El Gran Gatsby

When I first read this story, I viewed it as a tragic tale of star-crossed lovers. Poor Gatsby. Poor Daisy. Why couldn't they be together? Why couldn't Daisy have just stayed strong and admitted that she loved him? Coming to it now, in the span of years - well, just a few years longer than the span between Daisy and Gatsby's first and second meetings - now, it seems like a cautionary tale, one about how you can mess up your life when you are young, if you aren't careful, of how sometimes there are no good choices, and sometimes, if you haven't grown up, you make all the wrong decisions grasping after some ideal of what life is supposed to be.

If you haven't read this yet, and you are reading it for pleasure, go away and read it. Don't read this, as it will be full of spoilers. Ok, you've been warned.

When Daisy was 18, and a spoiled rich girl without plans, she met a young, poor officer, and fell in love. But being a rich girl, marrying a poor boy wasn't 'the thing to do', so he told her to wait - after the war, he would make his fortune and come back for her. But she didn't wait. This is where every reviewer I've read online finds fault with her. And I did too, when I was younger. I still hope I would've waited, in her place. But then I think, we're being too modern here, folks. Remember, women's lib came after Daisy. All the women she knew that she identified with - well, they had no marketable skills. They don't even take care of their own children. To deviate from the model she saw before her - dutiful, idle wife dressing up in pretty clothes - well, what would she have done instead? Daisy wasn't a brave girl. When she tried to be, the night before her wedding, she had her 'friend', Jordan, the voice of her place in society, of convention, around to tell her that it would never work out. To wait for Gatsby, while it might have seemed emotionally right, conventionally, it wasn't the right thing to do. She would've lost touch with her friends, her family...and what if he hadn't come back rich? Again, she had no marketable skills. What could she have done to help him? (Arguably, plenty - but not in Daisy's mind! She wasn't reading Simone de Beauvoir and Betty Friedan - the women around her did certain things and the men did others. To think of breaking free from that pattern would not even have occurred to her!)

So Daisy gets married and she hopes for the best. The best doesn't happen. Her husband cheats constantly. Except that he does seem fond of her, in a Don and Betty Draper way (you'll have to excuse me here - I never got beyond the second season of Mad Men - so little time, so many movies on Netflix.) . Life goes on. They meet with friends. They sit out in the garden and birdwatch. He buys her jewelry, takes her to Europe, etc. Life is in some kind of stasis.

THEN - who should appear but her high school boyfriend! Ok, we don't know whether she went to high school, but lets think about this. She was 18 years old back then. Gatsby really was her first love. She did love him a lot back then. If he had asked her to marry him immediately, and not to wait, of course she would have. In her mind, only circumstances ever kept them apart. And now, here he is. Now that 8 years have passed, and she has a daughter and an unhappy marriage. But still, a marriage. What WOULD the right thing to do be here? What would you do, as a grown, married, adult, if your high school boyfriend showed up with the house of your dreams and a scrapbook full of photos of you, and promised to give you everything he couldn't the first time?

This is where Daisy seems so young to me. Because for a moment, this looks like the right thing to do to her. She indulges it. She wants to escape from this more adult life she's been living. Forget the part about them being rich, callous and blase. That may be true. But also, it looks to me like a quarterlife crisis. She is married, and that's kind of rocky. She has a daughter that she's not quite sure what to do with. Can't they just dress up in their high school clothes and pretend to be 18 again? Because that's what she really appears to want to do. When Gatsby asks her to confront her husband, then it is forcefully brought home to her - they AREN'T kids anymore. She must feel some obligation to her family, at least to her daughter, if not to her husband - and then her husband reminds her of all the things they have been through together. Would you leave your husband for your high school boyfriend, at that point? I wouldn't. (Not that I would, in any case - sorry high school boyfriend - you were a nice guy! But it was a LONG time ago, and I kind of love my family - yes, even the big one with the moustache - thankfully NOTHING like Daisy's husband!)

The book seems to present Myrtle, not just as a counterpart love story - Tom cheats, Daisy cheats, etc. - but as - well, what WOULD Daisy's life have been like if she had married Gatsby instead of Tom? Would he have been driven to make all the money? Or would she have become a Myrtle, trapped in poverty, but desperate to live in high society - hating her husband and her circumstances. I feel like, as a modern person, it's hard to have sympathy for Myrtle. You want to say, "Dude, poverty's not so bad. There's a lot of stuff I want right now, but it's not driving me to drink and run into the street or anything." But imagine, for a minute, that the women around you don't work. They don't teach you that you grow up and get a job. They teach you that if you are pretty, you will grow up and get married. Then, your husband will make the money, and you, if you have done everything right, will live this certain kind of life. Everyone you know lives this same kind of life. They go to parties. They fence on the lawn. They have tea. That's what they do. All of your friends do it. They don't work. If you were to go out and get a job - well, silly you - women don't have JOBS - well unless you're a nanny. Or a maid. But we don't associate with those guys. I would argue that, to a girl in Daisy's class in the 1920s, that's as if a modern woman were to say, "It's ok if we're poor. I'll just go work in a sweatshop." That's about the level of social prestige among her friends she would continue to have if she were going out to work. Daisy doesn't know anyone at all who is a family member or peer who works. To her, it just isn't done. In the same way that you or I, we don't say, it's ok if I can't buy my own clothes, I'll just spin them (and if you can do that, I am in total awe of you. But I can't!). It is something that is almost inconceivable to her. While she doesn't appear to have made up her mind to be totally conventional and satisfied with her life (like Jordan), she doesn't want to end up like Myrtle either. Not knowing an alternative, all she really knows how to do is 'go along to get along'.

So, except for her bad driving and total disregard for hit and run accidents, I feel more sympathetic to Daisy this time around. She seems like she's just trying to do the right thing, and she hasn't yet figured out what the right thing is, and she sure doesn't have a good example around to follow, in any of her friends or, presumably, her parents, who pushed her into this life to start with and presumably live in much the same way. And Gatsby - well, I like him -- he's idealistic and sentimental, and honest (if you overlook the mob ties), and he certainly goes for what he wants...but he's kind of a creeper too, isn't he? Unhealthily attached to his teenage years.

It was interesting, reading it again. What do you think? Was Gatsby and Daisy's love affair tragic, or just an unfortunate series of mistakes? What books have you read again that seemed completely different the second time around?

Great twist and critique of decay in the 1920's. I enjoyed the way in which the story was told as a series of flash backs to bring the significance of the events as they unfolded.

The Great Gatsby is like the Queen (the band, I mean, though Her Majesty might work just the same) of literature: they're both exceedingly overrated (hope I'm not ruffling too many feathers here, but I had to say it). That's not to say they're bad, per se, I just don't understand all the hype. Honestly, the only reason I think the Great Gatsby gets all the acclaim is because it was so American at the time, and so of course, the Yankees went wild (it's just a joke; please don't kill me). But I would never consider this novel the "Great American Novel" over the Grapes of Wrath, especially with lines like this:

“I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.”

Help, I'm dying of hyperbole!

I remember reading this in high school, but I believe most of it went right over my head. It was far more interesting this time around! Fitzgerald really made the wealthy lifestyle sound appealing! And then he made it sound shallow and sad. But his writing is so poetic and articulate, really painting the picture for me, that I hung on every single word!

I read this…many, many years ago. So many that I remembered virtually nothing. A classic; arguably the Great American Novel, even. The writing is nothing special but the characters, the themes, and the story are very well done. Enjoyable, even if not particularly my cup of tea. (The fourth star is a recognition of its quality in spite of my personal reaction.)

Okay, okay... I know. This is a classic work of American Literature. And Fitzgerald writes really beautiful prose. But when I'm reading, I need to have a character to root for--and I could not find one in this entire novel. Pretty much everyone is either cheating or helping someone cheat. Still... it's a nice snapshot of the "Jazz Age" and I love all the symbolism and the richness of the prose, so I can't say I didn't like it. I did. I just didn't love it because I couldn't really get behind any of the characters... and while that may have been Fitzgerald's point about the power of money to corrupt, I still have to be able to hope a character gets what he or she wants, or I won't care what happens in the end. And I really didn't. I got bored. So I took a star off for that.

Read once again. I reckon it is one of the handful of perfect American novels.

"A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say." - Italo Calvino

The Great Gatsby, for all it's supposed to be about the American Dream, is really a good old-fashioned romance, with a Shakespearean pile of bodies at the end, a Great War, unsavory bootleggers, and several love affairs. Fitzgerald writes the characters so that you hate them all a little bit (Her laughter, her gestures, her assertions became more violently affected moment by moment, and as she expanded the room grew smaller around her, until she seemed to be revolving on a noisy, creaking pivot through the smoky air. "My dear," she told her sister in a high, mincing shot, "Most of these fellas will cheat you every time." [p. 31-32]) Writing a romance with characters that are not likable gives this book its tone - a sort of regretful, impersonal tragedy. I'm always sorry at the end, but I'm never quite sure who I'm sorry for.

Eh. It was okay. Not sure that I would read this one again though; maybe in a few years when I can look at it through the eyes of a non-student rather than as a student forced to read it and talk about how "wonderfully moving" it was.

After reading this much acclaimed American classic, I was baffled. "What is so great about the Great Gatsby?" I've given this question much thought and I still don't have the answer.I honestly believe this short book lacks the bones and elements of a classic and even on the last page I was waiting for the 'light bulb' moment. In fact, this novel reminded me of 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' for its simplicity and classification as an American classic that I failed to understand.I know my opinion isn't popular in the literary world, but if you read this book and believe it worthy to be called a classic, I'd love to hear your opinions, so leave me a comment.

My opinion about this book is highly ambiguous. I really liked reading it and enjoyed the story but I still feel like I didn't get some important point.
Nevertheless, I am looking forward to re-read this book in a few years to renew my opinion.

I re-read this today after disliking it in high school. What a different experience! I highly encourage anyone who read this when they were young to revisit it later in life (and when you don't have a high school English teacher forcing it on you). Fitzgerald's insights into classism, narcissism, wealth, and the American dream are spot-on for today's culture, and his prose is just marvelous. I'm typically a very quick reader but this book is meant to be savored, scene by scene, line by line.

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I AM THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR OF THIS REVIEW, and also the owner of CCLaP; I did not reprint this article illegally.)The CCLaP 100: In which I read a hundred so-called "classic" books for the first time, then write reports on whether I think they deserve the labelBook #3: "The Great Gatsby," by F Scott FitzgeraldThe story in a nutshell:Considered by many to be the best American novel ever written, The Great Gatsby is set in the years immediately following World War I (known as the Great War to his generation, in that World War II hadn't happened yet); it was an era known as the "Jazz Age," from a term that Fitzgerald himself coined in an earlier novel, a time of great moral confusion and upheaval around the world. And in fact, that's an important thing to know going into this novel, that it is as much an examination of a period in history as it is the unique story of certain fictional characters; the main reason to read the book, in fact, is to not only follow along with the potboilerish plot on display, but to indeed understand an entire generation of Americans and how they got to the point that they did. Because the fact is that the Great War left an entire generation in numb shock after it was over; turns out that no one quite realized the kind of carnage that could be caused by adding Industrial-Age machines to organized warfare, not to mention the millions upon millions of fresh victims who could be easily shipped to the front now via modernized rail, leaving a nihilistic shell of a generation behind in its blood-soaked wake. The youth that emerged from that war were very quick to discard the Victorian/Edwardian morality and mannerisms of previous generations, simply from seeing what it got them all; instead, this generation was the first to embrace free jazz, experimental poetry, pornography and more, done through a haze of illegal booze and drugs and with none of them really expecting to live past the age of 40.It's among such a backdrop, then, that we meet a series of individuals from the Jazz Age, all of them connected in one way or another to a ritzy section of New York borough Long Island: there is Jordan, for example, the haughty pro golfer who's also a pathological liar; Daisy, a preternaturally jaded young wife and alcoholic; Tom, her blustery and frat-boyish husband; Myrtle, the swarthy mechanic's wife who Tom is having an affair with; Nick, the middle-class midwesterner everyman narrator of our tale; and a lot more, emphasizing Fitzgerald's point that such people tend to become interchangeable when met under the blurry lights of an endless series of cocktail parties. All of these people, however, hinge around the mystery man in the center, the charming and attractive Jay Gatsby (Nick's next-door neighbor, through a strange series of circumstances), who has so many rumors swirling about him that they are like an industry unto themselves: that he is a bootlegger, that he is a war profiteer, that he is a relative of the deposed Kaiser, that he was a secret agent, that he actually lives on a giant yacht that never pulls ashore.What's the real story? And why does Gatsby go to so much trouble to cloud the issue? Well, to understand that is to understand an entire mysterious generation, Fitzgerald argues here, an entire group of people currently having a hard time defining themselves; are they the harbingers of a clean, Modernist future, or the amoral slaughterers that the Great War showed them they could be? And the answer in The Great Gatsby seems to be a little of both; just witness the various ways you end up rooting for the various characters in question, even as you cringe at the various awful, awful things they're all capable of. The storyline of the manuscript itself is slight and preposterous, which of course is Fitzgerald's entire symbolic point; that his entire generation is a slight and preposterous one, a million shell-shocked people in their twenties who want nothing more than to get blotto and talk about meaningless trivialities. That they can't do this, that the sadness and anger and melancholy of past events keep slipping into their lives at unexpected moments, is what haunted Fitzgerald's generation in general, the point that the author is ultimately trying to make here.The argument for it being a classic:Fans of The Great Gatsby argue that the book is the absolute perfect combination of the three things most important in a novel, not coincidentally the same three criteria by which I base CCLaP's reviews: it is a strong and well-paced story, featuring complex and deeply-drawn characters, written in an engaging and highly readable style. (It was because of this exact book, after all, that we even got the overused term "Great American Novel.") But not only that, its fans say, but it also tells two completely different kinds of stories at once too; not only a very intimate and unique story about an intriguing set of individuals, but also a grand story about an entire generation, something left behind by Fitzgerald so that those like us will always remember what those years were like. And not only that, your high-school English teacher would argue, but it contains things like a fine attention to color-based symbolism, and other barely perceptible things that snooty academes care about, which of course is what precisely ruins The Great Gatsby for a certain amount of people in each generation as well.The argument against:Not much, to tell you the truth; in fact, this is why I wanted this to be one of the first books reviewed in this essay series, so that I'd have an example of an inarguable classic that I can then compare future books in the series to. If you can find me a serious and well-thought-out argument online for why this book shouldn't be considered a classic, you let me know and I'd be happy to go check it out with an open mind.My verdict:Not only do I whole-heartedly agree with all of the above, I'll go so far as to say I was shocked by just how good this novel turned out to still be, given its eternally crappy reputation among a certain amount of permanently pissed-off former American Lit students. And that's the thing, that you really owe it to yourself to approach this book away from a traditional academic environment, and to simply sit down and read it for pleasure like you would any other novel; to forget about the symbolism, stop hunting for the freaking color of every dress, and simply get caught up in the pace and rhythm of what Fitzgerald is trying to say here. If you do, you'll see that in actuality The Great Gatsby creates the blueprint for virtually every story and film that's come afterwards regarding the jaded, morally ambiguous subset of any generation, from the Beats in the '50s to the hippies of the '60s, to the slackers of the '90s and now the skaters of the 'aughts. Any tale you come across these days featuring a likable everyman peeking in on decadence and casual criminality is likely to be derivative in one way or another to Gatsby, and you do yourself a favor by reading the original and seeing how it was done by the master.Is it a classic? Oh my, yes

Couldn't get enthused about this one. Seemed a fairly shallow story about some pretty shallow people. Guess Fitzgerald is not my cup of tea.

This is a great daily devotional that will take you through the Bible in a year and provide gems of insight each day.

Good

I always struggle to review classic literature. I am not naive or arrogant enough to imagine I will have any amazing incite based on a single reading and no real study.

My first reaction, on finishing the book, was that I really didn't get what the fuss was about. I know this is a famous book, a top 100 book, a classic book that everyone should have read at some stage in their lives (I was first exposed to it in high school English, but I didn't really read it then). So when the book ended I felt like it lacked anything epic or grand or amazing, anything to make it worthy of this lofty position.

But days later the book began to unpack itself. As the weeks went on I would think about the novel and my understanding grew. I began to notice things that were not clear while I was reading. I have spent a lot of time mulling of the characters in the book. Who they were and why they behaved the way they did.

So spoiler alert. It is a book that saddened me the more I began to understand it. Here was a self-made man who had it all, but longed for a woman he had fallen in love with years ago. He gets her, he steals her away from a loveless marriage and they appear happy together. But the more I understand the characters the more I realise that she was not worthy of him. She was vapid, she loved being loved, but she did not love Gatsby with the same passion that he loved her. Very sad. This idea has played in my mind for weeks.

I spent a lot of effort over the years resisting doing what I was supposed to do, especially if everyone else appeared to be doing it. Which is how and why I've avoided reading The Great Gatsby over so many years. I do know from experience that what experience you bring to the reading of a book influences how you perceive and receive it. This is true with this book as there are parts of the story that seem to resonate with some of my own experiences and for me enhanced my appreciation for the novel. If I had read this back in high school and collegel when it seemed like everyone else was reading it (under the combined influence of the film and literature teachers and professors) I don't think I would have received it the same way. I did find it well and cleanly written, the prose never jarring but also propelling the story forward with nice touches of color and atmosphere in supporting roles - and I found it also remarkable just how much weight the moviemakers have compelled these 180 pages to bear when translated into a movie script.

The film just came out. We know this, because although Australian tax payers funded 40% of Baz Luhrman's lurid adaptation(despite the story being yet another one set in and around New York, USA), Australians have had to wait another full month to see the damn thing, after not only Americans but the rest of the world.

I saw a graph about why Australians must wait so long to see films, even those heavily subsidised by Australians -- something to do with economics -- which I don't believe anybody really understands -- and I was ranting thusly at book club, until it came out that I hadn't read the book anyway, so.

So a copy was dug up, brought around to the house and placed into my palms. I had no choice but to read it, and why? Why are we supposed to care about these rich, young, beautiful people? Do we not give such characters more attention than they deserve, in real life and otherwise? I don't get it.

I'm sure other people get it. It's a classic, after all, in America. I don't care to get it. The Jazz Age version of The Bold and the Beautiful... Or so I suspect, though I haven't actually seen that show either.

But there, I've read it now. Stet my rant.

Finishing this book, I had the exact same sentiment I had upon watching the 1980s animated classic film Heavy Metal: "Well, I guess it was OK, but I don't see what all the fuss is about."However, upon reading the history and criticisms of The Great Gatsby (Heavy Metal) I started to develop a newfound appreciation for the themes and everything that went into making the book (film). While it isn't a fantastic book (film), I find that my initial impression was far too harsh, and thinking back on it I can definitely say it was an enjoyable, fulfilling, and deep (OK, maybe moreso Gatsby) read (watch).

A book tailor-made for English classes, and I can't help but think of it on those terms. The language is lovely and interesting, there are any number of historical allusions to be unpacked, and the plot is both complex enough to offer many points of discussion and simple enough for everyone to participate. I enjoyed it, I'm very glad I finally read it, and it remains an important cultural reference.

After reading it again, I must say I appreciated this classic much much more with a second reading.It certainly helped that I could use the Robert Redford adaptation of the film as well as the upcoming Leo DiCaprio version to help me visualize the book.I have also recently read Fitzgerald's "Tender is the Night", and in terms of plot at least, that is to me the better read; but in terms of poignancy, characterization and tragic romance "Great Gatsby' is without a doubt the winner. But needless to say, both books are absolutely wonderful and I cannot wait to read more of Fitzgerald's works!!!

Nick Carraway, the first-person narrator of this novel, gets to know Jay Gatsby in the Roaring Twenties. The latter is very rich and throws glamorous parties on his grandiose estate to which he invites his neighbour Nick.The title drops already a hint: The Great Jay Gatsby is a magician and everything in his life is an illusion: Before he went to war Gatsby, then known as James Gatz, fell deeply in love with Daisy. But as he was away, she married another man and had a daughter. When Gatsby returned after the war, he still clanged to the dream of a married life with Daisy. Everything in his life is build up around that dream – he even seems to have accumulated his wealth only to make it real.Fitzgerald’s novel is about make-believe worlds and chimeras, about appearance and reality. A very interesting scene is when a guest notices in amazement that the books in Gatsby’s library are actually real. The novel disproves the American Dream and shows that money can neither buy love nor true friends. Money may talk, but not everybody listens.Unfortunately I got a quite bad translation. When I compared a part of the book with an English version online, the latter one was way easier and more enjoyable to read. Honestly, I was underwhelmed by the book when it comes to the story. And I don’t think that it will stick in my memory for long. But I’m glad that I can finally tick it off my to-read-list.

I have been putting off writing about the book, as I am not sure I can articulate my feelings about it. In fact Im not sure what my feelings even are about it. I do know I enjoyed reading it and kept wanting to pick it up, and I was glad when a slightly exciting story line developed. The hoo-ha with the car accident finally brought out some interest in the characters for me.So, yes, they float about in their own little rich worlds. People have been critical of the novel for this reason alone, but that's life isnt it? Some people do have that luxury, and it doesnt make their feelings or experiences any less valid. It just limits who can relate to them. I liked reading about their petty worries and relationship dramas, it took me away from my life and into someone's completely different.And written in a very appealing way.The first time I read this book was half my life ago, so this was like the first time for me. And I think there'll be more readings in it yet.

I have been reading all of the Matthew Hervey books as they have been published, and this is one of the best yet. These are a slightly easier read than Patrick O'Brian, but no less evocative for it.

The Great Gatsby is a rather beautiful book. It's shrouded in melancholy, but written with beautiful language. I really didn't know whether I'd like this book, as I knew the characters were rather shallow individuals. Nevertheless, I can see why it has lasted the test of time. It will hold a place on my bookshelf.

The illusion of wealth is the central theme in "The Great Gatsby". We see the world through young men, who are coming of age in America when fortunes are being made and lifestyles are created around that wealth. Sadly, we see lives constructed of lies and dreams, which cannot be realized. Or once a life is constructed within the fragile framework of imagery, cannot withstand the truth which is desperate to reveal itself.

Beautifully written and incredibly thought provoking. Fitzgerald's prose is truly unparalleled.

It is definitely not the "Greatest Novel of All Time", however it is entertaining and written amazingly. 4 stars for story, 5 for writing = 4.5 stars