Yet vulnerable, too. He loves Scarlett, and makes no excuses for her. He accepts her for who she is. Even loves her for it. This book is about Rhett's family history - his people and friends, and Gone With the Wind from his perspective. Truly an interesting, fascinating, sad, depressing, and fabulous book.
And indeed, Rhett comes across as all those things I quoted above, and more. In GWTW, Rhett is this larger than life character, who swoops in to save the day, save Tara, save Scarlett, and be the all-around rakish hero to Ashley's milquetoasty boring good-guy. Rhett Butler's People delves into Rhett's background, his father's cruel treatment of him and of the slaves they owned, and shows Rhett's total lack of prejudice; in fact his closeness to the slaves on the rice plantation.
So close that he works the fields with them. We see Rhett as a flawed character; loving, idealistic, and then having his ideals trampled upon by his own parent. This sets him up for his entire story. We see him head over heels in love with Scarlett, knowing that she cares not one whit for him, except in the bedroom.
We see his love for his friends. We see him take on a father role for a boy not his. We see his love for his little sister, and for his friends.
Does he sound too good to be true? Not at all. Our first glimpse of him is on the dueling field, shooting and killing his opponent and walking away without a backward glance. He was weak emotionally, but the guy served in war!
Come on! Why would he suddenly trip? This only makes Ashley appear to be the ultimate feckless dumbass. I have a lot of issues with Will dying. First, I don't like how McCaig leaves Suellen completely alone and homeless--and destroys whatever progress she and Scarlett have made in their relationship however minor. I also don't see the rationale in killing off one of the most likable characters in the whole story.
What's the point? Similarly, Belle Watling dies from being shot by her own father--while Tara burns to the ground! Yes, that's right, the idiot burns down Tara, freakin' Tara. And its destruction is supposed to be some kind of triumphant ending, leading to a rebuilding of Scarlett and Rhett's life together Phoenix-style.
I was really speechless when reading it. The only thing that saved this novel from a one-star rating was the way it was written. The language and style were effective, and, had this been a novel on its own rather than a revision of GWTW, I probably would have liked it more.
But it isn't, and that's the point. But this, I Apr 14, Stacey rated it it was ok. As a borderline psychotic fan of Gone with the Wind and even the trashy sequel Scarlett, my heart was open to liking this book.
I was not happy. The title is apt; there are so many "people" in this book that it made my brain hurt. Just when I would start to get the characters straight, the author would just start killing them off. There's more blood in this thing than Saw II. This is also the kind of book where characters do things that real people never do, such as put a finger to someone As a borderline psychotic fan of Gone with the Wind and even the trashy sequel Scarlett, my heart was open to liking this book.
This is also the kind of book where characters do things that real people never do, such as put a finger to someone else's mouth to shush them I swear this happens every other page. The only reason to suffer such foolishness is to see Rhett and Scarlett live happily ever after. Fear not--of course they do, but only after every other person in the universe is dead. And the author completely ignores the existence of that other sequel and creates a brand new version of events, which sort of gets my goat.
Who does he think he is? The best part of this book is its fill-in-the-blank approach to the story. What was Rhett's childhood like? Why was he really in jail when Scarlett came to visit with her curtain-dress?
What is his history with Belle Watling? What did Rhett and Scarlett, um, do on their honeymoon? You too can know the answers to these questions if you really give a damn. Jul 05, Laura rated it did not like it. Not wasting my time on this.
What was I thinking? Abandon ship, I'm jumping overboard! It relies so heavily on GWTW that it can't stand alone and really wouldn't make much sense without it. These two follow-ups, though, are entirely contradictory. No, Scarlett does not go rowing off to Ireland for a c-section by a crazy Celtic witch. If you were wondering about Rhett and Belle's alleged lovechild, look here for your answer.
You even get hints about Scarlett's mother Ellen's unrequited love for her cousin Phillipe. You won't find the hyper-romanticized South of Mitchell's novel, but while the author depicts Reconstruction as a pretty awful time, he does lapse into the occasional nostalgic revelry for Mitchell's South. The novel veers into the embarrassing, however, with Melanie Wilkes' letters to new friend and newly-created character Rosemary Butler Haynes Ravanel--Rhett's little sister.
We learn about Melanie's ill-advised ardor for husband Ashley remember, she isn't allowed to have any more children because of her health , including her suggestion that she and Ashley use "certain contrivances" i.
Being a gentleman and all-around useless wuss , Ashley is appalled. Thus, Miss Melly must forgo the "tender violence" I told you this was a cringe-fest of their passions. Rhett Butler's People isn't truly awful, but it isn't very good either.
Feb 21, Shelley rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: adults; fans of "Gone with the Wind". I admit I had mixed feelings about this book. I recall too vividly my disappointment in "Scarlett" by Alexandra Ripley, which was also billed as a sequel to "Gone with the Wind. It took a bit to get past the frequent use of "the N-word," by the way - I hate that phrase! We give the word so much more negative impact by refusing to say the word Anyway, the use of the word is compatible with the I admit I had mixed feelings about this book.
Anyway, the use of the word is compatible with the time frame of the novel. After the first chapter or so, I found this book hard to put down. It does correspond nicely with " Gone with the Wind " and the main characters were fleshed out well.
Some of the peripheral characters could have used more of a fleshing out, but the length of the novel probably prevented that. Overall, "Rhett Butler's People" gives a much more satisfactory ending than either Margaret Mitchell's classic novel or "Scarlett".
View 2 comments. Shelves: fiction. So, in middle school I read Gone with the Wind and Scarlett and fell in love with the books - well, mostly Gone with the Wind. I will admit, I have a problem Even if it's horrible.
That said, this book I thought was really good. The author does a really good job with Rhett's role, it really felt much the same as Gone with the Wind. It made me want to read it all over again. He does add a new character who is really central to Rhett's life, So, in middle school I read Gone with the Wind and Scarlett and fell in love with the books - well, mostly Gone with the Wind.
He does add a new character who is really central to Rhett's life, which changes the plot from what occurred in Gone with the Wind , but surprisingly, I was okay with that. His sister Rosemary adds an interesting perspective. I really liked how he explained Rhett's relationship with Belle Watling as well.
Made her so much more likable, even though I liked her the first time. Basically the storyline of the novel is Gone With the Wind from Rhett Butler's point of view and it was a bit of a disappointment really. Gone With the Wind is one of my favourite novels and I found all the characters in RBP, even the major ones of Rhett and Scarlett, are out of character. There is also a lot of errors that contradict the original, characters dying when they lived in GWTW and vice versa, Melanie knowing about Scarlet being in love with her husband, etc.
As a standalone historica Basically the storyline of the novel is Gone With the Wind from Rhett Butler's point of view and it was a bit of a disappointment really. As a standalone historical fiction novel, Rhett Butler's People is okay but as a complement to Gone With the Wind it sucks! Sep 07, Kim rated it it was amazing.
I should start by saying that am a raving fan of Gone With the Wind. I loved Rhett Butlers People for a lot of the same reasons that I like GWTW; it is very well written, has an epic story with graceful flow, history and depth, and it is a continuation of characters that are extremely well developed. One if my favorite additions were the exploration of Belle Watling and the nature of her relationship with Rhett; something GWTW leaves mysterious.
I will say that the author wrote a very masculine I should start by saying that am a raving fan of Gone With the Wind. I will say that the author wrote a very masculine book as compared to the feminine outlook in GWTW--but I think that was the point I enjoyed Rhett Butler's People so much that I was disappointed when it ended. The author was commissioned by the estate of Margaret Mitchell to write this "parallel sequel" to Gone With The Wind , and he has kept faithful to her style and to the story and details of Mitchell's original classic.
This gives an account of Rhett's life prior to meeting Scarlett and describes the lives of his friends and family. In doing so, it gives a well-researched look into life in Charleston Atlanta just prior t I enjoyed Rhett Butler's People so much that I was disappointed when it ended. In doing so, it gives a well-researched look into life in Charleston Atlanta just prior to and during the civil war.
Certainly, there are a million possibilities for his story, but I enjoyed this take. I really enjoyed Gone With the Wind , but Rhett was my favorite character and there were so many unanswered questions about him.
I think the author did a wonderful job of tying the stories together and maintaining the characters and setting. He had to satisfy two audiences - Margaret Mitchell fans and Civil War buffs. That he was able to offer such a satisfying read, while tying in small tidbits from the original story e.
Shelves: booksthatrock. I am very excited about this book- although the "sequel" to GWTW was disappointing but admittedly, entertaining in a cheesy way. Don MacCaig is a well known writer in my border collie world- he wrote one of my favorite books "Nop's Trials" and some excelllent non-fiction as well.
He is an incredibly talented writer who can move a story well and with beautiful language. I don't think they could have picked a better author to tackle Rhett's story. I was very satisfied with it- w I am very excited about this book- although the "sequel" to GWTW was disappointing but admittedly, entertaining in a cheesy way.
I was very satisfied with it- would recommend to GWTW fans- probably couldn't stand on its own but is a good companion to the original.
Nov 15, Amy rated it really liked it Shelves: favorites , misc-genres , I know some of the reviews for this book haven't been great but I personally really liked this story.
Seeing Scarlett and some of the other characters in a different light was very interesting. I also thought this sequel was better than Scarlett. Though I did enjoy both. I think I would have given this 5 stars except for the endi I know some of the reviews for this book haven't been great but I personally really liked this story. I think I would have given this 5 stars except for the ending.
I loved all of the story up until where GWTW leaves off and I think this book handled the after parts better than Scarlett but I still don't know that it could compete with the way I had imagined the story to end. I don't think the ending was bad, it just wasn't how I had always imagined it would be.
Nov 19, Nicole rated it it was ok Shelves: historicalfiction. Do not read any further if you don't want any spoilers and I apologize for the rant that follows Yes, I actually bought the book Costco because I couldn't wait for a library copy. So around the last third of the book, when the author described Ashley's eyes as brown I wanted my money back. Ashley's eyes are a drowsy gray I believe, not brown! Instead, I was horrified to see beloved characters acting completely unlike themselves. Ashley actually loving Scarlett?
Not to mention writing letters to Rosemary Butler Ravanel detailing how much she hated the celibacy. As if Melanie, proper Southern lady that she was, would ever put such a thing in writing? And since when is Ella epileptic? The miscarriage was ignored as though it never happened. Both played a major role in his later decision to leave Scarlett, so why are we not privy to his feelings about these events?
Scarlett and the children including Beau come home to Tara, along with Rosemary and her son Louis Valentine. Ridiculous name. Ashley sells the sawmills, and moves back to the ruins of Twelve Oaks. Vandals strike Tara. Even though they are paid well, field workers refuse to come to Tara, leaving the family to manage on their own, and once again Scarlett who now has no money must struggle to keep Tara and feed her family.
Finally, in desperation, Scarlett telegraphs Rhett and asks him to come home, and he does. And where has Rhett been?
What I abhorred was the audacity of the attempt to follow a master, not the writer himself. But making money off some other writer whom you fail to fully research? You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account.
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