I just don't get the hype on this one. Then again, I guess there's a reason why this book was unpopular and forgotten about for the first 20-30 years after it was first published. Personally, it makes no difference to me that this is supposed to be an "important" literary novel, as I like to make those conclusions for myself rather than going with the masses just because it's the masses. I found this book to be quite boring and rather depressing. Thankfully it was a short one day read. I am willing to read another Fitzgerald in hopes that I'll have a different opinion. By the way, I found the explanation for the artwork on the cover of the book (which I found on the internet) to be much more interesting than the book.

Thank god this book is ended. I never felt that much relief after finishing a book. This is a nightmare for me. I mean, what exactly is written in this novel. The Great Gatsby is considered one of the greatest American novels of the 20th century.

Although, to be honest, I don't care about its hype anymore; I pick F. Scott Fitzgerald's work because I thought it would blow my mind. It did, but not in a prominent way.

I am not one of those readers who DNF the book, but I thought at least three times to do that. The book is so monotonous that it suffocates me. The characters are ridiculous, and the narration is all over the place, with loose ends. People have different opinions on this book; for some people, it portrays unconditional love; it was plain dumb for me.

Jay Gatsby and Daisy love each other, but she married Tom because Jay was away for some time and broke. After five years, Gatsby returns with enormous property and wants Daisy in his life. Tom has an extramarital affair; Daisy knows but doesn't care. With the help of Daisy's cousin Nick, Gatsby rekindles his love.

Now there are unnecessary details, out-of-the-line characters who are self-centered and egoistic. Everyone is dying, and no one cares.

This book is only 200 pages long, but it gave me a severe headache. I will never recommend this book to anyone in my life. This book is horrible, annoying, and forces you to smash your head on the wall.

Read more here - https://www.bookschharming.com/

It's a very gloomy view of a very glittery world.



The Great Gatsby is an early 20th century classic novel, an extraordinary exploration of a shallow society and the superficial scramble for material wealth and social status, and a man who tries to play the game while trying to recapture a lost love and loses himself in the process.

James Gatz changes his name to Jay Gatsby, reinvents himself, gradually lifts himself to vast wealth (through unsavory means) and a higher social sphere. But he still bumps up against the disdain of those in the upper class. Earlier in his life he had fallen in love with Daisy, a lovely and shallow high society girl, but she marries someone else while he’s overseas during and after WWI. Everything he does from that point on is aimed at catching her attention and recapturing her love (her husband being a minor obstacle in this plan). Jay takes questionable actions while pursuing this unworthy object of his affections, while one of his few actual friends, the narrator, watches in concern.

They were careless people, Tom and Daisy―they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.…

I think that I admired The Great Gatsby more than I actually enjoyed it, but I’m glad I gave it a second shot after all these years.

*3.5 stars *

A long overdue reread, which I enjoyed all over again!

F. Scott Fitzgerald draws an enigmatic millionaire and his sincere passion for a beautiful, but insincere woman in an unprecedented flourishing era. Today happiness largely defined by the acquisition of material things, has been epitomized by this timeless novel.

The Great Gatsby displays Fitzgerald's personal attempt at articulating his colliding feelings towards the Roaring Twenties. In many ways, Fitzgerald like Nick Carraway found the Jazz Age sensuous and restlessly exciting, and like Gatsby, Fitzgerald idolizing the rich, observed how love untimely faced defeat. The novel is brilliant in exhibiting our moral decline.

My senses were entranced by Fitzgerald's riveting prose.

ترتبط هذه الرواية في ذهني بذكريات جميلة ودافئة
فلقد درستها في عامي الأول في الكلية
وكنت أقرؤها بلذة خالصة لن يعرفها من يقوم بقرائتها مترجمة

لا أجد رواية تقوم بتجسيد الحلم الأمريكي كهذه الرواية
وعليك أن تقارن فكرة الحلم الأمريكي في بدايتها بفكرة الحلم الإنساني ككل
هذا الشبق العظيم للوصول إلى القمة
الحصول على كل شيء
النجاح العظيم
والحرية المطلقة

فكرة الحلم الأمريكي ترجع جذورها إلى البدايات
لحظة توقيع إعلان الاستقلال
والذي يجعل الرجال جميعهم متساوين في الحقوق
حيث خلقوا جميعاً من ربّ واحد بحقوق مستحقة
لاحظ هنا أن توماس جيفريسون ذكر
All men are created equal
وإن كانت لفظة men
تعني الإنسان في وقت ما إنما استخدام اللفظة عامة جعلها تحتكر الحرية على الذكور
فمازالت المرأة وقتها تعامل على أنها مواطن من الدرجة الثانية
وربما إلى الآن

يرسم فيتزجيرالد أبطاله بعناية
يدقق في تفاصيلاتهم الخاصة
يأخذك في دواخلهم ويداعب ملامحهم بلغته الماكرة الممتعة

~~**~~
ابتسم بتفهّم
بأكثر من مجرّد تفهم
وكانت واحدة من تلك الابتسامات النادرة التي تحمل صبغة طمأنينة أبدية فيها
والتي قد تأتي عبر أربع أو خمس مرات في الحياة
لقد واجهت
أو بدى أنها واجهت
العالم بأكمله في لحظة
ومن ثم ركزت على روحك بمحاباة لا تقاوم في صالحك
لقد تفهّمتكْ قدر ما تريد أنت أن تكون مفهوماً
آمنت بك بالقدر الذي تريد أنت به الإيمان بذاتك
و طمأنتك بأنها تأخذ نفس الانطباع الذي قد تودّ إعطاءه عن نفسك في أقصى طموحاتك
~~**~~

كانت طريقة الكاتب في الوصف هي الآسرة هُنا
فالقصّة ذاتها إن تجرّدت من سردها القيّم ستبقى عادية جداً
وتافهة لدى البعض
رجل فقير يحاول قدر ما يحاول إثراء ذاته للوصول إلى قلب المرأة التي أحبها
والتي تتصف بانتهازية ووقاحة وأنانية تجعلك تود سحقها احياناً

القصة لن تتفهمها جيداً إلا إذا كنت مهتماً ببدايات الحلم الأمريكي
وبدراسة تلك الفترة من عمر أمريكا القصير
فالرواية تدور في عصر الجاز
وتلقي الضوء على أوقات قريبة من بداية الكساد الكبير
و في وقت كان الإتجار بالخمور ممنوعاً
والذي انتشر فيه بيع وشراء الخمر بنهم كبير في السوق السوداء

تنقل الرواية المشاعر الإنسانية في أوجها
تجدها متجسدة في الحروف تكاد تنطق
بطريقة شديدة الخصوصية وبمهارة أدبية عظيمة

القصة أكثر من مجرد شباب وفتيات يعيشون المتعة واللهو
فهي تصور حيرة جيل مجنون بأكمله
يعاني الاغتراب والملل والجهل
يحاول الوصول إلى فكرة مستحيلة
إلى ثراء ومجد وحرية
حتى يتساقطوا واحداً تلو الآخر من التعب وخيبة الأمل
فكل واحد فيهم أراه قد مات في نهاية الرواية بطريقة أو بأخرى
بحيث لم يبقى ممن قد بقى سوى أشباح لم تعد قادرة حتى على التفاهات اليومية التي يغرقون أنفسهم بها

هناك أكثر من فيلم شاهدته عن الرواية
ولم يعجبني أي منهم
ولكنني أنتظر الفيلم الجديد
وأشعر أنه سيكون مختلفاً
وممتعاً

متعة الرواية تقل كثيراً في الترجمة
فالرواية الأمريكية تحتاج لقراءتها كما كتبت وبنفس الروح
و لقد تمتعت بدراستها ،وحصلت على تقدير جيد جدا سنتها
:D
ولذا تبقى في ذهني مرتبطة ببعض قطرات من سعادة
وبأوقات حلوة لا تُنسى

I actually liked this one! Minus you know, the antisemitism and racism…

So this was a weird little story about people with too much money.
The main characters just kind of flopped around drinking cocktails, smoking, and complaining about the heat. When they weren't cheating on their spouses, that is.



The gist is that this guy Nick, who is the only person with normal human emotions in the entire book, is recounting his special summer with The Great Gatsby.



Gatsby is this ultra-mysterious man with gobs of money who likes to throw lavish wingdings. Everyone who is anyone shows up to drink his booze, eat his food, and party till they puke.
BUT! He has a secret and he needs Nick's help.
He's in love. <--with Nick's cousin, Daisy
Daisy, however, is married to a douchebag named Tom, who is cheating on her with a floozy named Myrtle, who is married to a wimp named George, who wants to buy one of Tom's cars.
It's the great circle of life.



Gatsby was...? I don't know.
Part of me felt sorry for him because he pulled himself up by his bootstraps and made a shitload of money just to win over the woman he loved. Sure he did it illegally, but how the fuck else are you supposed to make a shitload of money? Not by believing that anyone can be anything in America, that's for damn sure.
The other part of me thought he was an idiot who just wanted what he couldn't have. If Daisy threw him over for a guy with money, then that right there should tell you something.
Move on, dumbass.



Daisy was...? Kind of a dick, obviously. Of course she 100% deserved Tom. How Gatsby didn't see it coming is something that boggles the mind. <--we've all known a Gatsby, though, right? Unwilling to face the fact that his crush is a bitch on roids.



Myrtle was...?
Well, that shit was just funny. She didn't deserve to be road pancake, but if it had to happen to someone, at least it wasn't her dog.



Jordan was...? A golfer, a bit of a klepto, and Nick's quasi-love interest. You never get the feeling they're really dating-dating. <--more like they're both killing time? She was somewhat of a non-character for me.



Tom was...? An entitled, smarmy buffoon. But apparently, that's a good look on some people, because everything seems to come up roses for him.



At the end of the day, I'm not really sure why this is considered a must-read.
It's basically just a slice of asshole life. The very wealthy, very bored, and very cliqueish don't necessarily interest me and this story really wasn't an exception. I think it has the same appeal as those reality shows that follow rich housewives, or television series about wealthy a-holes doing shit like murdering their business rivals on yachts. Like, somehow I'm supposed to think, "Oh, look! Their lives aren't perfect, either!" but all I really end up thinking is, "You miserable fuckers can't think of anything better to do on a yacht?", because I sure as hell could come up with something a bit more fun than that.



The best thing about The Great Gatsby was the length. I loved that it didn't drag on and on and on. There weren't a lot of words wasted on unnecessary side plots that didn't go anywhere or descriptions of scenery that didn't matter. I appreciated that quite a bit.



Oh, the version I listened to had a bunch of letters written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Some of them were interesting, but oh my god, the guy sounded like such a snobby cunt when he was talking about how worthless and low-brow other authors of his day were. This didn't really matter to the story, but it was sort of a pathetic note to end the book on. And maybe the intent of putting those letters out there wasn't to make him look bad? Maybe I'm supposed to think he's right and that he and his pal Hemmingway were a step above everyone else? True literary champions!
If I'm honest about it, I'm exactly the sort of peasant reader that enjoys the more unpretentious novels, so to hear one author bashing another one for being too easily digested by the sweaty masses doesn't give me the warm fuzzies.



Then again, these were the guy's private thoughts, so it's not really any of my business. Plus, I can be a real twat when I'm venting to someone close to me, so who am I to judge?



This one won't go down as a favorite but it is another beloved classic that I can check off of my list.



As far as the audiobook goes? I think Tim Robbins is a good reader, but this is my 2nd book read by him and he's not my favorite. He has this tendency to lower his voice and whisper sometimes. Thing is, my hearing is SHIT, so I end up either having to go back and relisten or just kind of miss a few words. I'm not blaming Robbins, just my eardrums. I'll probably try to avoid books by him in the future, but not because he sucks.

Tim Robbins - Narrator
Publisher: HarperCollins
Edition: Unabridged
Awards:
Audie Award Nominee
Best Audiobooks
Listen Up Award

I was made to read this in school many years ago and what I got from it was that even obscenely wealthy people can't buy happiness or self-awareness, no matter how glitzy and fabulous a party you throw.

my favorite thing about this book is that Nick doesn’t do anything and yet is constantly invited everywhere and stuck in the middle of everyone’s drama

I feel like The Great Gatsby is essentially a series of awkward conversations followed by a series of awkward silences in the mansion of an ex lover. Or the next door neighbour.

It rambles on, going off on a tangent for no reason, and all the characters are awful. Daisy is selfish and idiotic. Gatsby is a naive, creepy stalker. Tom is an insufferable, unfaithful, misogynist.

If this is an American classic, I think I'll stick to Jane Austen.

The True Value of Monopoly Money

Capitalism tends towards monopoly.

No capitalist welcomes a competitor or rival. Having attained wealth, the desire is to retain it, not to concede it; to increase it, not to share it.

A competitor is perceived as a threat, and will be treated like a virus invading an otherwise healthy, but vulnerable, body.

The Great American Dream

"The Great Gatsby" is often described as a paean to the Great American Dream.

This Dream supposedly sustains the average American. It offers the opportunity to achieve success, prosperity and happiness, regardless of class, status, background or wealth.

It contains a promise of upward social mobility, a reward that will be ours if we work hard enough.

We all have an equal opportunity to transcend our current circumstances.

Implicitly, if we fail to transcend, we have only ourselves to blame. We didn't take sufficient advantage of our opportunity. Everybody is responsible for their own failure.

The Great American Dream isn't far from the Objectivist Philosophy of Ayn Rand.

n  n

Stars and stripes and silhouettes and shadows.

Jay Gatsby

Most readers think of Jay Gatsby as someone who took advantage of his opportunity, and made it.

In that sense, he's the epitome of the Great American Dream.

He has amassed enormous business wealth. He owns a colossal mansion on West Egg, Long Island. Every week, he holds a lavish party attended by all and sundry. The parties are the ultimate in Jazz Age glamour.

Gatsby has achieved everything material an American could want. He has realised the Long Island real estate mantra, "Vocation, Location, Ovation".

The Green Light

So what's Gatsby's problem?

Every night, Gatsby looks across the sound to a green light on a porch, where Daisy lives in her more prestigious East Egg mansion with her husband, Tom Buchanan.

Daisy is the one thing for which Gatsby yearns. She is the one thing he has sought after since he met and fell in love with her five years earlier at age 25.

"The Great Gatsby" revers that small green light. What we never see is what Gatsby's mansion looked like from Daisy's perspective at home. We aren't expressly offered a vision of Gatsby's fully-lit mansion as a counterpoint to Tom's, but that is what it is.

The point is Gatsby's achievement of the Great American Dream was not the end, as it is with most Americans, it was the means to an end, and that end was winning the hand in marriage of Daisy.

The most important thing about Gatsby's mansion, from Gatsby's point of view, is what it would look like to one woman across the sound.

Love's Labours Retrieved

Gatsby has already lost Daisy once, in 1917, when as a destitute young officer during the war, he was unable to marry her, because he could not offer her a financial security that was acceptable to her wealthy mid-west family.

Since then, he has acquired wealth, by whatever means necessary, to win her away from Tom and marry her.

The wealth was nothing to him, the parties were grotesque bonfires of vanity, designed with one thing in mind: to attract Daisy's attention and bring her, curious, within his reach.

Then, having got her within his sphere of influence, he could win her back.

"The Great Gatsby" is really about the love a man had for a woman, how he lost it and what he did to regain it.

At one point, Gatsby talks about repeating the past. I don't see him as repeating it, so much as regaining it, making up for lost time, retrieving what he felt should have been his.

"The Great Gatsby" is not so much about repetition, as it is about retrieval; not so much a remembrance of things past, as a resumption of a journey from a point in the past when the journey was broken.



Carey Mulligan as Daisy (Courtesy: The Telegraph)

The Pursuit of Another Man's Wife

At its heart, Gatsby engages in adultery with Daisy, with a view to convincing her to divorce Tom and marry him.

Many might find his conduct objectionable, except that he is young, elegant, good-looking, fabulously wealthy and, most importantly, in love with the slender Daisy.

In contrast, Tom is a brute of a man, he is an ex-champion footballer, hard and cruel. Most importantly, he has cheated on Daisy many times and now has a mistress, the stout, but sensuous, Myrtle Wilson.

Tom comes from an extremely wealthy mid-western family. Money is no object to him. Daisy might have the voice of money, but Tom has the demeanour and arrogance of not just money, but old money.

When Tom learns of Daisy's infidelity and Gatsby's takeover bid, he goes into typical capitalist mode in order to defend his wife, his asset, his marital property.

He researches Gatsby's past and theorises about how he has made his new money. He plans his counter-attack.

The narrator, Nick Carraway, watches on, not just witness to a battle between Good and Evil, but in reality a battle between two degrees of bad.



Black and white portrait of Isla Fisher as Myrtle Wilson

Tom's Defence Strategy

In the realm of love, as between two rival men, there can be no such thing as a friendly takeover bid.

There is no suggestion that Tom can allow Gatsby to have Daisy, so that he can settle for Myrtle. The latter is just a plaything, something he spends time on, because she is available and he can have her without effort.

All Myrtle ever wanted from her own husband was a gentleman with breeding. He turns out to be a mere mechanic and car salesman. He doesn't have the right status. Equally, although he is content to have her as his mistress, Tom doesn't see Myrtle as having the right status for marriage either.

Ultimately, the role of marriage is not to perpetuate love and happiness. Tom's task is to bond together two wealthy establishment families and their riches. A merger of two capitalist families moves them that much closer to monopolistic power, in the same way that the intermarriage of royal families once cemented international power.

Tom's goal is so important that it can accommodate his cruelty and infidelities, at least in his eyes.

Moreover, it allows Tom to prevail over Gatsby, who, despite his war record, his partly-completed Oxford education, his wealth, his glamour, and his apparent achievement of the Great American Dream, is not "one of us".

Ultimately, coincidence, accident and fate intervene on behalf of Tom, almost comically if it was not so sad, and he resists Gatsby's takeover bid.

Nick, the observer, the witness, the audience of this tragedy, is left disgusted.



Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker

The Great American Paradox

"The Great Gatsby" is a short novel. At times, there is more telling than showing. At times, the description is too adjectival or adverbial for the dictates of current style manuals.

Take away the mansion, the parties and the glamour, and what remains comes close to the dimensions of film noir like "Double Indemnity".

While the novel is perceived as hailing the Great American Dream, the paradox is that it highlights how great are the forces that are lined up to resist the efforts of a man who aspires to the Dream, especially if that man is a trespasser who covets another man's wife, even if he loves her and she loves him.

There are flaws in Fitzgerald's writing, but they are tolerable. The story is magificent, even if, when laid out methodically, it might appear cliched. The characters, while realistic, are detailed and larger than life, certainly detailed enough to withstand the scrutiny when they are projected onto the silver screen. They are portrayed acting out their emotions in exactly the same way that we might in the same circumstances.

However, in the long run, what makes "The Great Gatsby" great is Fitzgerald's ability to both adulate and perpetuate the Great American Dream, while simultaneously subverting it.