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lizzye33's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Though there were moments it was harder to understand or feel moved in the right ways, a writer has left me with their poet's heart that has moved mine so brilliantly that fireworks try to meet it but fool themselves that they can. I have always had a great appreciation for Fitzgerald, and though this is his first novel, I am certain I will continue enjoying his work. I love when I find a novel that moves so brilliantly with twists you may see coming but still move in a more powerful way that you can predict and even still surprise you. I love that it is told from Nick's perspective about a man written so perfectly that I wanted to meet him in person.
I am happy that I am older. I can overlook some of the content that would have been harder for me when I was younger, the first two chapters involving the characters getting drunk and smoking and other less-than-Christian activities that would have made me close the book never to pick up again, but I would have missed a story, unlike any novel I have yet to read.
It angers me a bit that the reason why students are to read it is to dissect the culture of the time, the perceptions like Tom had, the races, and monetary discipline, to contrast with greed, which, yes in the end, plays a part, but they miss the whole point when they look at it that way. The love story is a side angle to that regard, and I feel saddened for people who only would remember it as such because this story has a very beautiful tragic undertone which can only be enjoyed by the happy few that come about this on their own who wish to enjoy great literature as it should be.
I recommend this book, but only to those who will acknowledge the preface, do not take it too seriously, and can be prepared to see the world differently than they know now and even quite different than anyone might otherwise be prepared for.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, and Classism
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and War
jakeaboi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, and Alcohol
Moderate: Gun violence, Infidelity, and Suicide
Minor: Racism and Antisemitism
jasminn_perez's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism, Grief, and Alcohol
nickel_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Blood and Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse and Vomit
lectrixnoctis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
abby_reads_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Car accident
Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, and Antisemitism
prettyartpop's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Antisemitism, Car accident, and Murder
annapox's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Death, Gore, Infidelity, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Ableism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Suicide, Blood, Antisemitism, and Murder
piperlee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, and Murder
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Alcoholism, Gore, Racial slurs, Violence, and Antisemitism
gracer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a classic, so I'm not tagging it, but, yeah: SPOILERS
This marks my third reading of Gatsby.
Is Nick Carraway the original millennial? He ghosts Jordan Baker, feels bad about it, and tries to clear it up, just because, you know, you shouldn't ghost. Also, he hangs out with awful, rich homeowners while he rents and takes the train to work.
You could write an extensive research paper on the symbolism of housing in this book. Gatsby's huge mansion is modeled on a French Hotel de Ville -- with a tower! He buys his parents a house in Minnesota, but of course it isn't his. When his father, Henry, comes for the funeral, he shows Nick the picture he has of Gatsby's mansion, which he carries around in his wallet. That house is not just a symbol of everything he's accomplished, it's also the only tangible thing he's accomplished.
And yet, despite the flashy, fancy mansion that he owns, Gatsby is always outside of houses.
He hides outside Nick's house waiting to finally meet Daisy again. He stands outside the Buchanan's house waiting for a signal from Daisy that never comes. He doesn't even get to DIE in his own house, but outside it. The number of scenes in which some character is standing outside a house and looking at what's happening inside, or noticing how the light shines out of the windows, well... someone could count them. Not me, at least not this time. That said, the word "house" appears in this book 104 times, and if you add mentions of "mansion" (5) and "palace" (4), that puts us at almost one mention per page. Just saying.
I was also struck by the references to light and dark in this book. We are often looking at windows, and we are often looking specifically at the light leaking out of windows. We are also looking at the way the light bounces off the moon, or the amount of electric lights brilliantly shining out of Gatsby's mansion, or four superfluous candles on an outdoor table at midsummer on the Buchanan's verandah, or the reflections of the sun on the sea, or or or...
In addition, this book always takes place during the day or at night. That sounds stupid, that's when everything takes place, but you always know which one it is (except when you get confused the book says "it's past two" so you think they've just finished their lunch but actually it's 2 in the morning because it's the Jazz Age and they're still partying). It is either the middle of the night and Gatsby is throwing a party and everything is twinkle lights and garden cocktails, or it's an interminable summer day and the hot sun is beating mercilessly down on you. I don't know what this means yet, but I'll be thinking about it.
What else? The usual. Tom is evil, perfectly captured. You know there are still a million toxic men walking around doomed to never repeat their football glory days in high school/college, just like him. Nick is sort of neutral, maybe even borderline normal (but why was he ever friends with Tom? ugh), intriguing, but why does he hang out with these people if he hates all of them? (He's also our millennial renter next door.) Daisy is a dependent, cowed woman first, evil rich person second. Actually, she isn't that evil (until the end), most things just happen to her and she has no control over anything. Then she has control over one thing, handles it extremely poorly, and a lot of people die as a result, no consequences for our poor little rich girl. I don't get why people get mad about this because this is still how our world works, but okay. Jordan is interesting; she has the potential to be so cool and she's such a wet noodle. How do you take a professional female athlete in the 1920s and make her so boring? It's fascinating.
I was thinking, as I read this book this time, that I feel a little different about the writing in itself than I used to. It's beautiful, and I love it. But after reading Henry Green's Living, it feels a little more... limited, maybe. I don't think that's a bad thing, it just makes me realize that the writing is beautiful and I think well done, but of an older tradition, and it's the plot and themes that make it modern, in its way. That's what's new and exciting here.
See you in 5-10 years, Gatsby.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I just read this book for the second time. Previously I always linked it to a train ride in the Netherlands, which was where I read it the first time; from now on I will probably also link it to a friend's sofa in Bogotá. My original impression was that this is not only one of the best books I have ever read, but also one of the most perfect. I was happy to find that the second reading confirmed this opinion! (
First read: 16 September 2008
Second time: April, 2013
Graphic: Gun violence, Infidelity, and Car accident
Moderate: Gore and Blood