jordanak03's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
aranmn's review against another edition
3.0
First of all, take this review with a grain of salt. I was so bored through the first 75% of this novel that I fell asleep (had a great nap in fact) while listening to the audiobook, and may or may not have missed a couple of things. That being said, I /was/ bored, and while the last 25% was by far the most interesting and plot heavy part of the book, I don't think I can base my rating on the last 25% of a novel that is, by the way, under 200 pages long... I might give this a second chance at some point and see if I change my mind, but as of now, I guess 2.5 rounded up to 3 stars is what I would rate it based on my interest/enjoyment, so I'll go with that.
oddrey07's review against another edition
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
<the reveal of Gatsby being a fraud was amazing. I truly loved how out of left field it felt> Daisy is a character I don't enjoy, but she was a great character in general.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism
readingwithmuggy's review against another edition
4.0
As someone who didn’t read this in school and had no idea what this was about before reading it, I think it’s easy for some of the big literary themes and messages to get lost on me. The biggest takeaway I had for this one is the great lengths people will go to build a facade to feel seen but the facade creates loneliness because you aren’t ever truly known by anymore. This book also has covers the larger context for class disparity and “the American dream”. I was pleasantly surprised by the crime/mystery component toward the end. Overall, I see why this is popular especially in school but I think in some ways it’s been overhyped.
paracosm's review against another edition
3.0
I know that plenty of people had to read this one for high school, I wasn't one of them. Despite that, I have a pretty good idea of the symbolism that is supposedly present in this novel, thanks to all the literature memes I've seen. The main point of the book is that the American Dream is an unsustainable and impossible goal. There's this whole metaphor about a green lantern that Gatsby cant never reach. But I'm not here to talk about that, I'm here to talk about the gay parts, that's a lot more fun.
We follow a dude named Nick Carraway, the best way to describe him is that he is a secondary character in his own life. Through the entire book he just gets dragged to places he seems doesn't want to go. The only exception being the ending in which he gets tired of everyone's shit, decides that New York is terrible and goes back home.
After Nick moves to a rich neighborhood, he gets invited to a party and immediately falls in love with the host, Jay Gatsby (that's not his real name, by the way). If you dont believe me, let me tell you that he spends a whole paragraph describing how beautiful his smile is, Nick even mentions how:
[I]"It was one of those rare smiles with the quality of eternal reassurance in it that you might come across four or five times in a lifetime."
That's an actual quote from the book. In my opinion Leonardo DiCaprio nailed that smile in the adaptation, which was overall a pretty good one, go see it if you haven't.
Despite that, I believe Nick deserves better than Gatsby, who, as you might know, is totally obsessed with Daisy. I'll go back to that in a minute. Nick also deserves better friends, because everyone that's not him goes from "a little bit of a jerk" to "an absolute asshole", and that's not good for a person. The main example of that last bit is Tom Buchanan, who is a real piece of work.
This book includes many things, but romance is not one of them. Whatever Gatsby had for Daisy it's not love, it's an obsession. They only knew each other for very little before Gatsby decided to dedicate his entire life to her and spend millions and millions of dollars in parties with the hope that Daisy will attend. That's not a healthy behavior.
I honestly don't care enough about this book to analyze it further. If it wasn't for it's fame it would be a really forgettable read. I'll not stop you from picking it up.
We follow a dude named Nick Carraway, the best way to describe him is that he is a secondary character in his own life. Through the entire book he just gets dragged to places he seems doesn't want to go. The only exception being the ending in which he gets tired of everyone's shit, decides that New York is terrible and goes back home.
After Nick moves to a rich neighborhood, he gets invited to a party and immediately falls in love with the host, Jay Gatsby (that's not his real name, by the way). If you dont believe me, let me tell you that he spends a whole paragraph describing how beautiful his smile is, Nick even mentions how:
[I]"It was one of those rare smiles with the quality of eternal reassurance in it that you might come across four or five times in a lifetime."
That's an actual quote from the book. In my opinion Leonardo DiCaprio nailed that smile in the adaptation, which was overall a pretty good one, go see it if you haven't.
Despite that, I believe Nick deserves better than Gatsby, who, as you might know, is totally obsessed with Daisy. I'll go back to that in a minute. Nick also deserves better friends, because everyone that's not him goes from "a little bit of a jerk" to "an absolute asshole", and that's not good for a person. The main example of that last bit is Tom Buchanan, who is a real piece of work.
This book includes many things, but romance is not one of them. Whatever Gatsby had for Daisy it's not love, it's an obsession. They only knew each other for very little before Gatsby decided to dedicate his entire life to her and spend millions and millions of dollars in parties with the hope that Daisy will attend. That's not a healthy behavior.
I honestly don't care enough about this book to analyze it further. If it wasn't for it's fame it would be a really forgettable read. I'll not stop you from picking it up.
jaded618's review against another edition
4.0
This was a short and enjoyable book. I have seen and enjoyed the movie and always wanted to read the book. I was not dissapointed!
brittany_tellefsen's review against another edition
3.0
Rating 3.5/5
rom the perspective of our main protagonist, Nick Carroway, we are thrust into the roarin' 20's where prosperity for America is high as is hope and longing for the attainment of the American Dream.
Nick has recently rented a home in West Egg, a suburb of Long Island that houses the recently wealthy. Nick's neighbor is a mysterious man known as Gatsby, who lives in an ostentatious mansion and throws lavish parties every weekend.
As the plot unfolds, Nick and Gatsby become friends, although he is dubious of the fact that Gatsby is connected to organized crime and fears his wealth has comunsavory means. We find out that Gatsby's sole purpose in West Egg is to be near a woman named Daisy Buchanan who lives across the sound in East Egg. Daisy is Nick's cousin who is married to a brute of man, a man who himself is having an affair.
Gatsby has been in love with Daisy for years, and was crushed when he returned from the war to find her married. He now schemes to once again claim her as his own and he wants Nick's help in the matter. Soon the two are reunited and it is as though no time has passed and the events of the story progress from there as we followed the progression of the relationships in the story.
I am conflicted over my feelings for this novel. Overall, it was a very quick and easy read, definitely far less dense and flowery as older classics may be. The story was simple to follow and I found it very atmospheric, which is the main aspect that stuck with me after the story ended.
However, I am unsure that I quite grasp the purpose of the novel. It is my understanding that the novel as a whole is really just a metaphor regarding the pursuit of the American Dream, as people fight their way to wealth, seduced by such lavish lifestyles only to live morally bankrupt lives. But the execution of this was very underwhelming and confusing. The characters here were also very superficial, one-dimensional and underdeveloped and I didn't connect with any of them really.
This story was definitely different from my overall expectations, but I am really glad that I read this and can add it to my classics library
rom the perspective of our main protagonist, Nick Carroway, we are thrust into the roarin' 20's where prosperity for America is high as is hope and longing for the attainment of the American Dream.
Nick has recently rented a home in West Egg, a suburb of Long Island that houses the recently wealthy. Nick's neighbor is a mysterious man known as Gatsby, who lives in an ostentatious mansion and throws lavish parties every weekend.
As the plot unfolds, Nick and Gatsby become friends, although he is dubious of the fact that Gatsby is connected to organized crime and fears his wealth has comunsavory means. We find out that Gatsby's sole purpose in West Egg is to be near a woman named Daisy Buchanan who lives across the sound in East Egg. Daisy is Nick's cousin who is married to a brute of man, a man who himself is having an affair.
Gatsby has been in love with Daisy for years, and was crushed when he returned from the war to find her married. He now schemes to once again claim her as his own and he wants Nick's help in the matter. Soon the two are reunited and it is as though no time has passed and the events of the story progress from there as we followed the progression of the relationships in the story.
I am conflicted over my feelings for this novel. Overall, it was a very quick and easy read, definitely far less dense and flowery as older classics may be. The story was simple to follow and I found it very atmospheric, which is the main aspect that stuck with me after the story ended.
However, I am unsure that I quite grasp the purpose of the novel. It is my understanding that the novel as a whole is really just a metaphor regarding the pursuit of the American Dream, as people fight their way to wealth, seduced by such lavish lifestyles only to live morally bankrupt lives. But the execution of this was very underwhelming and confusing. The characters here were also very superficial, one-dimensional and underdeveloped and I didn't connect with any of them really.
This story was definitely different from my overall expectations, but I am really glad that I read this and can add it to my classics library
mrsmangoa's review against another edition
This book was absolutely boring. The prose isn't exciting or expressive, the storyline is confusing. I really didn't get the message of this book.
DNF'd on page 28. I'm having a tough time with these classics! I don't even see how they could be literally significant.
DNF'd on page 28. I'm having a tough time with these classics! I don't even see how they could be literally significant.