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sanpinguino's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
thaurisil's review against another edition
4.0
The narrator, Nick Carraway, lives next to Jay Gatsby, owner of a mansion and giver of huge parties. Gatsby himself is mystery – he is wealthy, but where does his wealth come from? Who exactly is he? While at one of Gatsby’s parties, Gatsby strikes up a friendship with Nick. Bit by bit, Nick learns that Gatsby has been in love with Daisy, Nick’s second cousin once removed, and they were sweethearts before Daisy married Tom Buchanan. Gatsby’s wealth appears to have been derived corruptly from bootlegging, but he maintains innocence in his yearning for Daisy. Gatsby and Daisy have an affair, but it ends when Tom confronts Gatsby, and Daisy chooses Tom. As Gatsby and Daisy are driving back, Daisy runs over and kills Tom’s mistress, Myrtle. Her husband, Wilson, hearing from Tom that the car belonged to Gatsby, shoots Gatsby.
That’s a very brief summary that does not do any justice to this fabulous book. I’m not American, yet I can appreciate the beauty of this account of the American Dream. America in the 1920s, Fitzgerald implies, was full of great dreams. Glitzy New York was the center of this. Yet the dreams degenerated into a pursuit of wealth, and money corrupted the dream, until the center of this shiny veneer was moral depravity. Gatsby had an innocent, ambitious dream. He wanted Daisy. But Daisy was rich, and she would never choose a poor man. So he earned his money through corrupt means. He gained the money, but not happiness, for Daisy not only wouldn’t choose someone poor, she wouldn’t choose someone of the lower social class of new money. Money without happiness – how much does this represent America?
Gatsby starts off as a mystery. He is, in the eyes of strangers, “the Great Gatsby”. But when we start to know him, he is revealed to be innocently boyish. Even his monetary corruption cannot sully his love for Daisy. His wealth, his house, his parties, and all he has created, is all for Daisy. So it is tragic when he loses Daisy, and even more tragic when he dies with scarcely a friend at his funeral. He made Jay Gatsby, but for what purpose? Would he have been better off as plain Jim Gatz, living with his doting father?
Daisy, representing the Dream, is attractive. She’s beautiful and enthralling, and even I as the reader, knowing how she hurts Gatsby, cannot help but be drawn to her. Yet she gets so flirtatiously close without allowing Gatsby to have a substantial piece of her. She’s like Babylon in the bible – she plays with you, induces you to compromise on your morals, but she herself never compromises, and she never lets you have her. The closer Gatsby gets to her, the more his dream slips out of his hands.
Nick as a character is a perfect narrator. He introduces himself as a tolerant person, and this plays true, such that he becomes the confidante to all the major players in the book. He has traditional values that colour his impressions, but he has a loose enough hold on them that he is willing to mix with the immoral rich. Yet the experience changes him. At the end of the book, he has decidedly fixed ideas about who is good and who is evil. I know he is supposed to be a neutral narrator, but I believe he develops more than we notice.
And so, Fitzgerald takes what on the surface is a story of unrequited love and turns it into a metaphor about America, while keeping it relevant, exciting, and without sounding preachy. He does this all so subtly and skilfully, and wrings your heart before you even realise how involved you are in the book.
That’s a very brief summary that does not do any justice to this fabulous book. I’m not American, yet I can appreciate the beauty of this account of the American Dream. America in the 1920s, Fitzgerald implies, was full of great dreams. Glitzy New York was the center of this. Yet the dreams degenerated into a pursuit of wealth, and money corrupted the dream, until the center of this shiny veneer was moral depravity. Gatsby had an innocent, ambitious dream. He wanted Daisy. But Daisy was rich, and she would never choose a poor man. So he earned his money through corrupt means. He gained the money, but not happiness, for Daisy not only wouldn’t choose someone poor, she wouldn’t choose someone of the lower social class of new money. Money without happiness – how much does this represent America?
Gatsby starts off as a mystery. He is, in the eyes of strangers, “the Great Gatsby”. But when we start to know him, he is revealed to be innocently boyish. Even his monetary corruption cannot sully his love for Daisy. His wealth, his house, his parties, and all he has created, is all for Daisy. So it is tragic when he loses Daisy, and even more tragic when he dies with scarcely a friend at his funeral. He made Jay Gatsby, but for what purpose? Would he have been better off as plain Jim Gatz, living with his doting father?
Daisy, representing the Dream, is attractive. She’s beautiful and enthralling, and even I as the reader, knowing how she hurts Gatsby, cannot help but be drawn to her. Yet she gets so flirtatiously close without allowing Gatsby to have a substantial piece of her. She’s like Babylon in the bible – she plays with you, induces you to compromise on your morals, but she herself never compromises, and she never lets you have her. The closer Gatsby gets to her, the more his dream slips out of his hands.
Nick as a character is a perfect narrator. He introduces himself as a tolerant person, and this plays true, such that he becomes the confidante to all the major players in the book. He has traditional values that colour his impressions, but he has a loose enough hold on them that he is willing to mix with the immoral rich. Yet the experience changes him. At the end of the book, he has decidedly fixed ideas about who is good and who is evil. I know he is supposed to be a neutral narrator, but I believe he develops more than we notice.
And so, Fitzgerald takes what on the surface is a story of unrequited love and turns it into a metaphor about America, while keeping it relevant, exciting, and without sounding preachy. He does this all so subtly and skilfully, and wrings your heart before you even realise how involved you are in the book.
archiegitdog's review against another edition
3.0
Read the book fairly quickly and to be honest I thought the current film with Leonardo was very good - almost 80% true to the book. I watched the film first and read book second, I do not feel like I missed out and surprised why everyone raves about it.
giotameows's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
courteneyalysee's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
hangngt_'s review against another edition
4.0
read this for school…
I hate english. this books was too hard for me :(( Or maybe it’s the quizzes and test (y are there such specific questions?)
anyway I thought it was interesting. but it was slow pace at first. then by the end is when it started getting better since more things are happening.
overall, idk what to say abt this. I do enjoy it! maybe I’m just traumatized by english work
—-
okie so I’ve been thinking it over and I actually like this book. so 4 stars!!!
I hate english. this books was too hard for me :(( Or maybe it’s the quizzes and test (y are there such specific questions?)
anyway I thought it was interesting. but it was slow pace at first. then by the end is when it started getting better since more things are happening.
overall, idk what to say abt this. I do enjoy it! maybe I’m just traumatized by english work
—-
okie so I’ve been thinking it over and I actually like this book. so 4 stars!!!
alice_kingsleigh's review against another edition
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- 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
4.5
Podobała mi się ta krótka opowieść. Lekko się jej słuchało, a ukazywała dość znany koncept bogacza, którego po śmierci zapomina cały świat. Tutaj było to ukazane bardzo definitywne. Opuściła go nawet jego jedyna, wielka miłość, jakby był dla niej niczym. Zakończenie choć przygnębiające to również trzeźwiące, ukazujące smutną prawdę życia.
Cytat: Zanim kogoś ocenisz, musisz uświadomić sobie, że on nie jest tobą i że nie wszyscy ludzie na świecie mieli takie same możliwości jak ty.
Cytat: Zanim kogoś ocenisz, musisz uświadomić sobie, że on nie jest tobą i że nie wszyscy ludzie na świecie mieli takie same możliwości jak ty.