Since I was about 12, Gone With the Wind has been my favorite movie (and still is). I've seen it hundreds of times (and that's not an exaggeration). I've also read the book...maybe 3 times. I am reading it again, I'm about 3/4 of the way through it. I've always said in the past that while the book is excellent, the movie is better.
I think my opinion is changing. I will never say that the book is better than the movie, but I will admit now that it is JUST as good as the movie.
Books provide a level of detail that movies just cannot get to. If the movie Gone With the Wind would include every detail that the book contains, it would probably hours, no DAYS long.
I think the movie is perfect, but I am loving all of the details that the book provides (and a few differences between the book and the movie). Such as:
*At the fundraiser in Atlanta, they were collecting the women's jewelry for the benefit of the Cause. In the movie, Melanie gives her wedding ring saying 'it may help my husband more off my finger', and seeing how moved Rhett was by this, Scarlett gives hers too. But in the book, Scarlett felt embarrassed that she didn't have any jewelry to give for the cause, so she looked down at her wedding ring and it reminded her that it was because of Charles (her dead husband) that she was an 'old maid', so she yanked it off her finger and tossed it into the jewelry basket (so she wouldn't be reminded of her status). Which then inspired Melanie to donate her ring as well.
The next day, when talking with Melanie and Aunt Pittypat about Rhett (they were going on and on about how brave he was with his line of work), Scarlett says 'He isn't brave. He just does it for the money. He told me so. He doesn't care anything about the Confederacy and he says we're going to get licked. But he dances divinely."
*The famous 'radish' scene ("as God as my witness"), actually happened at Twelve Oaks, because Tara didn't even have a garden left. So Scarlett had to walk to Twelve Oaks to the remains of their garden to get what was left.
*When the Yankee soldier came to rob them, Scarlett didn't get the urge to kill him until she heard him rummaging through the kitchen. She was terrified that he would take their food.
*When she went to Atlanta to borrow money from Rhett to pay the taxes on Tara and then runs into Frank Kennedy, she briefly considered just asking Frank for a loan. But she knew he wouldn't do that, and she didn't want Suellen to benefit from Frank's money (and lord it over Scarlett someday). So she lied, told Frank that Suellen married someone else, and charmed Frank until he proposed to her.
Those are just a few of the differences. I have really enjoyed reading the book again (I'm almost done), and I highly recommend it. Especially if you're a fan of the movie. You won't be disappointed!
