Read Gone With the Wind and some parts are making me uncomfortable. Has anyone faced something similar

I have wanted to read this book for a long time. I like history, historical fiction, prewar South, Jim Crow South etc. and I have watched a lot of movies and read a bunch of books. I just finished reading Lonesome Dove, what an incredible book, and I thought why not finally read Gone With the Wind.

I am almost 100 pages in and while I can try to ignore the parts about slavery it becomes impossible when black folks in the book, even those who are supposed to be the “best valet on the coast” talk in a very weird version of English. Now, the book was written in 1930s. So perhaps that was the attitude of American people towards black people in general back then. But in 2026 it feels very jarring. Especially since the dialogues by white folks is in completely normal English which could be from a book set in 19th century England as far as I could tell.

So it is not just being true to the times and how things were. At least so far.

I don’t know what I want to say or ask but it is bothering me and I am hoping for a discussion.

Some things that I am curious about. Did black folk talk exactly like that in 1860s Georgia? Did white people not have any regional affectations in their language? In 1930s when the book was written, what was the attitude of readers and especially the jury of Pulitzer prize towards the black people and writers writing black people in the caricaturized way?

The worst part is every time I read one of those dialogues it immediately brings me out of the immersion and I start thinking about racism of the author. I may be completely wrong but that’s how I feel and I am hoping for a conversation on the topic. And should one read the book in 2026?