Thursday, April 23, 2009

Another Thursday

I wonder how Thursdays manage to crop up so fast every week. Monday segues into Thursday in a seeming 'blink of an eye', and it's time to go to the Book Store for another day of helping folks find the books they've been seeking. FUN !

Rather than discuss a long list of frustrations that have occurred for me since I last posted, I'll just say I hope everything works out and all those involved will try to understand the problems.

After I finished enjoying "Rhett Butler's People" (yes, I did enjoy the book - for the most part), I decided that I needed to reread "Scarlett", Alexandra Ripley's 'sequel to Gone With the Wind'. Fortunately a copy surfaced at the Book Store, and was set aside for me, so I didn't have to wait or hunt.

I did not remember how large this volume is! 800+ pages make for a weighty read.
Question: did the two authors confer before tackling the extended lives of Scarlett and Rhett? I would be interested in delving into the background of each writer, to see what their thinking really was when they tackled these huge projects. My questions arise as I read the two stories back-to-back, and find discrepancies abounding. Did Margaret Mitchell ever mention a brother in the Butler family? I don't recall ever hearing of Rhett having siblings... much less a sister and a brother. The brother has two different names, too, in the two stories ... he's 'Ross' in 'Scarlett' and something else entirely in 'Rhett Butler's People'. His personality differs, too...

I suppose it doesn't really matter in the long run, but it does make me wonder. Now I may have to reread GWTW to refresh those memories, separating the movie version from the Mitchell book.

I am still questioning the 'happy ending' of the book about Rhett. When I get to the end of 'Scarlett', in a few more days, it will be interesting to compare the two. No, I won't allow myself to read ahead to find out.

1 comment:

Charlotte said...

I have a VHS copy of Gone with the Wind, if you want to watch it--I've never looked at it--

I don't think I've read the sequels, either--maybe Scarlett--