megann__'s review against another edition
5.0
*uni read
i really thought this books was just about partying in the 1920s and rich white people but boy was i wrong!!!
the way that it twists into something beyond the love triangle and the partying, and the sinister undertones slowly become more and more unravelled as the story continues is so good!!
i can't really explain how much i like this book without spoiling it but omg it was good!!
i really thought this books was just about partying in the 1920s and rich white people but boy was i wrong!!!
the way that it twists into something beyond the love triangle and the partying, and the sinister undertones slowly become more and more unravelled as the story continues is so good!!
i can't really explain how much i like this book without spoiling it but omg it was good!!
hannahsbiblioteca's review against another edition
4.0
*4.5
this book was honestly a rollercoaster of emotions. i kind of wish that it would have ended differently. now on to the movie.
this book was honestly a rollercoaster of emotions. i kind of wish that it would have ended differently. now on to the movie.
jacket7227's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
ellaneyshmellaney's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.25
Deep and reflective, a cautionary tale of the consequences of dwelling on the past.
ericbrasiln's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
wmoon's review against another edition
5.0
I am happy to say that this stays 5 stars for me! I think I've decided I don't like the way that I do my reviews, so time to change it up a bit.
This is all spoilers from here down.
This novel holds so much in such a little space. For me, the most powerful is the importance of using your voice. Nick knows a lot throughout the entirety of the story: he knows Tom is having and affair with Myrtle, he knows that Gatsby loves Daisy, he knows that Daisy loves easy, he knows who actually hit Myrtle with the yellow car. But what does he say? Nothing. In my opinion, Nick's inaction is why so much of the plot proceeds the way that it does. If Nick had used the voice that he claims is so honest and humble, the events of the book would have occurred in a very different way. Your voice and your virtues need to go hand in hand.
I also appreciate the dichotomy of Nick's inactivity with Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby's activity. You have Tom, who is motivated by power/control. He has a mistress because he needs to be above Daisy in their relationship. He loves Daisy and wants her to be his, and lies to Myrtle to keep it that way, because he needs to have the perfect family. He cares for Nick as long as Nick justifies, or keeps quiet about, all of his actions. He'll do anything as long as it leaves him in the power position. Then you have Daisy, who is motivated by greed and fame. She surrounds herself with people like Nick and Jordan who will remind her how loved she had been before she married, and who will call on her as friends. She keeps Tom around because he reminds her that she has everything already. She hangs to Gatsby because he provides an outlet for her to feel the love Tom didn't respect her with, and because he makes her feel important and precious. She even interacts with her daughter in a manner that suggests, while she loves her, she loves how perfect she is and how complete she makes her family even more. Lastly you have Gatsby, who is motivated by love. He builds his entire life in the East to follow Daisy. He throws ridiculous parties in the hopes to lure her across the bay. He loses himself in his fascination with her and becomes something else. Love overcomes him, and when it's taken away so is he. All three of them act to irrationally in these ways and it pairs well with how "rationally" Nick chooses not to act.
In the end, we also see that love is not the thing that conquers all. Or at least, in a way it isn't. Wilson kills Gatsby because of how much he loved his wife, but Gatsby wasn't the one who killed her. You have a madman killing in the name of love and a dead man who died because he loved a woman who killed a woman. And then you have Tom and Daisy who come out unscathed with maybe a new scar or two. It's just...incomparable. I love this book so much.
5/5
This is all spoilers from here down.
This novel holds so much in such a little space. For me, the most powerful is the importance of using your voice. Nick knows a lot throughout the entirety of the story: he knows Tom is having and affair with Myrtle, he knows that Gatsby loves Daisy, he knows that Daisy loves easy, he knows who actually hit Myrtle with the yellow car. But what does he say? Nothing. In my opinion, Nick's inaction is why so much of the plot proceeds the way that it does. If Nick had used the voice that he claims is so honest and humble, the events of the book would have occurred in a very different way. Your voice and your virtues need to go hand in hand.
I also appreciate the dichotomy of Nick's inactivity with Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby's activity. You have Tom, who is motivated by power/control. He has a mistress because he needs to be above Daisy in their relationship. He loves Daisy and wants her to be his, and lies to Myrtle to keep it that way, because he needs to have the perfect family. He cares for Nick as long as Nick justifies, or keeps quiet about, all of his actions. He'll do anything as long as it leaves him in the power position. Then you have Daisy, who is motivated by greed and fame. She surrounds herself with people like Nick and Jordan who will remind her how loved she had been before she married, and who will call on her as friends. She keeps Tom around because he reminds her that she has everything already. She hangs to Gatsby because he provides an outlet for her to feel the love Tom didn't respect her with, and because he makes her feel important and precious. She even interacts with her daughter in a manner that suggests, while she loves her, she loves how perfect she is and how complete she makes her family even more. Lastly you have Gatsby, who is motivated by love. He builds his entire life in the East to follow Daisy. He throws ridiculous parties in the hopes to lure her across the bay. He loses himself in his fascination with her and becomes something else. Love overcomes him, and when it's taken away so is he. All three of them act to irrationally in these ways and it pairs well with how "rationally" Nick chooses not to act.
In the end, we also see that love is not the thing that conquers all. Or at least, in a way it isn't. Wilson kills Gatsby because of how much he loved his wife, but Gatsby wasn't the one who killed her. You have a madman killing in the name of love and a dead man who died because he loved a woman who killed a woman. And then you have Tom and Daisy who come out unscathed with maybe a new scar or two. It's just...incomparable. I love this book so much.
5/5
activelyreading's review against another edition
5.0
2023 quote: “I was 30. Before me stretched the portentous, menacing road of a new decade”
2022 quote: “something was making him [Tom] nibble at the edge of stale ideas as if his sturdy physical egotism no longer nourished his peremptory heart”
2022 quote: “something was making him [Tom] nibble at the edge of stale ideas as if his sturdy physical egotism no longer nourished his peremptory heart”
chrisla's review against another edition
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
nearnik's review against another edition
medium-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
3.75
marie64's review against another edition
2.0
I found it quite long and boring, did not really feel appealed to keep going although it is beautifully written and the last 40 pages are intriguing