Recognize that famous line of literature? If you are thinking Gone With the Wind, you're right!
After many years of saying I was going to and in preparation for my upcoming trip to the South, I finally read Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, which just happened to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1937.
Since most people are somewhat familiar with the plot, I won't summarize it here. I do think that the story kind of fizzles out before the end, but I still really enjoyed reading it. I also watched the movie again since I hadn't seen it in years and liked it a lot, too, but this is even better.
Part 1.
And Part 2.
Are you laughing?
Even though a lot of my April reading time was filled up with Gone With the Wind, I still managed to read a few other books, including a Newbery winner called Dicey's Song, by Cynthia Voigt.
Dicey's Song is number 2 in a series of books about the Tillerman family. The first is called Homecoming, and it is pretty dreadful. I read it to prepare for Dicey's Song, but I wish I hadn't. The plot isn't so bad in itself - the four Tillerman children are abandoned by their mother in the parking lot of a shopping mall, miles from their home, so they take it upon themselves to cross the state and find some fabled relatives of theirs. Interesting, but it goes on and on - the kids try to find something to eat, try to find somewhere to sleep, complain about how tired they are, walk for what seems like miles, get in trouble...day after day. They finally get settled with a cousin or someone, but then they run away to find their grandmother and the whole trip thing starts again.
Dicey's Song is better, but I still found the characters to be annoying. The kids finally end up with their grandmother at the end of Homecoming, and Dicey's Song tells the story of how they settle into their new life, make friends, deal with tragedy...
There are five or six books in the series, but I'm pretty sure I won't read the rest any time soon. I've had my fill of the Tillermans.
One last note, I'm already halfway through 2011's Pulitzer winner, but so far I'm not impressed. I'll write more about it when when I've finished.
Johnna, I forgot to comment when I read this, so I thought I'd do so now...very belated, sorry! I love GWTW and like to read it once every couple years. I actually really like the sequel, too, but it isn't written by Margaret Mitchell.
ReplyDeleteI just read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society---you had better read it if you haven't because it is pretty fabulous!