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F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby

A2R. said:
Books are like that mystery flavour gum we get to try once in a while: everyone takes it in differently.

Because of our life experiences, no book review can be the same except for its literary observation (vocabulary, use of allusions, etc).

What i took from the novel, personally, was the notion that one must learn to forget their past, do not dwell on it; don't let it haunt you.

Gatsby devoted his entire life to earning a woman's attention, a lady who "got away".

I learned that sometimes it's best to forget or let the past go, to learn from it and move on. Or else you may end up in such regret and turmoil, trying to fix something that happened years ago.
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Exactly my sentiments!

I had recently finished The Great Gatsby and I found it good and not so good in parts. I was impressed with the well written style, I liked the witty one liners, enjoyed the hidden sarcasm, and good humor. I am also impressed with the way Jay Gatz character was presented, making him a mysterious rich man, who is in reality a vulnerable lover, in love with a long lost dream.

However, I found the death episode of Gatsby a bit shoddily written, though, it should have been one of the most shocking incident of the book. But, somehow I could not relate to it as well as I could with Gatsby's other tragedies.
 
I really enjoyed The Great Gatsby and like Ashlea I have the impression that what's actually happening and Nick's interpretation of it are different things.
 
I just finished this book yesterday, I feel like it has a lot of valuable lessons to offer readers on the topic of money and how it corrupts minds. Took me a while to finally lay hands on it though
 
I found Fitzgerald's writing style to be eloquent, visually evocative, and sophisticated. Which is one of the primary aims of the book isn't it - to portray ultimate sophistication during its' time? His visual imagery is incredible - I will always have in my minds eye the sign on the shabby road for the optometrist with the eyes and the glasses. That is one of the excellent things about this book IMHO - there are so many memorable scenes and bits of dialogue that one remembers long after reading the book. I will make a point of rereading it again - this will be my fourth reading, I think. Fitzgerald's whole life was dedicated to the glamor of the time in which he lived. It ultimately destroyed him and his wife, Zelda. It is a shame - The time was one of excess - he expressed it beautifully.
 
gonewiththewind said:
I found Fitzgerald's writing style to be eloquent, visually evocative, and sophisticated. Which is one of the primary aims of the book isn't it - to portray ultimate sophistication during its' time? His visual imagery is incredible - I will always have in my minds eye the sign on the shabby road for the optometrist with the eyes and the glasses. That is one of the excellent things about this book IMHO - there are so many memorable scenes and bits of dialogue that one remembers long after reading the book. I will make a point of rereading it again - this will be my fourth reading, I think. Fitzgerald's whole life was dedicated to the glamor of the time in which he lived. It ultimately destroyed him and his wife, Zelda. It is a shame - The time was one of excess - he expressed it beautifully.
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I don't know if some one else has mentioned it, but apparently the cover for the book was finished before he finished writing the book. Fitzgerald liked the image for the cover so much that he went back and wrote it into the book - hence the image on the optometrist's sign.
 
Meadow337 said:
I don't know if some one else has mentioned it, but apparently the cover for the book was finished before he finished writing the book. Fitzgerald liked the image for the cover so much that he went back and wrote it into the book - hence the image on the optometrist's sign.
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No kidding! I didn't know that. Quite an interesting bit of info about a memorable scene (for me at least) from Gatsby... Thanks for letting me know that!
 
And/or even go see the movie, whose trailers are looking lush and DiCaprio heading for another great performance.
 
I never liked The Great Gatsby in high school. I suppose it was because it was too sophisticated and I was a simpleton at the time. I reread it after college and still didn't get it because I was trying to bag a wife and literature wasn't high up on my priority list. I picked it up again a month ago while waiting for my flight at the airport and I "got" the first 10 pages. I didn't finish it, but I think I'll get back to it in no time soon. Perhaps this week.
 
pontalba said:
But, have you? :)
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It was a required read in college and for some reason, I could wrap my head around the likes of William James, but just couldn't "get" it. After I graduated, I must have started and stopped at least five or six times. I was very busy at the time and my heart was only half into it. I finally conquered and ended up loving the book about six years later when I would read it on work breaks. I remember reading it to this day there as it provided a great re-charge to me. I haven't picked it up since then, but I am really wanting to see the movie.:D
 
SFG75 said:
It was a required read in college and for some reason, I could wrap my head around the likes of William James, but just couldn't "get" it. After I graduated, I must have started and stopped at least five or six times. I was very busy at the time and my heart was only half into it. I finally conquered and ended up loving the book about six years later when I would read it on work breaks. I remember reading it to this day there as it provided a great re-charge to me. I haven't picked it up since then, but I am really wanting to see the movie.:D
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Yeah, we are too.

I just read it for the first time. :)
 
I read it a long time ago and would really need to reread it again to comment properly, but my overriding impression was of the emptiness of wealth and would compare it with a book like 'Bonfire of the Vanities'.
 
Agreed meadow, but to me, even moreso, was the thread of betrayal left and right. Haven't read Bonfire of the Vanities...yet.
 
Meadow337 said:
I read it a long time ago and would really need to reread it again to comment properly, but my overriding impression was of the emptiness of wealth and would compare it with a book like 'Bonfire of the Vanities'.
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Vanities is a good book, it gets you rollin as soon as the couple takes the wrong turn. Tom Wolfe didn't make as deep of a social comment in regards to wealth and inequality, he just skewers his targets endlessly, perhaps that is his biggest point. I've been meaning to read I am Charlotte Simmons which takes a harsh look at the number of characters associated with contemporary university life. Perhaps when I'm done with the next two books that I'm reading. . .
 
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