Book Review: Rhett Butler's People

Book Review: Rhett Butler’s People

I have always enjoyed reading however; it has been a long time since I finished a book. For the past year or so, I grounded myself from reading in an effort to finish a cross-stitch project. The good news is the cross-stitching portion of the project is now complete. So I decided to warm back up to reading again with a little brain candy.

In case you can’t guess, Rhett Butler’s People is an authorized “sequel” to Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind and shares Rhett Butler’s side of the famous story. I think I first read GWTW in middle school and it is one a very few books I’ve read more than once. While everyone is familiar with the Scarlett/Rhett love story, I think Ms. Mitchell does something else in the novel that is overlooked or dismissed. If you look past the obvious romance, you will notice that the story of Scarlett is one of a woman who defies the traditional female stereotypes of her culture and uses the tools available to her (including marriage) to ensure her survival. She includes a lot of items of cultural significance, especially if you’re a born southerner. But I digress…

Rhett Butler’s People starts out well enough and provides background and additional character depth for some of the GWTW characters. There are also plot snippets taken from the original that are embellished with greater detail and are of more importance in this novel. I do think the novel is well written and has a cohesive, if sometimes hokey, plot. It is an enjoyable story to read. However, I’m not completely satisfied with the character development of Rhett as the story progresses. Quite frankly, in many cases the images presented do not at all match the dashing, cavalier character presented in the original. I understand that everyone is entitled to a bad day, but some scenes could cause one to believe that Rhett is bi-polar.

I also think the book gets weaker as it goes on. It’s almost as if the author can’t decide how he wants the book to end, so he defaults into a “happily ever after” mode that certainly does not mesh with the original.

I think trying to write a sequel to such a classic is just playing with fire. I do think the author did a good job with embellishing the characters and plot snippets from the original to add to this story, and I even liked how some of those were developed. On its own, I’d say the book is worth a read if you like Southern or Historical fiction. As a companion to GWTW, you’re better off sticking with your own imagination if you don’t want to be disappointed, even though this one is scores ahead of the previously released Scarlett.