Rating: 
Summary: A fast, interesting read
Review: It seems as though Alice Randall thought of all of the scandalous things she could and wrote them into this parody of GWTW. It was fairly well written, though took some getting used to that Cynara refers to all those familiar characters by different names. A very light read that shows a different and not entirely unrealistic side to the idealized antebellum and post-Civil War world of Scarlett O'Hara. Randall has taken a fictional idyll and injected some reality in the form of mulatto illegitimate children, the true life of a mammy, etc.
Rating: 
Summary: Original and eloquent
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Old School Sibling Rivelry
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: A poor imitation of the real thing
Review: I am so glad that I checked this book out from the library instead of spending my money. The idea was unique but the result was boring. Cynara was a poor imitation of Scarlett when she could have been so much more. Instead of focusing on her life she mostly talked about the white characters who for obivious reasons could not be named. Her affair with "R" was pointless and dull. I never really learned anything about Cynara and frankly after 50 or so pages I did care if I did or didn't. Overall the only thing that Ms. Randall did do was reaffirm my adamiration for the real classic. Despite its unflattering portrayal of African Americans Gone With The Wind is an incredible AND orginal novel.
Rating: 
Summary: The Ideal Left with the Wind
Review: "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".
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining and Provocative
Review: I have read many reviews about this book, and I'm not surprised it didn't go over well with people. It was okay when Gone With the Wind came out and portrayed blacks as ignorant and docile, but when someone comes along and turns the tables it is "TABOO". Well, I am GLAD someone found the courage to portray blacks in a positive light. Don't get me wrong, I liked GWTW, but I hated its portrayal of blacks. My opinion is that this negative portrayal was an effect of fear and ignorance. Thanks Alice Randall. And remember.....the right thing won't always be the popular thing, but we must keep on pushing towards the mark of a higher calling!
Rating:
Summary: A truly interesting novel
Review: A truly interesting novel that promotes itself as an unauthorized sequel to "Gone With the Wind." I actually enjoyed this book more than the "authorized" sequel, Scarlett. The book is written in the first person as a diary and read (I listened to the audio version) by the author. It centers as much around revealing the skeletons in the O'Hara and Butler closets as it does around being black in the period of America's Reconstruction. I actually wish that Randall had ignored the "Gone with the Wind" theme entirely and instead written a period piece. I feel the book's plot could easily have stood on its own without that added distraction. There was one element to the book that I wish had been toned down and that was the constant references to sex. Even though this is supposed to be a diary, the author uses sexual circumstance and metaphors to make her point far, far too often.
Rating:
Summary: Pulleeze !
Review: I just finished this book after putting it down several times to read... something else. In a time when it's probably harder than ever for (good) writers to be published, I think Ms. Randall chose to "butcher a classic" in order to make her way to bookshelves. And sadly, what actually made it to the shelves was a "gimmicky" piece of junk! Save your money folks...and use your library cards for something else other than this.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: This book is absolute garbage!
Review: This book is nothing more than an excuse to bring up the issue of slavery. What happened happend and ther is no person alive that can change it. The writer atempted to write a book, but could not get any good ideas so she decided to trash a classic. It wants to be a parody, but from the book being written in the slave's point of view, I think it is trashy and unnacceptable.
| 
