Great.
Now I'm getting pissed off at classics too. I seem to be upping my game.


How much shallowness can one person stand.
Well, if I feel betrayed, imagine Jay.








Newsflash sweetheart, when a man wants to give you the world, the least you can do is send a flower to his funeral.





I suppose he would have had you not destroyed him.





I've never respected a fictional character more.




And the best part is that now, we don't even have the excuse of a battle between the old wealth and the new rich of the 1920s. This modernity has procured us with a fresh new brand of hollowness. So that we can all hide behind empty shells of betrayals and prejudice.
Mr. Fitzgerald, it seems that the dream of the green light was never more far away than it is at this moment.

Boring, boring, boring. Started slow, got slower, speeded up a fraction, mercifully ended. If the story hadn't been so short I'd have given up before the end, as the tedium of turning the next page is sure to have overwhelmed me. Well, maybe I'm being a little harsh... but I didn't like it.

This book becomes far better when you take all of Gatsby's mystery and just think of him as Batman. The whole book falls into place!

Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan are two of the most memorable characters in literature. F. Scott Fitzgerald weaves them tragically together in this perfectly plotted masterpiece.

Every scene is unforgettable--so distinct and unique--from the grandest party ever recorded, to the most tense fight ever written, to the most perfectly dark twisted love affair of all time, to the most pathetically sad funeral imaginable.

When people say this is the best book ever written, they're not kidding. It's so good that almost daily I wish I could experience this for the first time again.

What really makes The Great Gatsby unique is that EVERYONE at some point in life wants to be great in just the way that Jay does--for reasons more or less the same. We all have this implicit desire to get the validation from others that we're acceptable, and so at some point most of us turn to wanting to be "great"--but just for the sake of it. Combine that with the fact that all the characters are despicable--but so well written that you can't help but root for them and grow emotionally attached to them--and also how effortlessly the words transport you back in time, and The Great Gatsby truly becomes a one-of-a-kind story.

Then there's the love story in which someone as mystically personable as Jay Gatsby falls for someone as pathetically self-centered and stupid as Daisy Buchanan. It's equal parts realistic, depressing, twisted, and somehow reassuring. We've all fallen for that one person we know there's no reason. This is the greatest case of that ever devised.

How F. Scott Fitzgerald accomplishes all this in such few pages is truly astounding.

„Der große Gatsby" is a truly brilliant and dazzling masterpiece. The book is written in such a way you can´t stop reading it, because the language and presentation are stylistic and atmospheric. But you should read this book carefully. I am enthusiastic about the verbosity of this writer. Overall, the characters were very successful and unique. This story was definitely a highlight for me. It´s story and a character which I absolutely like. Almost quietly and calmly, he brings us closer to the milieu of the rich people and shows us the decadence, debauchery and, consequently, the inner emptiness and boredom of the protagonists. Without a doubt this book is considered as one of the greatest novels of his time and offers an exciting view of former times and the people who lived in it.

The eh Gatsby

Classic. Yes. THE great American novel. Hmph, so I heard. I suppose it should make one more interested, or at least feel more compelled to read something (or re-read as is the case here) when it has "classic" and "everyone else loves it!" stamped all over it. And has a movie made out of it, though what beloved novel hasn't these days? Of course, I originally read FSF's Gatsby because I was expected to for a high school English class. So, even though I was never the type to do homework, I read The Great Gatsby because it had a neat cover, Fitzgerald is fun to say, and, of course, the legend of Zelda.

Unfortunately for Meredyth, my thoughts on Gatsby 10 years ago are pretty similar to the thoughts I have on it today: How pretty. Pretty decedant. How drippy. How zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

It's not that I was completely uninterested. It's that my interest was never piqued to the point of really giving a shit. Sure, who doesn't love a hot mysteriously wealthy man with serious heart ache for a serious material girl? What about those rich dudes who may be crooks but no one can figger out how crooked they are exactly because how crooked can you be if you throw such mean hoedowns?!

Oh, and I love a good morally ambiguous-protaganist/narrator-who-hates-parties-and-society-but-just-can't-seem-to-stay-away as much as the next person, but Nick, our hero, just wants to be liked so very much, and unfortunately, he reads like a sap. And when all the other characters are unforgivable bores, I would prefer that my ambiguous, socially mandated narrator manage to keep me awake.

What about those three stars? You ask. Well I can't lie. I do think Fitz had a way with words. I did find that those subtle nuances of the variations in lifestyle during the depression to be very much in effect, and I would be happy to visit any fictional small town called West Egg. Or East Egg for that matter. And I get the kind of crazy he was going for in his more psychopathic character, George Wilson, who, because he was in love, becomes the bastiOn of normalcy even when he is driven to murder and his own suicide.

FSF did manage to be believably compassionate towards his seemingly less insane characters, (who are all on the brink of insanity) (but still made me drowsy). There is definitely a part of me that sees how one could be drawn into the twinkly lit world FSF created, supposedly, out of his own reality, and I have noted his passion for the beauty of the unfolding story, such as it is.

But I was disappointed 10 years ago by the story's inability to convince me it wasn't nap time, its unwillingness to point out the the relevance of the individual over society, and the irrelevance of the world Gatsby inhabits, and I was disappointed again this past week.

In summation, be sure to keep an eye out for this writer. Once he writes something more appealing to the masses he's sure to bust out onto the scene soon. You heard it here first.

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

Legendary F. Scott Fitzgerald---fiction based reality---only serves to illustrate a life so far removed from Gatsby's existence lived ever so briefly on "East Egg." Privilege is afforded to few and common rules become fuzzy (lacking application or enforcement) in a contrasted life of Gatsby and the Buchanans. Their world is witnessed via a clandestine view through his neighbor across the way.

Like the flashing green light on Daisy's dock, becoming an homage to Gatsby and his lavish parties and connections. If collaboration---not competition was a theme, an outcome could manifest into an intriguing alternate ending. However, the death of Gatsby is like the green light signaling a green monster consuming many (robotically). And such is an homage to the lost ones scattered violently by the hand of God—to the wastelands or a grave/garden of obscurity. Angels dare not tread here for long.

Ending is nothing novel, Gatsbys' past cannot be left behind and leads to the death of many (exlcuding Daisy/Tom). Nick Carraway is the astute observer recognizing the truth in saying, "Tom and Daisy are careless...fleeing the mess made." Gatsby and an alternative ending would require making plans, collaboration and something he was most afraid of, admitting “the truth of his newly acquired status. April 10, 2025 will be the 100th year anniversary of this the publication of this novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a 20th-Century American Classic!

n  I've watched the movie The Great Gatsby several times but never read the book. Until now...n

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the first book I read by F. Scott Fitzgerald highlights the creativity of his storytelling. The Great Gatsby, my second read by this author, highlights the beauty of his writing style. He's like an artist painting a canvas.

The Great Gatsby is set during the Roaring Twenties, the years of post-World War I and before the Great Depression. Fitzgerald paints an accurate picture of the overindulgence and questionable behavior of the era. The characterizations are colorful, bold, some are bitter, and all bring an interesting mixture of flavors to the story. I love the intent that no one is who or what they appear to be, except, perhaps, Nick Carraway.

Fitzgerald paints scene after scene of Jay Gatsby's well-designed search for the American dream. His wealth, the lavish lifestyle, the fancy car, and the gossip and mystery that surrounds him are all part of his allure and his carefully plotted plan. All he needs now is his new next-door neighbor, Nick, to assist with putting the final pieces together...

Fitzgerald brings an edginess into the story by painting contrasts between two fictional communities divided by Long Island Sound and it sets glaring cultural divides within the story: West Egg vs East Egg; New Money vs Old Money; Jay Gatsby vs Tom Buchanan.

There's a brightness, quick pace, and welcoming atmosphere at the start of the story that slowly begins to fade into the darkness, heaviness, and sadness of the ending.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by actor Jake Gyllenhaal who gives life to all the characters, especially Nick Carraway, whose narrative recounts the Spring and Summer he spent in New York in 1922.

F. Scott Fitzgerald is an artist with his beautiful prose, the evocative story of daring greatly, and the shattering consequences of what might have been an impossible dream. The Great Gatsby is a story and theme that remains as relevant today as it was then. I highly recommend it!

5⭐

Published on April 1, 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald is said to have viewed The Great Gatsby as his best work. Neither a critical nor commercial success in his lifetime, in the decade after his death it surged in popularity. It remains a best-selling novel today and is considered an American Fiction masterpiece.

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

"Sonrió comprensivamente, mucho más que comprensivamente. Era una de esas raras sonrisas, con una calidad de eterna confianza, de esas que en toda la vida no se encuentran más que cuatro o cinco veces."

Esta es una novela que le hubiera encantado a Oscar Wilde y podría aventurar que hasta le hubiera gustado escribirla.
"El gran Gatsby" resume una era dorada, la década de los locos años '20, pasados ya los amargos, oscuros y trágicos sucesos de la Primera Guerra Mundial, cuando el jazz, el charleston, el foxtrot, los vaudevilles y los cabarets eran las atracciones centrales y auténticas mecas destinadas a la dispersión y el olvido de unos Estados Unidos efervescente que despertaba de una modorra atroz.
La figura de Jay Gatsby (James Gatz) simboliza el ideal del sueño americano, irreverente, despreocupado y acompañando su deslumbrante rostro y figura, la presencia de ese único dios sin ateos que es el dinero.
Envuelto en un halo de misterio, Gatsby es un desconocido conocido por todos. Sus fiestas son un derroche de champagne, música y bailes, pero cuando todo termina y el brillo se apaga, el autor de esta novela, un impecable Francis Scott Fitzgerald, comienza a mostrarnos que algo oculto (y trágico) se esconde detrás de todo el glamour para ganar su espacio en escena. Porque no debemos confundirnos, ésta es una historia trágica. Sólo hace falta seguir leyendo…
Verdaderamente Fitzgerald escribe como los dioses. Su narrativa es sencillamente impecable, con la técnica y la belleza necesaria para embelesar los sentidos del lector de la misma manera que Gatsby lo hace con quienes lo rodean.
La historia, narrada por Nick Carraway es balanceada con presteza para que vayámonos adentrándonos en los hechos hasta el último capítulo, el mejor y el más importante, de modo que arribemos al final de la historia sin quedarnos con ningún cabo suelto.
Esta corta, pero poderosa novela encierra además un típico argumento de la literatura. El del desenfreno de las pasiones amorosas, a las que el ser humano no puede escapar.
El lector, con el correr del tiempo sabe que el brillo inicial de la frivolidad se opacará ante el efecto de corazones desbocados y acciones furiosas.
Un puñado de personajes que incluyen al temperamental Tom Buchanan, su esposa, la bellísima Daisy y su prima, la despampanante Jordan Baker, secundados por tres o cuatro más, le alcanzan a Fitzgerald para brindarnos toda la acción que esta excelente novela nos ofrece. Todo lo que sucede entre ellos, todo ese torbellino de pasiones es contado con inmejorable precisión y nos mantiene indefectiblemente atentos.
Ha sido una verdadera experiencia leer por primera vez a Fitzgerald. Nunca había leído nada de él y me ha impresionado fuertemente, por lo que seguramente seguiré adelante con la lectura de otras de sus novelas, probablemente "El extraño caso de Benjamin Button" y "Al este del edén" y por qué no, también con sus cuentos. Luego de leer "El gran Gatsby", me doy cuenta por qué es uno de los mejores escritores americanos de todos los tiempos.

n  “The tragedy of a life unfulfilled, unloved and ultimately unlived!”n

THE GREAT GATSBY is a sad book. But perhaps the saddest thing of all is that F Scott Fitzgerald’s tragic, moving portrayal of the American Dream demonstrates that the typical American’s pre-occupation with the yearning for wealth, class and an easier life can ultimately be so empty, so meaningless and so utterly unfulfilling.

When Nick Carraway left what he saw as a comfortable but mundane existence in the Midwest, he moved East to a magnetic New York City to learn the bond business. Renting a “weather beaten cardboard bungalow” in a town called West Egg on Long Island, he met a distant cousin, Daisy Buchanan; her husband, Tom, struggling to live up to the brilliance of a university football career in New Haven; and his next door neighbour, Jay Gatsby, an enigmatic man whose wealth had originated from mysterious means. The many rumours hinted at everything from Prohibition rum-running to murder.

The actual plot of the story, told through the eyes of narrator Nick Carraway, is so utterly pointless and virtually directionless as to leave the reader wondering how such simplistic, almost mindless melodrama manages to be so compelling and so captivating. Nick tells the story of his move to New York City. We learn that Jay Gatsby had fallen in love with Daisy Buchanan several years earlier, at a time when he was an impoverished nobody and couldn’t hope to marry someone like her. Her subsequent marriage to Tom Buchanan is ultimately unsuccessful as Tom has an affair with Myrtle Wilson, the wife of a local mechanic. Jay Gatsy, now wealthy almost beyond imagining as a result of his involvement in criminal activities - the details of which are never fully disclosed in the story – asks Nick to re-connect him with his former love as he seeks to have Daisy admit that she had never stopped loving him since their first affair many years earlier. Gatsby desperately wants Daisy to confess she had never actually loved her husband at all.

The reader witnesses a non-stop whirl of debauchery as the shadowy Gatsby hosts an endless string of decadent, liquor-soaked parties at his Long Island mansion. The readers are left to question Gatsby’s motives as he is portrayed as an observer who never truly participates in his own parties. Indeed, the majority of his guests are clearly pretenders to his acquaintance and wannabe seekers of the trappings of wealth who have never even met their host and wouldn’t know him to speak to him on the street.

The climax of the story arrives after a tragic-comic confrontational gathering of virtually the entire cast of Fitzgerald’s tale – Tom and Daisy, Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway and his erstwhile lover, tennis player Jordan Baker – sitting in a steamy, overheated, hotel room sipping on iced mint juleps casually discussing whether or not Daisy’s future rests with Tom or with Gatsby.

The brim of the cup that is THE GREAT GATSBY runneth over with licentiousness, hypocrisy, greed, amorality, false friendship and weak-kneed love – in other words, a veritable cocktail of moral turpitude to sip or swill and digest while pondering its base flavours plus a variety of notes and subtle overtones. In hindsight, it is also worth considering the irony that, as a bond trader on Wall Street in 1925, Carraway had but a scant four years remaining before he would have encountered the Wall Street Crash and the utter collapse of his fantastical New York world. Perhaps F Scott Fitzgerald was prescient as well as a brilliant writer who would have us take away the message that it might be worth a moment to reconsider the true meaning and value of every American’s fondest “American Dream”!

Highly recommended.

Paul Weiss