, mate them with other slaves, sell them on an auction block...why not rape them? have you no idea how prevalent sexual abuse against women is in this world? 3 out of every 4 women is sexually abused as a child. imagine the statistics 150 years ago, when women generally had no rights and no say in anything that happened in their lives. if white women were completely subjugated, imagine black women...they were considered 3/5 of a person. they had no rights, no legal recourse, no protection. they had to grin and bear it. i'm sure that at one time or another a black american slave woman faced sexual abuse in some way, shape or form during her lifetime. there is no way to absolve a slave owner of any wrongdoing, because they were slave owners. they were in the wrong and there was nothing right about them. thats it.( if that bothers you or anybody else, so be it. but anyone who would have people, their children, and their children's children as property are nefarious.) if you want to be completely historically sound, maybe you should read more about how slaves lived. slaves generally lived their lives taking care of their masters. they did everything for them. of course they would talk about them, gossip about them, and somewhat shape their lives around their masters while trying to carve out a seperate identity for themselves. slaves could not openly express their aggresion or hatred for their masters or white people, so they did passive aggressive things, such as breaking equipment, feigning sickness, and yes, killing babies. can you blame them? innocent babies? hardly, when in a few years those "babies" would be old enough to order grown men and women beaten, sold, or killed. let me bust another myth for you. just because a black woman is your mammy damn sure doesn't mean she loves you. or even likes you. or can even stand seeing your face. i refuse to believe a slave can love their master. it's called survival. if you ACT like you love the child/children you're caring for, the family will trust you, and you might get better treatment. mammy didn't love scarlett, she tolerated her, and tried to do her best to survive. alice walker speaks on the "mammy loving everybody" phenomenon in "the color purple" quite eloquently. this goes for the other "happy" slaves at tara as well. its called uncle tomming, look it up. its a way of conducting yourself (survival) when white people are in the vicinity. i love gone with the wind, even though as a black woman, it's a slap in the face to all my sensibilites. as racist, one-sided, and antiquated as the story is, i am a hopeless romantic, and the story is a very romantic one. but i couldn't help watching the movie and wondering if those little black slave girls fanning the white women taking a nap wanted to let their fans drop and "accidently" hit one of the ladies on the head. or if they wanted to look around, make sure everyone was sleeping, and go try on the pretty dresses of the white ladies they were taking care of. if mammy ever wanted to brush her own hair with scarlett's brush, or if she'd break a rib pulling scarlett's corset so she wouldn't have to do it for a while, because she was tired. that's what this book explores. that's what this book's purpose is , bringing the "darkies" in the background, to the forefront. i, for one, am glad it exists, and that people have to deal with the other side.