Just because a novel is classified as a "literary classic," doesn't mean that it's good. A prime example of this is “Gone With the Wind," the 1936 Civil War era historical romance novel by Margret Mitchell.
There are so many things wrong with “Gone With the Wind" that I really have no idea where to begin. So, I guess we'll start with Scarlett O'Hara — literature's most unlikeable heroine, and that's putting it lightly. After just one chapter, I was thinking, “This is who I'm supposed to be rooting for?" She's selfish, manipulative, spiteful, narcissistic, and greedy.
She spends the whole entire novel pining over Ashley Wilkes, despite the fact that he has no interest in her because he's married. Seriously, by Chapter Five, Scarlett's lusting over Ashley is old. I mean, she marries her first husband to hurt Melanie, Ashley's wife, and to make Ashley jealous (and for the money, the exact same reason she marries her other two husbands).
I mean, Scarlett gets everything she deserves. Like, you don't feel sorry for her whenever something bad happens to her. She is just the absolute worst heroine in all of literature, and you just don't want to root for her.
Additionally, the novel's plot moves painfully slow because Mitchell feels the need to describe what Tara's like fifty times and give us the history of the O'Hara family every chance she gets.
On top of that, there's the repeated dwelling on Scarlett's obsession with Ashley. It's like she thought the book couldn't be interesting if she didn't mention how much Scarlett lusts after Ashley at least a dozen times a chapter.
I can almost guarantee that three chapters in and you'll be falling asleep. Like, I know that older novels tend not to be as action-packed and exciting as modern novels, but there has never been a more horribly boring novel to ever been written. The excerpt on the back claims that it's a “thrilling" book, but that's a blatant lie.
There are many other issues with “Gone With the Wind," but the most common complaint about this novel is the blatant glorification of slavery and the treatment of African Americans in the Reconstruction South. This is obvious from the beginning of the book. All you really need to do is read a chapter or two to see exactly what I mean.
Now, I haven't actually finished the book and, while I hate leaving books unfinished, I have no intention of reading the rest because it's just not worth wasting my time on. I know many people will disagree, but you know, more power to them. If they enjoy it, that's fine. “Gone With the Wind" is an excellent example of how just because a novel is celebrated and hailed as a literary classic, doesn't necessarily mean that everyone is going to enjoy it.
In my opinion, Rhett Bulter's famous last line summarizes my feelings on “Gone With the Wind" in a nutshell. "My dear, I don't give a damn." And that's mostly because, as I have stated several times, “Gone With the Wind" is the most painfully boring book in all of literature, and Scarlett O'Hara is the least likable heroine to ever exist.
The movie is a classic though, and that's the only time I'll ever say that the movie's better than the book.
