Ruth's Journey: The Authorized Novel of Mammy From Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The WInd

Ruth’s Journey: The Authorized Novel of Mammy From Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind by Donald McCaig   416 pages

 Gone With The Wind is undoubtedly my all-time favorite movie. I can watch it over and over and over. It’s not surprising that there have been sequel’s and prequel’s (Scarlett by Alexandrea Ripley—a hideous novel—and Rhett Butler’s People by Donald McCaig that I haven’t read). I admit that I was excited when I saw heard about another prequel, this time from Mammy’s point of view. What a great character she is. Margaret Mitchell not only created a formidable personality, Hattie McDaniel brought her to life. McDaniel deserved the Oscar she was awarded.

 I haven’t read all of McCaig’s works, but I have read, and thoroughly enjoyed, his Nop’sTrials and Nop’s Hope. Both are excellent stories. Between a novel about Mammy and a writer with whom I’m familiar, no one had to twist my arm to pay hardcover price for what I was positive would be a wonderful reading experience.

Alas, I was wrong; it’s a tedious read. The story has begins when Mammy becomes a refugee from a slave revolt in Haiti. Her mistress gave her the name of Ruth. I know that McCaig had to create a backstory that wouldn’t be stereotypical, but he went too far. It’s as bad as Ripley sending Scarlett to Ireland for most of Scarlett

Most of the book is about Solange, Scarlett O’Hara’s grandmother, and Ellen, Scarlett’s mother. Only the confidence that the story would turn around and focus more on Ruth/Mammy kept me reading.

I found the first two-thirds of the novel seemed to center on Solange, with Mammy as a supporting character. The first half of the last two-thirds of the novel focused on Ellen, and then finally, we reach Mammy/Ruth’s story. Maybe I need to keep I mind that the title is Ruth’s Journey, not Ruth’s story. When the action finally does center on Mammy/Ruth, it seems more like rewriting of Mitchell’s work.

 I give Ruth’s Journey: The Authorized Novel of Mammy From Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind2 out of five stars