Scan barcode
bookish_leslie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
janne_gu's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
sraybern's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-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
4.25
kristenbooks's review against another edition
3.0
One of my favorite classics. Generally, I'm not as excited about the 20s as most people, but I did enjoy this book. It was one of the first classics that I found enjoyable.
7.5/10. (3.5/5)
7.5/10. (3.5/5)
tellsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
This is another one of those books that I was supposed to read when I was younger that I didn’t, that I had always had on my list to read and just finally got around to it.
Knowing what I thought I knew about this book, I really wanted to hate it. On the surface, it just seemed like self-absorbed, pretentious, utterly white bread, navel-gazing Americana lit, which is a genre I despise, but honestly, upon reading this book, I loved it.
The thing that I liked about it was how clear of a picture it painted about the falsehoods of friendship and the temperamental nature of lust and love and how people are just always out for themselves. People are always trying to protect their way of living whether or not it’s actually true to who they are as a person. For example, Daisy. How are you going to get with another guy because your guy is missing? I’m not saying that you should wait for him but you had no idea what happened to him, and you were like OK, I haven’t heard from Gatsby, I’m gonna marry this other man, who I don’t even really like! That scenario perfectly highlighted the need for people to live what they deem as the “highlife” whether or not they’re actually happy, content or in love with their partner or their own lives.
I loved the voyeuristic point of view — telling the story from the neighbours focal point was genius & masterfully done. I really enjoyed the buildup.
There was a moment where I was like OK this is getting a little myopic, evil and a tad boring.. and yes, these people are all insipid. That took away from the novel a little bit for me. It’s like Fitzgerald didn’t want to fully expose the characters for who they were except Tom. I focus on Daisy as a character so much because I just felt like it was a statement for Fitzgerald to protect white womanhood at any cost.. she didn’t want to marry Tom and had a meltdown, but she had to because what would have become of her. Like, exactly — what would have become of her? Why is that not even a thought that she could forge her own way forward. I get the timeline too, it might have been unheard of in that era, but I hate that. I hate that female autonomy is something unheard of. She already came from money, technically she could have just waited.. or done something else. Anyway, I digress..
Overall, I vibed with the message about humanity and peoples nature to want what they want no matter what. I really fucked with the main story about questioning who you think you know, and who your real friends are. That hit me on levels. Even decades later, this book is still worth the read.
Knowing what I thought I knew about this book, I really wanted to hate it. On the surface, it just seemed like self-absorbed, pretentious, utterly white bread, navel-gazing Americana lit, which is a genre I despise, but honestly, upon reading this book, I loved it.
The thing that I liked about it was how clear of a picture it painted about the falsehoods of friendship and the temperamental nature of lust and love and how people are just always out for themselves. People are always trying to protect their way of living whether or not it’s actually true to who they are as a person. For example, Daisy. How are you going to get with another guy because your guy is missing? I’m not saying that you should wait for him but you had no idea what happened to him, and you were like OK, I haven’t heard from Gatsby, I’m gonna marry this other man, who I don’t even really like! That scenario perfectly highlighted the need for people to live what they deem as the “highlife” whether or not they’re actually happy, content or in love with their partner or their own lives.
I loved the voyeuristic point of view — telling the story from the neighbours focal point was genius & masterfully done. I really enjoyed the buildup.
There was a moment where I was like OK this is getting a little myopic, evil and a tad boring.. and yes, these people are all insipid. That took away from the novel a little bit for me. It’s like Fitzgerald didn’t want to fully expose the characters for who they were except Tom. I focus on Daisy as a character so much because I just felt like it was a statement for Fitzgerald to protect white womanhood at any cost.. she didn’t want to marry Tom and had a meltdown, but she had to because what would have become of her. Like, exactly — what would have become of her? Why is that not even a thought that she could forge her own way forward. I get the timeline too, it might have been unheard of in that era, but I hate that. I hate that female autonomy is something unheard of. She already came from money, technically she could have just waited.. or done something else. Anyway, I digress..
Overall, I vibed with the message about humanity and peoples nature to want what they want no matter what. I really fucked with the main story about questioning who you think you know, and who your real friends are. That hit me on levels. Even decades later, this book is still worth the read.
lindseyhorn's review against another edition
2.0
i was expecting to be a fan of this book but i was not. the first half of it was so incredibly boring and at times almost confusing? once the plot picked up towards the end, it did get a little better and more enjoyable. i didn’t like any of the characters (granted maybe they weren’t supposed to be likable?) which probably made me like this book less overall as well. i know a lot of people really enjoyed this classic but i am not one of them :/
bluedwards's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Absolute belter of a book for me.
Rags to riches story without a happy ending.
Rags to riches story without a happy ending.
mnhfeb's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
cupcates's review against another edition
3.0
I'm going to be honest: I can see why people don't like this book, and I understand. However, to me, it was quite an enjoyable read, even though I'm super late to the party (insert *arrives 15 minutes late with Starbucks* meme), but I liked it. I also haven't watched the movie yet (pitiful, I know), so I didn't really have anything to compare it to, but yeah. Daisy was, without a doubt, my favorite and I understand why she might rub some readers the wrong way, but I DON'T CARE. Leave Daisy alone.
scotteabbott's review against another edition
4.0
Appreciated this book much more upon rereading it for the first time since high school. Having a deeper understanding of the historical period and geographic area in which it’s set provided much more useful context with which to understand the story and make sense of it. Still not my favorite, but better than I remembered.