Rating:  -
Whenever I think of HS, I think of my favorite book, The Great Gatsby. Even though I was only 16, there was something about this book that left a lasting impression.
Rating: -
Even nearly 100 years after it was first written the book still takes the reader on the ride of their life. Granted some details of it is dated, but it is easily overlooked. The song is what stuck with me: Aint we got fun? Only one thing I would wish is that the book was longer. Oh well... nothing lasts forever, which I suppose is the premise of the book.
Rating: -
I absolutely love this book. It's one of my all time favorites, the paradigmatic story of romantic obsession (which, like all true romances, ends in betrayal or death--in this case, both). What raises this romance far above the genre is its profound insights into both human nature and America as an ideal and a culture, and the quality of Fitzgerald's writing: from his masterly employment of literary tropes and his gorgeous prose to his unforgettable characters and evocative descriptions of places and events, Fitgerald's "The Great Gatsby" sets unsurpassed standards for great fiction. It has a permanent place on my bookshelves and in my heart.
Rating:  -
I read Great Gatsby back in Junior High and my only real memories were that it was boring and the characters were unloveable/unredeemable.
Finally getting around to re-reading it with more literature behind me, I have a much different take. While still not a favorite read of mine, I found it more entertaining than I remember and I actually came away engaged in the story and the characters.
Reading it this time, I was more distinctly aware of the prohibition era in which these characters were revolving and the extent to which that directed some of their actions. The drinking/partying took on a new aspect. It also gave me a greater perception into Gatsby's character and his relation to society as a whole and the society he was trying to 'break into' (Daisy's).
There was still plenty of superficiality to the characters...but that doesn't mean these characters are flat. On the contrary, I saw a lot more depth this time around than in my early teens. I was very impressed by the way Fitzgerald added so much depth to these characters while at the same time providing them with so little substance.
I enjoyed looking more closely at the interactions between Gatsby and Daisy and the way the various relationships worked. Now that I've actually dated and married, I viewed the relationships in a different light and could better understand the tension, jealousy and hypocritical behavior going on.
I would like to have seen more development of the pseudo-relationship between Nick and Jordan, but I think leaving it vague throughout and then ending it abruptly allows for more in-depth thinking than if Nick and Jordan had happily escaped the tragedy surrounding them.
I seem to remember there being significant discussion about the East/West geography in my Junior High English class...but reading it this time, I just didn't see that as a main motif. Sure, we had "West Egg" and "East Egg" and various New York parties and excursions. But when you get down to it, the East/West thing didn't work...partly because all of the main characters are just transplanted anyway (they all came from the west/midwest) and partly because the culture around them felt contrived anyway rather than some high culture that would be representative of the "true culture" of established Eastern money or whatever.
I had forgotten some of the details of the climax and the ending and so was a little taken off guard when everything unraveled. Parts of the climax scenes felt a little rushed or underdeveloped, but still provided a satisfying turn of events to the story arc, even if the end of the book left me a little unsettled (which is part of the intent, I believe).
My initial rating from my Junior High memories was 2 out of 5 stars. With a more mature perspective on reading and having read a whole lot more and learned a whole lot more, I can give a better rating and say that I can see now why this book is held up as a classic. It's not the action packed thriller or adventure novel that I may have wanted as a young teenager, but it is a thought provoking and engaging narrative exploring class and relationships in a turbulent world.
****
4 stars
Rating: -
Fitzgerald lived in such a different world than we did, but his characters and their dreams as well as their flaws are still applicable today. As many of Fitzgerald's other books, The Great Gatsby tells of beautiful rich people who have the world but still aren't happy - and the ways that they ruin their own charmed lives.
|