The Great Gatsby

Hellow, So after some years hearing about this novel, I decided that was about time to give this classic a chance, being the movie out now , all the stores had copies all over the place, and I got this WordsWorth edition for a couple of euros. I must say this was not such a great experience for me, don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, it was just not awesome, like I was expecting it to be. I think the main point that made me felt so disconnected with this book was the world building, after all this is an American novel, and you can feel it at every page, Fitzgerald includes lots of places names on the book, and doesn't bother to describe them, so most of the time I was imagining the characters on a almost blank setting, I just couldn't picture it, since I don't know them. This is a book about moral and relationships and most important of all the initial "American Dream" richness, wealth, being famous, being known, being Somebody. This is when it gets personal, after all since I don't share this dreams with the characters and find them mostly boring and shallow , I just didn't get fascinated by them. At the beginning I though it was a matter of age, and by that I mean, that I prefer other time periods of history, but than I understand that it was not a matter of subject but the way it was written, not only I had problem with the world building , but most of the times I felt quite confused, because the point of view or the subject changes from chapter to chapter with no introduction or soft passage, so its quite a demanding read. The author is really good and descriptive when it comes to characters, but once more, I didn't seem to connect with none of them, after all, we are quite different and their "qualities" are what I perceive as defects. Other than that , Nick the main character claims that he's not a night person and still this is all he does or talks about, you can see that the book as a lot of gaps when it comes to his life, this narrator seems to be only alive when he is with the other characters and talks about nothing more that them. I have to say that although I appreciated F. Scott Fitzgerald writing and I can see why a lot of people love him it was not my cup of tea, so this will be one of that times, that my rating as more to do with my personal taste than the quality of the book Regards Yours sincerely, Skeleton Orchidshow more

Although I have only read very few classics myself, I thought that this book lived up to its genre. The Great Gatsby isn't particularly thought provoking, actually, it can even be very confusing at times. This book is similar to The Catcher in the Rye, in the sense that there is no plot per se, it is more about observing the way that people behave, and their motives to do so. The Great Gatsby paints a vivid picture of life in the 1920's and brings the era to life. In terms of character, personally I believed that they weren't likeable, however they were realistic. Perhaps it was due to the mere size of this book, but I felt that there was a severe lack in character development. Overall, I would recommend The Great Gatsby if you enjoy books such as The Catcher in the Rye and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. If you also enjoy the 1920's setting, this book may also be for you. I hope you enjoy it, provided you choose to read it.show more

The first time you read it the first chapter or so it doesn't really pull you in, but after that it gets very good. When you re-read it for a second time, you start to see all this depth and dimension in everything that is said and described. Full of motifs, symbolism and great writing, it's quite an easy read and it's a great portrayal of how materialistic the world was after the first war and before the great depression. It's so so good!show more

The tight prose expected from Fitzgerald and a story mirroring his own life and marriage. Observant readers will realise their broken romance is something Gatsby sees as divine, machinations of society and status and failures of self keeping them apart both then and now. If you like your books to be full of "excitement" get a cheap airport thriller; the pacing is deliberately slow, the prose at times attempting to transcend its medium and become poetry.show more

So much hype, so little excitement. I may have lost something in translation but now just hanging to see the movie to see if it makes up for it.show more

A easy book to read. the ultimate theme of the book is you can't live in the past. What's gone before is gone for good.show more