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Others say...
"A Disappointment...." This book claims to be the "prequel" to GWTW, focusing on Rhett Butlers past before he meets Scarlet. The book jumps to meeting Scarlet far too early and then follows the GWTW time line (and I use "follows" very loosely). I was led to believe it would delve into his past so we could get to know him better, but it just skims over the majority of his early life relying on confusing flashbacks. When referring to incidences in GWTW the facts are largely incorrect, the author obviously has not read GWTW. If you are reading this as a completely separate book from GWTW it would be good, but this is a prequel and should tie up with the book it was meant to come before. I have read GWTW four times and rate it with the best books you can buy... Please do not waste your time and money on this poor imitation of the GWTW prequel, the Margaret Mitchell family made a grave error in allowing this book to be published. "A Good Addition to the Story and a Story able to stand on it's own. " I liked this sequel. It can stand on its own as a story and it sheds light on the complexities of life and culture in antebellum Charleston, South Carolina. There are people who will never accept any sequel to Mitchell's work as valid. They are entitled to their opinions, of course. However, I am of the opinion that there are things that needed to be said in the context of Mitchell's earlier work--and McCain says them in this novel. For instance, Mitchell herself was such a product of her culture, class and the times in which she lived that she simply did not allow for the fact that most reasonable people would not think that the KKK was a respectable organization or that most would think that the Freedmen's Bureau was not intrinsically evil. And, while she spends a lot of time describing the hardships suffered by Southern whites during the Reconstruction Era, she makes no mention of the violence done to blacks during that time--beyond their being made dupes of the Radical Republicans. People of Georgia's working class are usually dismissed with labels like "cracker." Like most current-day students of history, McCaig is not only willing to include the history of people of color and average people generally in his written work, he has deemed it necessary to show how people other than those of the elite class are impacted by the events of their times and how they shape the world in which they live. In McCaig's book, Southern blacks are real people with real relationships and concerns. Belle Watling isn't just a prostitute who enjoys Rhett's friendship and occasionally his sexual attention, she is a human being with a relatively normal history and life of her own. As a result, we are able to understand how she became a madame and what her relationship to Rhett truly is. People of color and non-elites are not objectified by McCaig; they are three-dimensional, living beings. Again, there are people who think that Mitchell's work is sacrosanct and, thus, will never approve of any sequel. But, for the reader who likes historical fiction about this region and period, for that person who is interested in gaining some insight into those times, I recommend "Rhett Butler's People." "Don't Bother" I was so excited to read this book but about 1/3 of the way through I put it down. I don't usually do that so you can believe this was awful. "Started off well..." I was intrigued by the concept of this novel as I have always loved GWTW. It started off beautifully, weaving a tapestry of answers to long-pondered questions and lending depth to Rhett Butler. The relationship between Rhett and Belle and the mystery of her son's father was entertaining, as were revelations of Ashley's real feelings for Scarlett. I had such high hopes! As the novel lumbered on, I was reading just to finish the beast. Numerous times my eyebrows raised with an incredulous "WHAT?!" By the last fourth of the book, I am convinced that either the author gave up or that someone else finished the book for him. The tone of the novel completely changes. The events in synchronicity with the original, where a fan of GWTW like myself would have welcomed more backstory, were rushed through in order to reach a ridiculously implausible end... Rhett drunk and crazy in Europe with Scarlett penniless and working the cotton fields again... a preposterous scene where Scarlett and Rosemary go to the market to accuse the Watling gang and are "rescued" by Ashley and Will. And burning down Tara? Seriously?!? To add insult to serious injury, suddenly the dialogue in the book takes a turn for the ridiculous and we are expected to buy into conversation not in keeping with the first three quarters of the novel. With striking suddeness, Rhett and Scarlett become unrecognizable. I can't even begin to address what the author did to poor Melanie, whose innocence and unfailing trust is dashed to the ground. SUCH a disappointment. Read Alexandra Ripley's Scarlett instead. And if you must reat Rhett Butler's People, STOP at chapter 50, when the author loses his mind. "Insulting and Disgraceful" Everyone involved in this book should be ashamed, as it is so obviously intended solely to make money off of GWTW fans. I fail to understand why the Mitchell estate selected this writer, who did not even bother to do a close reading of the original. And where was the editor?! There are so many errors in timing and details, I can't believe they weren't corrected. Everything from the color of Ashley's eyes (grey, not brown!) to the timing of when Scarlett sold him the mills, to major plot points being left out completely. It's insulting to those of us who love GWTW, and the author and editor(if there actually was one!) had to have known that readers would notice (and be annoyed by) these details. And don't get me started on the anachronistic speech and utterly ridiculous interpretation of Melanie's character. Awful, awful, awful. I'm sure that, like me, fans of GWTW will feel they have to read this book, but just be prepared to feel some righteous indignation. I'm tempted to write my own book!
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Rhett Butler's People
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What our customer's say! "wonderful book", Book was very nice, exactly what it was supposed to be. I would have paid double the price had I ordered from our bookstore in town. I'm so glad I checked here first. "Awful... I'm throwing this book away.", Having read GWTW when I was 12, there is a special place in my heart for anything involving Rhett and Scarlett. I did enjoy "Scarlett" although it certainly wasn't as good as Margaret Mitchell's writing. At least Ripley made an attempt to preserve the original characters and the style of writing. I managed to suffer through 200 pages of "Rhett Butler's People" but I can't take anymore. The writing style is crude and the dialogue is awful - nothing like Margaret Mitchell's writing at all. McCaig has completely destroyed the original characters and added a few whom I don't find remotely interesting. I'm throwing this book in the garbage. "Could not put it down", A friend of mine recommended this book to me and I am so glad that she did because it was great! "The Long-Awaited Sequel To "Gone With The Wind" Is Here, But It's SO MUCH MORE... ", For those who wondered if Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler ever got back together and suffered through the horrible sequel "Scarlett," the wait is over. Here, the mystery surrounding one of the most iconic fictional characters is stripped away to reveal...no, I won't spoil it. Here, we can experience Rhett's past, only alluded to in "Gone With The Wind," see some of the most famous scenes from "Gone With The Wind" through his eyes & enjoy a thrilling read all the way through 600 plus pages. There's also a wicked plot twist almost in the last 1/3 of the novel. Rated PG for mild language and some war violence. "Better than I expected", I came to "Rhett Butler's People" prepared not to like it for the simple reason that whatever any original author said or didn't say about his or her characters should never be said. Presumably the GWTW copyright will eventually expire, so better for the Mitchell estate to authorize additions to the canon now before the floodgates open with all manner of versions coming out of the woodwork down the road. That said, this book was an enjoyable read, most especially those sections where the story is being told from Rhett's point of view. The Rhett we see in these parts of the story appears to be in keeping with the Rhett that Mitchell created. The weaker parts of the novel are the countless letters between Melanie and Rhett's sister Rosemary. They fill in details as McCaig imagines them, but they don't have the punch of the earlier parts of the book. The ending brings us a kinder, gentler Rhett and a more adaptable Scarlett than Mitchell left us with. While that works okay within McCaig's universe, it's still rather a shame. It kills the unresolved mystery of GWTW. However, when viewed as a standalone novel in its own right rather than as material only to be compared with Mitchell's work, the book is well written, compelling and interesting "take" on the time period in which is was set. 
Read this reviews before You buy... "a great disappointment", When you attempt to write a sequel or companion to a beloved book, the odds are against you right from the beginning. Not only do you have to prove that you can write as well as the beloved author (and this is where Ripley's Scarlett flopped), but you have to have something to say, something to add to a masterpiece. It can't be just your own desires to play with the characters. I know that there's a huge temptation to feed starving readers a happy ending for two of the world's most famous lovers left asunder. But that doesn't mean that you can waste our time by feeding us mush. Let's face it, Rhett and Scarlett are too alike. They only want the unobtainable. And when Scarlet gets Ashley, she no longer wants him. And when Rhett gets Scarlett, he no longer wants her. There is really no more to tell. And if an author wants to come up with a better ending, it should be more than just (as in this book) that Rhett comes back because Scarlett sends him a telegram. But, I get ahead of myself. RBP is supposed to be the tale of GWTW from Rhett's perspective, but it reads more of a historian's perspective. GWTW is not about history (its way too inaccurate for that); it is about character. While RBP has a decent story and fairly interesting characters, the focus is too much on the history and not on Rhett Butler himself. It brings no new perspective or twist or even examination of his character. No explanation for how he feels about Scarlett or Ashley (except for some brief comparisons between Rhett's feelings towards slavery and Ashley's romantic ideals of the old South). In fact, RBP is so far removed from GWTW, the reader becomes lost chronologically. The book's strength in forgoing repetition of the original work actually becomes a weakness. The book's greatest weakness is just the complete and utter betrayal of the characters, particularly the star, Rhett. He is way too good, lacking all the charm and mischievous twinkle that makes him a rebel. As this book completely rejects Alexandra Ripley's Scarlett, they must be compared as companions to GWTW. While Scarlett is horribly written and meanders in long catalogues of gowns and balls, its thousand pages fly by compared to the well written but utterly dull 500 pages of RBP. Although Scarlett is mediocre, it succeeds where RBP utterly fails, in the most important part of all, the characters. Scarlett succeeds in portraying the true Scarlett and Rhett, as rebels in their world, finally accepting that, and each other. RBP's Scarlett and Rhett are just not GWTW's. And so, I will give it the opposite rating I gave Scarlett. Grade: A- (for the rest of the book) D+ for Scarlett and Rhett And, as character is more important, this book fails. "Epic Disappointment", I am a huge fan of the original work. I have no problem at all with others trying to write sequels, parodies, etc... That said... This new book is in no way worthy to be called a prequel, sequel, or associated in any way to the original. Scarlett as a character is completely unrecognizable, Rhett is no longer Rhett, but a clinical mess on the border of manic depressive, and so many other characters that we already know and love are so different, and frankly, unlikable. Scenes were changed so drastically that the reader would never understand a character's motives. The only remotely interesting parts of the book are those that deal solely with McCaig's new characters. There are not only substantial differences between this book and the original, but was also written as if the other authorized sequel, Scarlett, was never written at all, making it completely impossible to read them together as a series. When I first read Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley, I liked it. I knew in advance what an enormous task it would be to try to re-enter this story with any consistency at all. After reading Rhett Butler's People, I have an even greater respect for Ripley, for at least she tried, and very often, was quite successful. It is obvious that McCaig made no effort whatsover to stay consistent with the story, the tone, the characters, or the ultimate vision of Margaret Mitchell and Gone With the Wind. This cannot even earn an A for effort. How sad that is. "A piecemeal and loose-jointed prequel", I confess to having never read Gone With the Wind. However, deciding to enjoy the full sweep of the story, or so I thought, I began with McCaig's version, the authorized prequel. It seemed to make sense. Unfortunately, and I dislike writing this, I was underwhelmed by the loose and limp story this prequel offers. Simply put, I never cared about the characters and the outcomes of their choices, a rather deadly response for a reader. Nonetheless, I forced myself to finish the book, and breathed a deep and satisfying sigh of relief when I turned the last page. There's simply no weight or depth to the book. The action and characters seem whimsical and foolish in their romantic notions of Confederacy and Southern ways. The book paled in comparison to another Civil War novel I read and reviewed here, Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All, by Allan Gurganus. Now there's a book that repays a reader many times over with its wise and weighty sweep. As for this book, if one is unfamiliar with the story, unsteeped in the mythology of that tragic time as well as Mitchell's classic story, then s/he endures constant frustration with characters who appear, disappear, and then reappear with slight linkage (other than family connections). I found keeping relationships straight an irritating challenge that I wanted to dismiss. That's not a reader's task (except in great works such as War and Peace). An author must create a seamless drama with believable characters we get to know so intimately that it all seems lifelike in familiarity. Perhaps those who have read and perhaps reread GWTW enjoyed this book, perhaps. Without any background, this book seems unimportant. Soon, I will read the original, and I suspect Mitchell's rendering will grab and move me as she probes the depth and tragic implications of that sad, regrettable war. Her work earned the Pulitzer Prize, an honor not lightly conferred, and an honor for which McCaig's treatment received no consideration, justifiably. I apologize for this unfavorable review. There's little I can praise about McCaig's book. The best I can say is I finished it as preparation for GWTW. Now I look forward to the original (and I wish I could change my rating to 2 stars instead of 3, too generous a rating now that I reconsider). "BEYOND Disappointing", Any attempt to carry on Mitchell's legacy will of course fall short, but this book completely underwhelms fans of the classic novel. McCaig DOES try, with depiction of Rhett's family, particularly his beloved sister, Rosemary, but as a whole the book fails. His writing style needs polish (excessive passive voice, the cardinal writer's crime of "telling" the reader rather than putting them inside the characters, for example) and at times his attempts to meld his story with the timeline of Mitchell's feels rushed. The worst are the anachronisms. Sorry, Mr. McCaig, but hardcore fans have the book practically memorized, and just too much artistic license was taken when writing "Rhett." The subplot with Archie and having him already acquainted with Rhett from the war just isn't believable at all, and he makes too many mistakes. It's plain from the original novel that Ashley lost Twelve Oaks for back taxes, and it's mentioned several times that Charles Hamilton and his parents were buried in Atlanta (Mitchell's description of the looted cemeteries, for example, which really were desecrated by Sherman's troops) rather than at Twelve Oaks. Furthermore, Charles' and Melanie's father was a veteran of the Mexican War, yet McCaig has his date of death listed on his tombstone as 1845. The Mexican War took place in 1847. Those are a few of the more minor mistakes. Most insulting to fans of the series is the author's propensity for killing beloved characters and burning things down. Scarlett's house in Atlanta, then - most unforgivable of all - Tara. No thanks. I really, really wanted to like this novel, but was bitterly disappointed. It's enough of a shame that today's publishers are so reluctant to publish Civil War fiction....to give us such a flawed sequel to a beloved classic is another. Sorry, I can't recommend this one. Those in need of more "Gone With the Wind" should re-read Alexandra Ripley's "Scarlett" instead. It's still far superior to "Rhett Butler's People." "New Book", I ordered a new copy of Rhett Butler's People from Amazon.com The book was new in the shrinkwrap, however the bottom of the spine was cracked. Other wise the book was in great condition. |
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