Reviews with content warning for Drug use - The Great Gatsby

I will preface my review with the fact I read The Great Gatsby in a classroom setting, with a chapter-per-week pacing, as it was for an English assignment, and very little out of class reading; which I feel should be noted, as the way I interacted with and read the book was slightly different than how I would in a recreational/normal environment.
I liked The Great Gatsby quite a bit, and while I found my feelings for most of the characters to be on a spectrum of apathy to (just barely not) hatred as people, they are interesting characters, and you could find a lot of depth through speculation over them. There are a few lines and descriptions that I found quite revealing regarding the underlying feelings and motivations of some of the characters, especially

Daisy Buchanan, Jay Gatsby (aka James Gatz), and Tom Buchanan

, but that you might normally ignore or look past.
While I did enjoy it, there were some areas that felt slightly dull or dragged out, to the point I felt I had to skip though a bit my first read through, then re-read after finishing the chapter for additional context in the later scenes.
Nick Carroway, the narrator, skips through the summer while telling the story. He keeps the timeline linear, so it could feel a bit off-putting in the moment when he would mention seemingly random events between parties and dinners with acquaintances, but the events do all have actual meaning for being there, biggest reason being to build characterization and foreshadow future reveals or events.

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kalynlarva's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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ralfy's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

It. Is. So. Good.
I read it in one sitting during a thunderstorm. Could not stop if I had wanted to.

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lauryn_04's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

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mirandavictoria's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I did enjoy this book, but as a whole I found it somewhat underwhelming. I still thinks it’s worth the read though. Some wonderful prose and memorable quotes within.

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