Slow start. I wasn't really interested in how the rich party (the extravagant but distant host, the lethargic women and the debauchery of men), but later on I realised this was perhaps necessary to set the mood. The novel builds up to an explosive climax and I finished the book well satisfied and reflective - the prose has a contemporary feel that stands the test of time. I think you need to have experienced the whole social dating scene (as the hunter and prey) to really appreciate the plot. But it goes much deeper than that and the significance of "The Great Gatsby is a highly symbolic meditation on 1920s America as a whole, in particular the disintegration of the American dream in an era of unprecedented prosperity and material excess. Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in its overarching cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure." [sparknotes] Woow, mind blowing stuff. I think people have good intentions but somewhere down the road, the unexpected happens, temptations are rife, and some people get derailed. ( )

This book leads many lists of classic American literature so I thought I would revisit some 20+ years after last reading. I remembered little other than West Egg and East Egg. The characters have few redeeming values, except for Nick, who we really don't get to know all that well. All are involved in cheating and scheming on some level personal or professional. Sad, really. This is also an example of a movie ruining a book - I can only picture Mia Farrow and Robert Redford in a 1970s version of the 1920s. ( )

Nick Carraway, originally from Minnesota has spent quite a bit of time on the east coast. After fighting in World War Two and going to Yale he decides to spend a year in New York. He winds up living in a bungalow near his second cousin once removed, Daisy and her husband Tom, a man he went to Yale with. He also lives next to door the mysterious Jay Gatsby, who is throwing elaborate parties ever weekend. Tom is the witness to a summer's worth of drama in Long Island with secrets, old loves and huge tempers.

When I picked up The Great Gatsby for the first time four days ago I didn't really know what to excpet. Recentlly many people had told me I would enjoy it, but never gave me a reason why. When I got the book as an early Christmas gift a few days ago I was more interested in what was the big deal with this 'classic' then with the story or the characters but that quickly changed. There is something very simple and beautiful in the way Fitzgerald made these characters. They're all so tragically flawed, but you feel for most of them at one time or another. Gatsby is intriguing, it's hard to tell when he is being honest, but that doesn't really matter, it's just who he is. it's a short book, but it moves quick. It's refershing to see the 1920's in a way that doesn't focus on the family, World War One (well, more than it does) and music. A great read. ( )

Incandescently beautiful portrait of the lovely but fatally flawed nouveau riche of the 1920s in the US (and their hangers on). ( )

Hey, it's me again...'The Great Gatsby'....Remember? From 10th grade? The jeremiad about Jazz Age decadence? The litmus-test for all 20th-century American novels? West Egg? Nick Carraway? Rampant classism and clandestine romance? Remember...?Oh...all you remember is 'West Egg'? For shame...I was a novel before Cliffs Notes were even invented, dude. I suggest you call up Mrs. Mulcahy and ask her to remind you why she assigned me in the first place. ( )

Just didn't work for me - I couldn't connect with any of the characters. I see it's value in American literature, but will never be a favorite of mine. ( )

Langweilig: Leider kann ich mich dem Lob meiner Vorredner nicht ganz (bzw. überhaupt nicht) anschließen. Ich finde dieses Buch einfach langweilig. Es ist keinerlei Spannungsbogen drin, die Figuren sind so schemenhaft gezeichnet, dass sich kein Interesse für sie einstellt. Darüber hinaus weist die Geschichte etliche Sprünge auf, die sie sehr gekünstelt erscheinen lassen.
Dazu ist die Übersetzung an vielen Stellen reichlich holprig.
Warum dieser Roman zur Weltliteratur gezählt wird, erschließt sich mir nicht.

The Great Gatsby, is one of those stories that feels as familiar as something that happened to you, yet is so far outside of what could be considered normal interaction. The deadpan Nick, the larger than life Gatsby, and the longing for the first and only love you may ever have. The 1920s come alive in F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece, and upon each subsequent reading each character comes more alive, vibrant, and tragic than before. ( )

I read this book in high school, and hated it. I won't say that about very many books, but I do this one. I wanted to shoot myself in the head after reading it. ( )

This book captures the spirit of the Jazz Age of 1920s America beautifully ( )

A difficult read for me... I found this extremely hard to get into. ( )

This book repeatedly shows up on reading lists, from high school required to "OMG these are the best books evar", so I figured sooner or later I needed to pick it up. To be honest, I'm a little puzzled at its continued popularity. In a nutshell, it's about bored rich people treating each other badly. Some of the imagery is nice, and there is some very funny dialogue, but I found the story largely forgettable. ( )

This book is a favorite of mine. I always love Fitzgerald's depiction of life in the Jazz Age, and this novel is definitely his best. The characters are real and sympathetic, and Nick Carraway is an excellent vehicle for the reader. Gatsby's story truly is a tragic one, captured in a nicely understated way over the course of this novel. ( )

I have read The Great Gatsby several times over the past 30 years and each time I read it I am reminded why it is Fitzgerald’s masterpiece. It has been reviewed a countless number of times by students, scholars, and avid readers like myself, and I apologize if my review is a bit redundant.

The plot is tight, smooth, structured, and incredibly entertaining. Nick Carraway tells the story of his life during the summer of 1922; a time known as the Jazz Age and The Roaring Twenties. Nick is from the mid-west and after graduating from Yale, takes a job in New York City selling bonds. Preferring a more tranquil environment, he finds a small cottage for rent in West Egg on the Long Island Sound. In spite of the fact that the country is in a deep recession and Prohibition is in effect Nick’s next door neighbor, Jay Gatsby, is running “party central” from his large stately mansion; grand banquets, orchestras and dancing, swimming and drinking, and partying until dawn. Nick doesn’t immediately meet his neighbor but the whole West Egg community and the elite East Egg are talking about Gatsby. The enigma Gatsby: is he royalty, a spy, an Oxford Grad, an honored veteran, “he might have killed someone once”, he’s definitely rich, inherited money, or did he make his fortune in oil speculation or drugs? Or is he just a narcissistic, egotistical, flamboyant show-off?

Other characters include Nick’s filthy rich, jaded cousin Daisy Buchanan (from East Egg), her spoiled, brutish, philandering, jock husband Tom, and a common middle-class couple Myrtle and George Wilson who run the local garage and gas station. As Nick attends social gatherings with the Buchanans he simultaneously becomes acquainted with Jay Gatsby. And Nick eventually finds himself reluctantly entangled in Gatsby’s scheme to rekindle a brief prior romantic affair with Daisy.

In many reviews The Great Gatsby is referred to as a prime example of the pursuit of “The American Dream”. Personally, I wouldn’t describe it that way. Gatsby had a chance at the real “American Dream” but it was too conventional and boring for him. This story is about Gatsby’s endeavor to break through the class barrier; to marry a woman of prominence and great wealth. But I would say above all The Great Gatsby is a tragic love story. Gatsby was delusional! He was shallow and superficial, and his life was a farce.

The Great Gatsby is a mere 159 pages; a novella. But what a story! The plot, the characters, and the writing style all contributed greatly towards this literary triumph. F. Scott Fitzgerald was an expert short story writer, and only he could have packed 159 pages so completely with the fast paced intricate plot and the elaborately detailed colorful characters to compose this timeless classic. ( )

I read Great Gatsby back in Junior High and my only real memories were that it was boring and the characters were unloveable/unredeemable.

Finally getting around to re-reading it with more literature behind me, I have a much different take. While still not a favorite read of mine, I found it more entertaining than I remember and I actually came away engaged in the story and the characters.

Reading it this time, I was more distinctly aware of the prohibition era in which these characters were revolving and the extent to which that directed some of their actions. The drinking/partying took on a new aspect. It also gave me a greater perception into Gatsby's character and his relation to society as a whole and the society he was trying to 'break into' (Daisy's).

There was still plenty of superficiality to the characters…but that doesn't mean these characters are flat. On the contrary, I saw a lot more depth this time around than in my early teens. I was very impressed by the way Fitzgerald added so much depth to these characters while at the same time providing them with so little substance.

I enjoyed looking more closely at the interactions between Gatsby and Daisy and the way the various relationships worked. Now that I've actually dated and married, I viewed the relationships in a different light and could better understand the tension, jealousy and hypocritical behavior going on.

I would like to have seen more development of the pseudo-relationship between Nick and Jordan, but I think leaving it vague throughout and then ending it abruptly allows for more in-depth thinking than if Nick and Jordan had happily escaped the tragedy surrounding them.

I seem to remember there being significant discussion about the East/West geography in my Junior High English class…but reading it this time, I just didn't see that as a main motif. Sure, we had "West Egg" and "East Egg" and various New York parties and excursions. But when you get down to it, the East/West thing didn't work…partly because all of the main characters are just transplanted anyway (they all came from the west/midwest) and partly because the culture around them felt contrived anyway rather than some high culture that would be representative of the "true culture" of established Eastern money or whatever.

I had forgotten some of the details of the climax and the ending and so was a little taken off guard when everything unraveled. Parts of the climax scenes felt a little rushed or underdeveloped, but still provided a satisfying turn of events to the story arc, even if the end of the book left me a little unsettled (which is part of the intent, I believe).

My initial rating from my Junior High memories was 2 out of 5 stars. With a more mature perspective on reading and having read a whole lot more and learned a whole lot more, I can give a better rating and say that I can see now why this book is held up as a classic. It's not the action packed thriller or adventure novel that I may have wanted as a young teenager, but it is a thought provoking and engaging narrative exploring class and relationships in a turbulent world.

****
4 stars ( )

High school 'must read' lists ruined a lot of good books for me. I didn't enjoy this book in high school, but after finding several other books which I later enjoyed, I tried this one again. I just don't like the way he writes. Puts me to sleep. I found nothing of interest in the book & couldn't finish it. ( )

Everytime I read the opening lines, and the concluding lines, I remember it all, my heart is touched, tears come forth -- what else can I say?

A masterpiece of diction, not a sentence, word, nor syllable wasted -- everything counts.1 ( )

Young Nick Carraway moves to New York and quickly becomes intrigued by his mysterious, but rich, neighbor Jay Gatsby. This book involves Nick's cousin Daisy and her husband Tom. The longer Nick stays in New York, the more he finds out about Daisy and her unique connection to Jay Gatsby. The book takes readers on an adventurous ride until the end. ( )

I didn't understand all the antipathy towards this book when we read it back in school. It was quite good, even if the 'voice' is obviously... non-modern. ( )

Great dreams, great passion, great schemes, great Gatsby. Great F.Scott Fitzgerald. ( )

30 Mar 2001
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald

I find it helpful and interesting to return sometimes to a book that I read as an assignment in school. Gatsby is a case in point. It is brief, and it struck me now as a very entertaining and light novel, devoid of all the symbolism it had in english class. The story is very compelling, with mistaken idendities all around, both the obvious and the subtle kind of mistake. I finished this in about two nights, and will always remember Jay Gatsby, Nick, Daisy, and Tom Buchanan, and the summer at West Egg. ( )

The last time I read this book was probably over a year ago. But that doesn't mean I liked it any less the last time I read it, than I did the first time I read it 10 years ago. I recently read someone's brief review of The Great Gatsby in which they called it "overrated" and "ho-hum." Said reviewer gave this book 2 stars. I felt like throwing up when I saw that. If you're an avid reader you probably have The Book. The one book you remember reading that blew your mind and changed your world. For me, The Great Gatsby was that book. I first read it in highschool my sophomore year (like so many others), and it changed my life forever. This was the book that made me love reading. Even if I can't always remember the names, or the exact order of the plot, I will always remember how F. Scott Fitzgerald opened my eyes to the beauty of literature when I first read The Great Gatsby. ( )

Overrated like you wouldn't image. An unengaging, boring style mixed with a ho-hum plot make this good for the bin. It's only worth reading for the historical aspect and implications, other than that, meh. ( )

Perfect. I can read the last page over and over and over....

Along with All the King's Men and the Grapes of Wrath, the best-written work of "serious" fiction I have encountered - and with the benefit of being much shorter. Of course, Raymond Chandler writes almost as well.... ( )

I just didn't get the hype. ( )