The Great Gatsby completely lived up to the hype. I expected a “serious classic” that I’d politely struggle through, but instead I got drama, mystery, heartbreak, wealth, chaos, and enough awkward party energy to fuel reality TV for generations.

The writing is beautiful without feeling impossible to read, and the story pulls you in surprisingly fast. Gatsby himself is such an interesting character charming, mysterious, hopeful, and just a little emotionally catastrophic. Every chapter feels layered with symbolism, tension, and people making questionable life choices in expensive clothing.

This authorized edition is well made and easy to read, with clean print and a nice overall presentation. It’s the kind of book that looks classy sitting on a shelf but also genuinely delivers when you open it.

What surprised me most was how modern parts of the story still feel. Wealth obsession, social image, chasing impossible dreams, complicated relationships… turns out humans have always been a mess, just with fancier cars in the 1920s.

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a timeless classic that explores the wonders of the 1920’s and the selfish, intriguing people living in that era. Taking place in New York City and the suburbs that surround it, Fitzgerald tells a tale involving love triangles, scandals, new friends and raging parties. With a set of characters that are always entangled in a mess along with the lively nights of a New York 1920’s summer, The Great Gatsby is sure to keep you interested and appreciative of the era.

Bond salesman Nick Caraway brings us along on his experiences with the mysterious Gatsby in his new town. He has just moved to New York and currently resides in West Egg, living next to a giant mansion that houses massive parties on the weekends. Nick soon finds himself in the interest of the man who owns this mansion, and quickly becomes caught up in a new mess involving family and friends. One of my favorite quotes lies within the first paragraph of the novel. Nick says “In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.’Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.’ ” This quote captures his morals and his outlook on life, which is important to know as you follow him through the story.

I highly recommend reading The Great Gatsby, whether it’s during free time or for a book club. Fitzgerald keeps you interested, while not providing an overwhelming amount of events that you cannot keep up with. However, this may be a downfall if you’re the type of person who needs constant action to keep interested in a book. Still, it is not a long book at 180 pages, and with a surprising series of events at the end of the novel it is well worth the time spent reading. In addition, the movie created in 2013 of The Great Gatsby is a refreshingly accurate motion picture of Fitzgerald’s book which I would also recommend watching after reading the book.

I used the title of big surprise for this review because this is the first time I’ve read the Great Gatsby all the way through! It has been on my bucket list for a long time, mainly as a challenge, because I could never seem to get past the first page! Also mainly because I didn’t think I was interested in the story!

Well, I’m glad I I did get past the first page only because I discovered the beauty of Fitzgerald’s writing!! the story was a lot more intriguing than I expected and I thoroughly enjoyed my reading! It’s about looking into the past , failed love and fantasy. !

I would recommend it to anybody who pass this one up, give it a chance!

I fell in love with F. Scott Fitzgerald's brilliant novel, The Great Gatsby, when I was in high school. I was captivated by the lush, lyrical prose that was such a distinctive characteristic of the novel. I think that Fitzgerald has given us a searing, powerful take on the rich dilettantes of the 1920's. He slowly and skillfully reveals the shallowness and callousness of these people, as they manipulate and deceive everyone. It seems that Fitzgerald's heroines were always reincarnations of his real wife, Zelda. It is clear that Gatsby has hopelessly romanticized the superficial and hollow Daisy Buchanan. He has elevated her to a pedestal that she does not in any way deserve. Yet he is determined to pursue her and his dreams, at all costs.

Fitzgerald is unmatched when it comes to character studies. He has used his own real life experience among the elite, to peel away the beautiful artifice and show us the truly ugly, heartless soul inside these people. Daisy and Tom are unhappy and unfulfilled people. Tom uses Myrtle to escape from the boredom and inanity of Daisy. He could care less if it all turns out badly. Consequences, morality and decency are not qualities that one finds in the likes of Tom and Daisy. They take what they want and try to steal moments of happiness at the expense of the humanity of those who are manipulated and played like chess pieces. Life is a game to them, a game to be played out in grand style and if someone gets crushed in the process, so be it.

Fitzgerald finds his own voice in his narrator, the conscientious and astute Nick Carraway. He is the observer, watching the carnage and emotional wreckage unfold before his eyes. Through him, we see the horror of what Tom and Daisy do to those who have the misfortune to those who cross their path. Initially, Nick is enchanted to be in their company, but by the end as he surveys the tragedy and destruction that has been wrought, he is repelled and wants only to put as much distance as he can between himself and these monsters. Fitzgerald's own ideas and thoughts are expressed through Nick. It's a masterful way of illuminating the reader. Nick is the moral compass in this novel. He sees the truth, the ugly reality of what makes up the rich and famous, their lack of character, their emptiness, their need to lose themselves. In the end we feel the way he does. The beauty and lavishness of the lives of these people are just a brittle exterior, covering up the hideousness that lies underneath.

As I read this novel again, years later and much older, it has taken on a whole other dimension. I have enough life experience now to truly appreciate the dark and sinister reality that can lie behind beauty and wealth. It is now a richer experience, because Fitzgerald's novel is timeless. He provided a stinging, harsh critique of the kind of people he knew all too well, of an era, a time in which people satisfied their greediness at the expense of others. The book can never become outdated, because what it says about people who have too much money and time on their hands with too little humanity, applies to generations through the years.

This is a seminal work, a beautifully crafted tale about a time that was captured forever in these richly drawn characters. Fitzgerald had the most distinctive style of writing I have ever experienced. No one else has ever even come close to his genius. He can dissect and carve out the essence of his characters using the most lovely prose. His descriptive phrases still leave me breathless. I am only sorry that he died prematurely in 1940 at the too young age of 44, thereby depriving us of the privilege of reading more of his magnificent writing. We must make do with what he was able to give us in the brief time he was on this earth.

This book is on every list of favorite books, and every list of the 100 books you must read before you die. Every high school student or first-year college student has read it. So, when I say I didn’t think much of it, I’m treading on tenuous frozen water.

First I’ll say what I did like about the book. The prose is excellent. Lots of wonderful descriptions. But that’s it. For example:

He must have looked up at an unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves and shivered as he found what a grotesque thing a rose is and how raw the sunlight was upon the scarcely created grass.

But I didn’t like any of the characters. Gatsby had no sympathetic characteristics. In fact, so far as I could determine, he made his money as a crook. I don’t mind that, I wish it were brought out more. Nick is uninteresting, and Daisy is just a silly girl. there was no discernable story, and the dialogue was sprinkled with adverbs like fairy dust. For example:

Looked at me challengingly

He sat down gloomily

Nothing material happened until 80% of the way through the book. That’s when Myrtle Wilson was killed by being hit by Gatsby’s car, which was being driven by Daisy. Even at that point you have to read it twice to realize what happened. After that, Gatsby’s reaction was basically, oh, well, we hit her and killed her.

Even when Gatsby was shot there was little description of it. That section likewise had to be read more than once to realize what had happened. It was a great chance for some tension. But it was hidden, and the climactic scene of the whole story was nearly invisible.

Now, I understand that it’s a work of literary fiction, and that there are not going to be “action” scenes. But all that really happens is that Nick gets to know his neighbor, Gatsby, who has a big party every night. They run around carousing and having fun, and arguing amongst themselves. Yeah, there’s adultery, and an old love between Gatsby and another man’s wife that brings on a little tension, but it’s simply not enough. It’s largely kept as an undercurrent.

In other words, it’s boring.

I’m also aware of the symbolism. But who cares, other than Lit 101 students? Tell the story first, then worry about symbolism and social commentary.

This book reminds me of The Emperor’s New Clothes. Someone has to tell him he’s naked.

This book would never be published today.

AMAZIN I wrote a Book Report on this so here it is. PS its spoiler free

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby is a wonderful tale. I choose it for many reasons. My brother recommended the book, expounding it was the best he’d ever read, and it’s considered one of the supreme achievements of 20th century literature. The story falls under the category of realistic fiction, and romance. I will now explain the setting of this tale.

The story takes place during the 1920s in East and West egg, New York. These are two peninsulas in New York City resembling eggs. Although the main story takes place over a summer, many flashbacks predate 10 years. The characters all play vital roles. Nick, the narrator, oversees the entire ordeal. Gatsby is absurdly wealthy, and is attempting to reunite in love once again with Daisy. Daisy and Tom are married rather unhappily with each other. The story is a beautifully crafted tale, and I will now explain it.

The fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby had a deep love of Daisy Buchanan, residing from a long ago dead relationship. Daisy had gotten married to a man named Tom during their separation. Gatsby attempted to impress her with this lavish and overgrown parties on Long Island. Tom, however, spotted his doings. As Daisy and Gatsby regrew closer and closer, Tom began to attempt to interfere. On a fateful day, Gatsby's fate was sealed. A heated and primitive encounter over Daisy between Tom and Gatsby leaves Daisy emotionally exhausted. Gatsby rides home with her, and makes an irreversible mistake: he let Daisy drive. Unaware of what she was doing, she struck a woman with her car, fatally injuring her. Gatsby proves his devotion to Daisy by taking the blame. I’ll leave it at this as to not ruin the story. The theme is determination. Gatsby is determined to reunite with Daisy, despite knowing she’s with Tom. Although not all goes to plan, he does get to spend some time with her at his parties.

The Great Gatsby is a wonderful tale. It tells of “Lyrical beauty yet brutal realism, of magic, romance, and mysticism.” The story is grim as though real, as the brutality that Tom shows, and how Gatsby acquired his wealth in such a taboo way. It is a tale that will leave one thinking, not who is right or wrong, but a more broad question, of how complicated human emotion is. The book lures one into thinking they’ll leave with a simple romance novel, in tears or with hopes, but this book leaves questions, questions with no answer, only weak opinions. I would recommend it to not all, but those who seek a new, higher level, thought provoking tale. The book was written as though it wouldn’t be complete if a single sentence was missing. The dilemmas the book displayed still linger at the back of my mind, as though an itch of thought, and to me, a book that well written, thought out, deserves a number one spot on my favorite book list.

I have always been a reader, but I have never been terribly interested in fiction. Over the last three years I have slowly developed a taste for it. Because I am such a novice to literary analysis I am not sure how beneficial my review will be, but I will give you my thoughts on this important work. I never had to read this book in High School but I decided to read it in preparation for teaching a High School history class on the 1920's. F. Scott Fitzgerald's book is an important social commentary on his own time. For that matter there are things in this book that are applicable to the world that we live in. It is is a book that is essentially centered around morality and the woes that come to us when we throw off moral restraint and embrace hedonism.

The 1920's was a fun period in many ways but it was also bloated. This was an age defined by crime, the tearing down of old social mores, and excess. F. Scott Fitzgerald has strong feelings about this issue. The characters are hard to like and yet they are hard to completely hate. The main character, Nick Carraway, is a small town boy that moves into a nice neighborhood in the city. He is relatively naive in his understanding of the world. He is attracted by the glitz and glamour of city life but soon finds that he is confronted with moral dilemmas that place him in an uncomfortable situation. His cousin Daisy is a fun-loving swinger who seeks, fun, thrills, and financial security even though she is not happy. She is silly and frivolous and likely stands to represent the spirit of the era. Her husband is an arrogant, bloated, racist, hypocrite who expects his wife to live by standards that he himself does not keep. His attraction to racist ideology reminded me that it was in the 1920's that the KKK was expanding as well as the eugenics movement in Europe. Jordan Baker, the friend of Daisy and the girlfriend of Carraway, is the quintessential carefree Flapper girl that was fun to be with but not necessarily "the marrying type."

Gatsby is the center of the story. He is the wealthy neighbor of Nick. I thought that Gatsby was the hardest character to analyze. He is at certain points a likable character and yet while he is a better guy than Tom, he seems to have become caught up in the lifestyle he has made for himself. He is empty and hallow and seems to lack a strong moral compass. At times he is commendable and chivalrous. It makes you believe that underneath what was apparent was a person who had the potential to do well. Yet the way he made his money and the seedy, gritty nature of his business showed another side to Gatsby. Nick becomes a friend who feels both admiration and disgust. The most interesting character is not even a character but a pair of eyes on the billboard in downtown New York City. The T.J. Eckleburg sign is in my opinion representative of the eyes of God who sees the entire scenario and silently watches everything.

The book was well-written but one of the negative aspect of the book for me was the fact that there were places where it was easy to get lost, and a few times I did become disoriented as to what was going on. The book is thick with symbolism and I found this to be both unique and cumbersome. I am sure there is so much to this book that I was not able to really explore. I was hoping that I would find a unique passage that I could have my students analyze but the book did not really offer a section that was reflective. For example: Dostoevsky in his book "Brothers Karamazov" has the great writing called the "Grand Inquisitor." This is a piece of literature that can be isolated from the book and examined as it provides great insight into the issue that Dostoevsky is attempting to address. Fitzgerald chose not to do that with this book. However, despite these small issues I am certainly interested in reading more of Fitzgerald's works as it is apparent that he has a lot to say to his generation whether they wanted to hear it or not.

The Great Gatsby gives us the message that not everything that glitters is gold. The 1920's look fun and carefree but not everybody thought they were a healthy time. It is message about the emptiness that comes from opulence and indulgence and warns not only his time but every generation of the danger it brings. Wealth and power often bring corruption and while they appear enticing they offer very little. It is a warning of what happens when people throw off moral constraints to rush headlong into a life of pleasure and party. Overall, the book was well done and gave me a good look at one of the ways that people living in the 20's saw their own time. School textbooks tell a "Disney" version of history where everything is good and everyone is having fun. The Great Gatsby challenges that idea by offering another perspective of the time. I think this benefits students to enable them to see events through various sets of eyeballs. Needless to say, this is well worth the read.

Great book.. a classic

Around 6 pages just fell off the book. the quality is horrible

Great read loved it

Reviewed by Craig from The Farsley Book Club, Leeds.

Well, what a fantastic book club meeting last evening. The Great Gatsby was hailed as the greatest novel ever written and F. Scott Fitzgerald quite rightly earned his place as the finest writer of his or any other generation. It was also the first book in Farsley Book Club history to score a full house 100% approval rating!

What? What do you mean? Tell the​ truth, that was the truth wasn't​ it?

Well, a bit like Jay Gatsby himself I was a little guilty of embracing a fantasy and attempting to manipulate the outcome in my favour. It was my choice after all.

Okay, okay, let me pull the lever and flush out the lies....It wasn't exactly like that. So, let me tell it as it was old sport.

Very much described as a class book and not as many thought a die hard love story full of romance. No, this is about a man who aspires to love but is so cruelly denied.

The Gatsby parties were the stuff of legend but meant little to Gatsby himself who like a proud peacock wanted to demonstrate to Daisy (his former and would be future lover) the lofty position he had attained through less than honest ways. Surely Daisy would love him now?

This is ultimately the problem with the characters in The Great Gatsby. They are superficial, lacking in character, depth and meaning. So long as the money poured in and the champagne never ran dry they could all forget their empty miserable lives.

Oh, but the 1920s Jazz Age, the parties, I mean who wouldn't (despite the above attendees) want to be a part of the celebration? I know I would. "A Gin Ricky bartender, if you would be so kind."

Alas, the party couldn't last forever and the coming crash, depression, and the increased suicides notably by those who attended such parties are in the 1930s waiting.

It was Gatsby, the dreamer, weak and uncertain, fearful and lonely, the representation of new money and garage owner Wilson representing the working man who became the major victims of this work by Fitzgerald (not forgetting the unfortunate Myrtle Wilson). Both had humble beginnings and although Gatsby climbed the ladder of success it seemed to mean nothing without Daisy who he attempted to protect after Myrtle's own death. His most heroic act that led to nothing but separation from her permanently.

The book does suffer a terrible anticlimax with the bloody demise of Gatsby at the hands of George Wilson who in turn then takes his own life believing Gatsby to be responsible for his wife's death. Consequently the party moved on and there were few mourners at Gatsby's funeral, as one attendee at his funeral observed, "the poor son-of-a-bitch!" Nick Carraway, Gatsby's friend became the custodian of his legacy which had to have greater meaning than just his possessions and Nick attempted to inject this meaning after Gatsby's death.

I'm sure the money attached themselves to other parties seemingly getting away with drinking and dancing and forgetting poor Gatsby. They would not always get of scott free, if you'll pardon the pun.

Fitzgerald himself was familiar with this club and as a noted drunk and party animal he himself would have recognised all to well the life Gatsby and his 'friends' would have led and would also recognise the empty shells with which he mingled.

In the end, tragically, it killed him as well having suffered a fatal heart attack at the crazy age of 44. The famous wit Dorothy Parker quick to draw parallels between Fitz and Gatsby was heard to quip at his funeral, "The poor son-of-a- bitch."

It was suggested that Fitzgerald wove into his narrative a homosexual encounter between Nick and Mr. McKee at the end of Chapter 2 and this suggestion is perhaps supported by Nick's description of Tom Buchanan (Daisy's unlikable husband), his admiration for Gatsby himself and his reluctance to press for any relations with the female sex. The evidence is there and It's very difficult to argue against. Read it for yourself If you don't agree.

But, isn't that great? That Fitzgerald was prepared to weave this thread into his masterpiece demonstrates what a forward thinking writer he was. He deliberately embraced a theme that in 1925 would seem crazy and unthinkable and yet there it is. Fitz of course knew this world as he had friends of this persuasion and perhaps this nod was him acknowledging his support in a public way in a world that wasn't​ ready to accept it. I think this is a further demonstration of his greatness.

Despite a few of the collective not taking easily to Fitz's style of writing and the emptiness/shallowness of the characters the book was well received. Many prepared to read it again.

So, we can add The Great Gatsby by The Great F. Scott Fitzgerald to the Farsley Book Club Portfolio with an amazing approval rating of 72.9%.

Rest in Peace Jay Gatsby and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

言わずと知れた1920年代を描いた米文学の古典。

アメリカの教育現場ではHarper Leeの"To Kill a Mockingbird" やSalingerの "The Catcher in the Rye"を読んだ後くらいの“必読書”の位置にあり、大方のアメリカ人は読んでいる。

従って書評の対象として適切か？という疑問はあるが、このたび30余年ぶりに読み返して、前回もうひとつピンとこなかったのと比較し、今回は“これはおもしろい。一字一句を追うのもスリリング”という感じで読めたので、日本人が原書で読むという観点から印象を述べたい。

１．英語のレベル

英米の小説を色々読む比較感では、“容易な入門レベル”とは言えない。

特に最初の2ページは“？？？　うん？　一体何を言っているのか？”という感じとなるが、その後はぐっとわかりやすくなるので最初は我慢が大切。

２．読むに必要なbackground information

例えば“アメリカでは1920年に禁酒法が成立し、女性の参政権が認められた”という時代背景、New YorkのLong Island, Penn Central Station, Plaza Hotel, Yale Club、ChicagoのUnion Station, Lake Forestといったネームに対する土地勘等々あれば越したことはないが、アメリカ人でも限度はあろう。

今はインターネットの時代。“ここはどうしても分かりたい”と思ったら、調べられる。

３．文章

極めて抒情的、詩的で気の利いたpassageが随処に出てきて思わず酔いしれる。

"And so with the sushine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer"

４．構成

9章構成だが、其々で明確な場面設定。

謎の多い主人公Gatsbyの人物像、生い立ち等が少しずつ浮かび上がってくるうまい仕立て。

所々に劇的な場面(GatsbyがTomに“Daisyはお前のことを愛したことはない”と言い、言い争いになる、そしてその後の自動車事故。。。）が展開。

５．テーマ

・時代(1920年代、1929年の大恐慌の前。Vanityそのもの。バブル)

・アメリカの社会階層、地域性(NY、中西部、南部）

・男女関係(TomとDaisy、GatsbyとDaisy、語り手NickとJordan Baker。。）

・何故Gatsbyがgreatなのか？。。。

といくらでもネタはある。

素性もよく知れず、目的のためには粉骨砕身し、愛する者への想い一途、そして無理して恰好をつけるGatsbyというのはむしろ“アメリカ”そのものではないか？

第一次世界大戦を経て、英国に代わり世界のトップに出てきた“成り上がり”アメリカを体現しているという感じがする。

６．最後に

2012年12月頃にディカプリオ主演で何度目かの映画化がされる予定との由。

アメリカ文学の豊穣の海への一歩として一読を勧めたい。

The Great Gatsby