The Wind Done Gone: A Novel
Think of Margaret Mitchell's epic Gone with the Wind condensed  and told from the perspectives of Mammy and the Tara slaves, and  you have Randall's debut novel. This sometimes cryptic but  always fascinating story is narrated by Cynara (also Cinnamon or  Cindi), the daughter of a slave and a white plantation owner. As  the story unfolds, we learn of Cynara's hatred of the white  half-sister she calls Other and the privileges bestowed upon  Other yet denied Cynara even though they are raised side by  side. Both sisters vie for the attentions of Mammy (Cynara's  mother and Other's nanny) as children, and for the love of the  same man as adults. Through the eyes of Cynara and the other now  freed slaves, we get unique perspectives of life on a Southern  plantation and of the Reconstruction era. Randall, an  established country songwriter, uses language and idiom to  haunting and poetic effect. Fans of Toni Morrison's Beloved will  enjoy this well-written historical fiction. [Previewed in Prepub  Alert, LJ 2/15/01; a trust for Margaret Mitchell's heirs has  filed an injunction to stop this book's publication as a  violation of copyright. Ed.] Karen Traynor, Sullivan Free Lib.,  Chittenango, N.- Karen Traynor, Sullivan Free Lib.,  Chittenango, NYCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.