Rating: 
Summary: A haunting book
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Unfortunate
Review: This book was a complete waste of my time and money. Of course I heard the controversies and of course I went out and bought the book. I can't believe I read the same book that other reviewers have given 5 stars to!!! It was absolutely horrible. Ms. Randall wanted to write a book about the Old South from the perpective of the slaves, and she didn't even do an adequate job of it. By portraying the slaves as violent and abusive towards others she did a great injustice to those who suffered during this unfortunate time in our nation's history. Taking over the plantation and controlling the white owners is just as bad as the white owners controlling the slaves to begin with, and it's hypocritical for one to think that behavior is acceptable or justified simply because the black man suffered during this time. I understand this book just fine, and the only thing that it really accomplished was to further divide man against his fellow man on the basis of skin color. As far as the references to Gone With the Wind, well why people can't appreciate Ms. Mitchell's work for what it is and leave it alone is beyond me. It was written in the early 1900's, and despite Ms. Randall's attempt to prove otherwise, it's still and will always be a literary and Hollywood classic. While I agree that slavery was despicable and something should have been written from the slaves' perspective, The Wind Done Gone turned out to be a complete joke. Hopefully in the future someone can step forward and write a literary classic without trying to defame another artist's work in the process. It makes me think that Ms. Randall used the references to Gone With the Wind to push her own book sales, and that sort of behavior is despicable as well.
Rating: 
Summary: A Long Time Coming
Review: Bravo! I say to Alice Randall for attacking the book that enabled white girls everywhere to relive the "glories" of the Confederacy. That said, "The Wind Done Gone" is still a meditation on Margaret Mitchell's characters-with a few new ones thrown in-and it never for me takes on a life of its own. Cynara, the narrator, sounds suspiciously contemporary and slips in and out of character. Still,Randall is steeped in the culture of slavery, and she reveals its dirty linen stain by stain. Now that she's dispensed with Other (Scarlett) and Mealymouth (Melaney), maybe she'll put what she knows into a work of her own.
Rating:
Summary: An Inspiring Novel
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Spectacular!!!
Review: 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!!!!
Rating:
Summary: THE worst book I have EVER read...
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: The controversy is understandable
Review: This book is well worth reading and is head and shoulders above GWTW. The story is told without getting the reader bogged down in words and is thought provoking. I will never plow through GWTW again, but I may find myself enjoying the movie, now that there is a different back story to appreciate. The sterotypes in the movie were always offensive, but I would enjoy the burning of Atlanta. Cynara's story is much more sympathetic than Scarlet's but her take on things, makes Scarlet a lot easier to take. The Margaret Mitchell heirs may have felt this book would detract from the original but they were wrong.
Rating:
Summary: A MISSED OPPORTUNITY
Review: When I first heard about the impending publication of "The Wind Done Gone," I was excited. At last, a book was on the horizon that would somewhat debunk the images of the Old South. I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Well, I have finished Randall's book and, sad to say, this is not the book that "repaired" Mitchell's fantasy. Slow in pacing, confusingly organized, and hurt by the first person narrative style, the novel, like others have stated, is not a true parody. It is, however, one to be read and discussed for it does present another perspective, albeit, like the original, the "view" is slightly flawed. A better "parody" is the classic skit from the "Carol Burnett Show" entitled "Went with the Wind." Vicki Lawrence's turn as "Cissy," the slave who "knows nothing about birthin' no babies" had more bite than Randall's novel. I was hoping for more from this one.
Rating:
Summary: contrived!
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: Lets hope the wind don't come back.
Review: 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.
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