The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
180 pages
Scribners, 1925
classic American novel
Read in 3 days
My Rating: ★★
"In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since."
Review: At 180 pages I found this book a massive and utter bore, but I didn't come to this conclusion until the last word of the last line was read. So I suppose that should make it a good book? Why it is considered one of the great American novels is beyond me. Let me begin by stating a few specifics of the book. It's told from the point-of-view of a man named Nick Carroway who ends up occupying a flat right next door to "the great" Gatsby. His house, unlike Nick's, is quite lavish and always seems to be very busy with guests (most of the uninvited or unknown variety) who show up and stay till all hours of the night.
So who is this Gatsby and what is all the fuss about? Beyond his looks and the stories that seem to spread rather quickly about him (most of which are untrue as well as unbelievable), to me, there really isn't much to be impressed about the man. In truth, he is just a man. Turns out he's a man obsessed by a woman. So much so that he spends a great many years of his poor, uninteresting life, making something of himself. Why? Because this woman he's madly in love with, Daisy, is someone accustomed to the finer things in life. Something he could never have provided her when they first met. But while he is off making money (mostly dealing with shady and corrupt people) she found herself marrying another. This all culminates in the hear-and-now of the book. Mr. Gatsby learns that Nick is acquainted with Daisy since they are rather distant cousins. He then takes it upon himself to use Nick to let Daisy know that he is not only able to care for her now, but is intent on taking her away from her horrible cheating husband!
Are you getting interested yet? Finding reason for this book to be called a classic? I didn't think so. Anyhow, I mentioned Daisy's cheating husband earlier. His name is Tom Buchanan. He is, for lack of better words, a hypercritical dirtbag. I say this because he is the kind of man who thinks it's appropriate and expected of him to have a little action on the side but utterly inconceivable for this wife to be cheating on him! In any case, the side stories are mildly entertaining but wholly unecessary since they serve no real purpose in moving along a rather boring story. I honestly could care less about this Gatsby who everyone seems to be interested in when alive but completely forget when dead. Oops, did I spoil the ending?
**SPOILER ALERT**
The woman Tom is having the open affair with ends up being killed by his very own wife! Talk about soap opera drama right there. And the only one who knows the truth? Nick, our very own narrator. But for whatever reason he says nothing to Tom when he sees him a good two years after that whole scene takes place. I'm sure I missed a few things that were explained in the last chapter because it was mostly description and very little dialog, but the last time we see or hear of Daisy is when Gatsby himself tells of her turning out her bedroom light the night Tom's mistress was struck dead by a speeding driver. She being the speeding driver. Gatsby ends up being killed by Tom's mistresses husband who, in a rage, takes a gun and enacts his revenge. Then finishes himself off afterwards.
**END OF SPOILER ALERT**
No real lessons learned here. This story pretty much left me with unanswered questions that, after careful consideration, I realized I didn't really care to know the answers to. I like to read a novel, whether classic or otherwise, that leaves me with a sense of fulfillment if not mentally then emotionally. This book left me drained of my emotions and like I wasted precious time on the lives of people I neither liked nor cared enough about to dislike. I can honestly say I'm not sure I'll read another Fitzgerald book, but if I do I sure hope it turns out better than this one!
I feel I aught to say SOMETHING nice about the author since I had nothing nice to say about the story itself. His ability to give me a vivid picture of the surrounding sites and sounds in the book were exemplary. Otherwise, the dialog was a bit repetative and predictable, if not, awkward and unfeeling. Fitzgerald seems to do his best work when he's being descriptive or telling the story through Nick's mind than when the characters are engaged in conversation.
As love stories and great romances of all time go I would, and probably will, never put Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan on my list. She seemed like a woman confused about what it means to love another and his obsession with her was so great he was imagining love, not really living it in the present. They both were adults in age but not in thoughts or actions.
And one last thing, is Nick's character supposed to be bisexual? First I thought he was straight on gay. I'm still inclined to think that since I think the reason he thought he was in love with Jordan (a golf player) was because I imagined her looking a bit "manly" in stature and demeanor. Just a passing thought of mine...
What did you think of The Great Gatsby? Have you seen any of the now 4 versions of the movie that were made?
Summary: The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted “gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession,” it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.
The Great Gatsby is one of the great classics of twentieth-century literature.
The
timeless story of Jay Gatsby and his love for Daisy Buchanan is widely
acknowledged to be the closest thing to the Great American Novel ever
written.
To learn more about F. Scott Fitzgerald, visit his wikipage here.
Good for you for writing an honest review. I actually love this book, but I can see why it's not for everyone (isn't that true of every book?). You can't love everything you read.
ReplyDelete"This book left me drained of my emotions and like I wasted precious time on the lives of people I neither liked nor cared enough about to dislike."
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly the point - so I would say Fitzgerald did what he intended, and you read it quite well (though you may not have liked the book, its purpose was served). :)
That is an interesting analysis I hadn't considered. Perhaps you are right. But I still won't be reading another Fitzgerald book any time soon.
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