Paperback, 121 pages
English language
Published Aug. 9, 1953 by Charles Scribner's Sons.
In the nearly fifty years since its publication, THE GREAT GATSBY has rightly taken its place as one of Fitzgerald's masterpieces, and indeed as one of the masterpieces of American fiction. --back cover
It’s a very notorious classic from the early ‘900. But nobody told me it was kinda romantic.
Personally I liked the point of view written as the main character stream of thoughts would go in a diary or some memorabilia like that.
But if you don’t know the topic of “the end” or don’t like the bits of romance (it’s not a romance novel, but there is a central love story) in general, the probably it’s not for you.
I freely admit that what finally got me to read this after so long was an article in The New York Times where it is described as a 'quick read' at barely 200 pages and possible to get through in an afternoon. I did not use an entire afternoon, but had a few evenings and therefore found myself reading about Jay Gatsby for the first time at the centenary of his emergence.
My first thought was that the book is quite funnier than I'd imagined. Fitzgerald loves to throw in lines for Nick Carraway that capture the silliness that surrounds him. This made the book a far more amusing read than I had anticipated and helped keep my interest throughout.
As a story, The Great Gatsby is terribly straightforward. There's little in the way of ingenuity per se, and it is the characters, their setting, the culture that surrounds them, …
I freely admit that what finally got me to read this after so long was an article in The New York Times where it is described as a 'quick read' at barely 200 pages and possible to get through in an afternoon. I did not use an entire afternoon, but had a few evenings and therefore found myself reading about Jay Gatsby for the first time at the centenary of his emergence.
My first thought was that the book is quite funnier than I'd imagined. Fitzgerald loves to throw in lines for Nick Carraway that capture the silliness that surrounds him. This made the book a far more amusing read than I had anticipated and helped keep my interest throughout.
As a story, The Great Gatsby is terribly straightforward. There's little in the way of ingenuity per se, and it is the characters, their setting, the culture that surrounds them, and the choices they make that serve as the real interest of the novel. Hindsight also aids in this regard as Nick becomes a 'bond man' like so others in New York City and from this vantage point, that seems like a fatalistic choice given what happened at the end of the decade. Not before Nick gives it up, but it gives the novel an extra sheen of cluelessness that has only become brighter as the years go by.
None of the characters particularly appealed to me. Yes, Gatsby is the most interesting but then his intrigue is half the point of the whole book. Everyone else is quite two-dimensional either interested in money, or the trappings of it. There's so little given to their motivations and thoughts its kind of frustrating. (That said, there is a scene towards the end where Fitzgerald brilliantly, and through only describing the physical scene, shares what Daisy and Tom are thinking.)
I can see why it's a favourite of schools. It's short, has a simple enough story, and embodies enough themes that can be related to by young readers otherwise ignorant of the world. Is that the sum of its worthiness in the literary world? I don't think so, but I don't think the Great Gatsby is near the paragon of 20th century literature, or even Jazz Age literature for that matter.
Overall, three stars for being amusing enough to read straight through, but really, this is just a book to check off your list.
Rich jerks drive around and act like the jerks they are. The whole story feels pointless and uninspired and there is lots of rambling about things that are not important.
I first listened to this audiobook of The Great Gatsby in April 2010, so nine years ago, and see from my Goodreads that I rated it 4 stars. Frank Muller does a wonderful job of the narration for my edition. His laconic style perfectly suits the story. This recording is no longer available through Audible though so the Amazon links in my blog post go to a Jake Gyllenhaal narrated edition instead.
Listening to the story again now I'm wavering between a four and five star rating. I absolutely love Fitzgerald's prose style which is clear and elegant, yet beautifully richly detailed. His portrayal of these essentially unlikeable selfish people is redolent with jazz age atmosphere and I am in awe of his ability to actually get me to care deeply about what happens to them and the catastrophe they create for themselves. What I didn't like however is Fitzgerald's …
I first listened to this audiobook of The Great Gatsby in April 2010, so nine years ago, and see from my Goodreads that I rated it 4 stars. Frank Muller does a wonderful job of the narration for my edition. His laconic style perfectly suits the story. This recording is no longer available through Audible though so the Amazon links in my blog post go to a Jake Gyllenhaal narrated edition instead.
Listening to the story again now I'm wavering between a four and five star rating. I absolutely love Fitzgerald's prose style which is clear and elegant, yet beautifully richly detailed. His portrayal of these essentially unlikeable selfish people is redolent with jazz age atmosphere and I am in awe of his ability to actually get me to care deeply about what happens to them and the catastrophe they create for themselves. What I didn't like however is Fitzgerald's casual racism and antisemitism. I am not sure whether readers were supposed to empathise with Tom Buchanan's racist comments, and I was quickly upset by Fitzgerald's need to repeatedly draw attention to Jewish character Meyer Wolfsheim's nose. That said, I did enjoy the storyline and wasn't prepared for all its twists and turns. I did even feel a little sorry for Gatsby by the end. And what did become of the puppy?
I was (like many) forced to read The Great Gatsby in high school, though I wish I hadn't as I was incapable of truly appreciating it at the time.
As others have mentioned, Fitzgerald's prose is unbelievable. In just a few words he can paint vivid imagery in your mind with layers of depth and analysis to accompany the emotions. The story and characters are beautifully written with a natural complexity that avoids the cliche 'good guys' & 'bad guys' we typically experience.
Just from my perspective alone, I found many themes and interpretations to the story which resonated with me, just to name a few:
I was (like many) forced to read The Great Gatsby in high school, though I wish I hadn't as I was incapable of truly appreciating it at the time.
As others have mentioned, Fitzgerald's prose is unbelievable. In just a few words he can paint vivid imagery in your mind with layers of depth and analysis to accompany the emotions. The story and characters are beautifully written with a natural complexity that avoids the cliche 'good guys' & 'bad guys' we typically experience.
Just from my perspective alone, I found many themes and interpretations to the story which resonated with me, just to name a few:
And those are just the themes that resonated with me! There are a billion different things to take from this book, and I feel it's probably worth re-reading every few years as I'm sure there's more to get from it as we develop in life and stumble on different issues that resonate with us.
Watching the 2013 movie after finishing the book, I'm a fan.
Not a good as I had hoped it would be. A bit of a downer.
It's hard to imagine a more forceful articulation of the America that had just been reborn into its modern self than this. A vibrant thrumming of self-deceit, alienation, culture emerging from life thriving on the decayed effluvia of culture.
In one startling, solitary moment of formal experimentalism an ellipsis preserves the modesty of an undoubtedly sexual encounter between Nick Carraway and one Mr. McKee whom he met at a party. An act of self-censorship perhaps, but one that's left so clearly signposted it might as well have a black bar across the page hiding only the most unprintable words. I didn't remember this at all from the two prior times I read this, although then again I thought I was heterosexual at the time which just guess to show how little attention I was paying.
Beautiful writing, pointless plot up until 3/4 of the book. Ending is fine.
The Great Gatsby is in the public domain this year! And as a celebration, NPR's Planet Money team did a full, unabridged reading of the book and put it out for all to listen to! This was a fun book to return to. I read it in high school, but as is often the case with teenagers, I did not have the attention or experience to appreciate it's skillful writing. One of the things I like about this novel is how short it is. I love books I can read in an afternoon. It makes it possible to digest the whole thing in a day, and then just mull over the narrative for awhile. I recommend listening to this BBC In Our Times Episode on The Great Gatsby before listening to the book. I found that it primed me really nicely to take better note of the magnificent imagery …
The Great Gatsby is in the public domain this year! And as a celebration, NPR's Planet Money team did a full, unabridged reading of the book and put it out for all to listen to! This was a fun book to return to. I read it in high school, but as is often the case with teenagers, I did not have the attention or experience to appreciate it's skillful writing. One of the things I like about this novel is how short it is. I love books I can read in an afternoon. It makes it possible to digest the whole thing in a day, and then just mull over the narrative for awhile. I recommend listening to this BBC In Our Times Episode on The Great Gatsby before listening to the book. I found that it primed me really nicely to take better note of the magnificent imagery that makes this novel a great one.
The Great Gatsby has been on of my favorite novels ever since I was forced to read it as part of a highs school English class. I have reread it on several occasions, and I always find something new on each reading.
This year, when the urge struck, I decided to enjoy it in a different way. I own a physical copy of the book, and I also have the kindle version, but this year it entered the public domain. So I kept searching librivox until a complete edition was posted. The first one to be posted was the one read by Kara Shallenberg which can be found here: librivox.org/the-great-gatsby-by-f-scott-fitzgerald/
Her recording was excellent. Her reading and intonation added color to the novel and helped me see it in a slightly different light, which is of course the objective of rereading it. I urge everyone to take advantage …
The Great Gatsby has been on of my favorite novels ever since I was forced to read it as part of a highs school English class. I have reread it on several occasions, and I always find something new on each reading.
This year, when the urge struck, I decided to enjoy it in a different way. I own a physical copy of the book, and I also have the kindle version, but this year it entered the public domain. So I kept searching librivox until a complete edition was posted. The first one to be posted was the one read by Kara Shallenberg which can be found here: librivox.org/the-great-gatsby-by-f-scott-fitzgerald/
Her recording was excellent. Her reading and intonation added color to the novel and helped me see it in a slightly different light, which is of course the objective of rereading it. I urge everyone to take advantage of this new opportunity and enjoy the public domain reading of this masterpiece of American literature.
So I read it again. This must the third or the fourth time I am reading F.S. Fitzgerald masterpiece. It is, I believe, the most perfectly crafted work of fiction to have come out of the United States of America.
I have long been a fan of [a:F. Scott Fitzgerald|3190|F. Scott Fitzgerald|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1427040571p2/3190.jpg], but I have never believed that Gatsby was his best story. It is possible that I have been wrong all these years.
Or maybe it's simply that the story read by a man in his late 30s means something much different than the same story read twenty years earlier. There are more boats on the current, more past to reach ceaselessly back into.
Given how much has already been written about this book, it's probably best to leave my review at that.
Not sure why everybody loves this book and why it's considered a classic, I found it to be dull and not a particularly view of the 1920's. I didn't like any of the characters, they fell very flat and not well developed. Maybe if the book was longer a bit more time could have been spent making the book so that I would like it.
Highlight of the book for me (and why it gets a 2star rating) was when the obviously drunk driver, hits a wall and rips the wheel off the car, people gather round to see what is up when the driver finally gets out of the car and comments that he didn't notice that they had stopped. Had me laughing.
A mesmerizing read, The Great Gatsby has endeared me further to Fitzgerald's work. I found this book to be a wonderful mix of solemn commentary and bright facade. The rush of love that continues beyond its means and the lonely liveliness of wealth and sunny-day friends. My expectations after having read and heard of this book have not been let down. It truly was a great book, which I'd be delighted to read again.
