Reviews

Der große Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

writerbeverly's review against another edition

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2.0

A big, fat, meh. What was interesting to me was the look at the parties of the Roaring Twenties. What was not interesting or likable were any of the characters, with the possible exception of Gatsby himself. He was the only one who seemed to deeply care about anything, who had a big dream and was determined to make it come true, by any means necessary. Nick, the narrator, seemed all too conveniently accommodating and non-judgmental, without any passion or commitment to much of anything, a leaf swirled in the pond. He did not feel real to me. Daisy, Myrtle (?) and Tom were one-note caricatures, rather than having any dimension.

I can't help but wonder if many of the people who LOVED this book haven't been sold by The Emperor's New Clothes syndrome - everybody else praised this as a classic, therefore, it HAS to be great. I'm glad I finally got it off my TBR list, but in many ways it felt like much noise and glitter about nothing. Perhaps this means it did perfectly epitomize that era.

frcklx's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

markgart's review against another edition

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fast-paced

4.25

la_seji1038's review against another edition

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funny reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

kamdoitattitude's review against another edition

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4.0

Guys, the second time around I noticed more racism and was generally disgusted.

I think Fitzgerald is a good writer bc there is something about all of these characters that is gross and intolerable, and maybe he wanted it that way. Still didn't really like it. We'll see what the book club has to say.

shaddie's review against another edition

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4.0

Heart-breaking in some way, but not too much, because it was too short for me to fall in love with the characters; pathetic, but not in unbearable way, just a bit awkward; not that great as the title says, but still 4*
And I don't know why but Nick reminded me Stingo from Sophia's choice.

•Sometimes money may decide who you'll marry, but not who you'll love. And sometimes love decides who'll live and who'll die.

longanlon's review against another edition

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1.0

"Велика американска класика", "Една от десетте най-добри книги на столетието", "Задължителна" и т.н. Дрън дрън ярина.

Великият Гетсби, според както го прочетох аз, не само не е велик, ами по-скоро е съвсем неубедителен. Скот Фицджералд така и не обяснява докрай какво точно се случва между Гетсби и Дейзи. Били влюбени. И какво? Докато тече действието, често не става дори ясно къде се развива сцената. И каква е цялата работа с Том и г-жа Уилсън? Мъжът и я заключил в гаража... какво се случва там? После я блъска кола, после той се промъква и застрелва Гетсби?

Образите на героите са плитки и безсмислени и не успяват даже за секунда да те накарат да ти пука за тях или да те интересува какво ще стане на следващата страница. Няма да крия, че прочитането на книгата беше изключително досадно и нямах търпение да я свърша. Поне е кратка. Не знам дали преводът на български просто е лош, но не видях даже частица от "най-красивата английска проза на 20 в.".

juladelo's review against another edition

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1.0

This book was written so horribly that I could not finish it. Because it is our book club's book of the month, I went to Sparknotes.com and read a summary of the whole thing.

elishua_markham's review against another edition

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3.0

It gets better each time I read it!

loyaltoliterature's review against another edition

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5.0

I know there are people who hate this book–and that is of course fine because not all books are for all people–but I have read it five or six times since my junior year of high school and I am not yet sick of its fascinating cast of characters, beautifully composed sentences, and cultural significance. This go around, I was amazed by the continual references to movement; and yet Tom, Daisy, Jordan, Nick, and Gatsby are each inert, unable or unwilling to make the necessary moves to achieve anything real or significant with their lives. “And so we beat on, boats against the current, borne ceaselessly back into the past.”