Helpful Score: 6
A classic, readable story juxtaposing the upper class with the lower. Fitzgerald shows how the rich act from the perspective of a non-wealthy character. I thought he illustrated pretty well the depth of Gatsby - even though he was a bit envied, he was still a fellow human. Recommended to classic fiction lovers as a light, easy read.
Helpful Score: 3
This novel was simply amazing. The ease of reading disguises the deep and meaningful questions sparked by Gatsby's life and the enigmatic title. Few books are truly life changing, but I would put The Great Gatsby on that list. Fitzgerald really highlighted how truly lonely one can be in a crowd, and the ethics of love of friendship as well as the social change of the 1920's in all aspects. The Great Gatsby was a book that I was forced to read for school and became one of my favorite novels, and upon each re-reading I learn another lesson or see a different aspect of this multifaceted, interesting, and well written work.
Stephanie W. (StephanieW) -
Helpful Score: 2
Fitzgerald is an excellent writer and this novel, which may seem simple in the beginning, is anything but formulaic. While I did not find this text to be one of the best of all-time, I highly recommend it to any reader looking to explore concepts of love, mortality, and morality. Flowing prose and serene descriptions add to Fitzgerald's well-crafted storyline.
I highly reommend this novel.
I highly reommend this novel.
Helpful Score: 2
This has always been one of my favorite books. Every time I read it, I discover something new.
Helpful Score: 1
The Great Gatsby is a classic we should all read. Despite being written so many decades ago, this is an easily readible book and a terrific look into the history of the '20s and '30s.
Helpful Score: 1
There is a reason why so many people call this their favorite novel of all time. It is just THAT good. I have read this book many times and I love it more with each reading. A MUST read (and if you haven't read it, why on earth haven't you? Times-a-wasting reading this mundane review...get on it!).
Helpful Score: 1
An absolute American classic and a must read. One of the best lines in the book is when someone notes, "The rich are different"; and indeed Fitzgerald captures this beautifully in his depiction of Gatsby and other characters, all set against the Jazz Age.
Helpful Score: 1
I tried very hard to like this classic. I wanted to read it because it is a classic. Just not my cup of tea.
Helpful Score: 1
There is a reason some books are called classics. Not all old books are. The Great Gatsby has earned the title classic. It took me a few pages to become engaged in the story but after that I had a hard time setting it down. The way Fitzgerald tells the story somehow manages to be dreamy and realistic, tragic and sweet, all at the same time. It is one of those books that haunt you long after you are done reading. Why? It is what happens when an author brings all of the elements that make a book great together into one work.
The Plot and Characters (my thoughts): The plot of The Great Gatsby is quite straightforward. It is about Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchannan. It is a story of the moral corruptness of the rich at that time. The narrator Nick Caraway is not rich and is drawn into Gatsbys and Daisys affair because he is both the neighbor of Gatsby and Daisys cousin. I found it interesting that the narrator was not Daisy or Gatsby since the book was primarily about them. Instead Fitzgerald chose to make Nick the narrator. This I thought was very smart for many reasons. A few are, the fact that Nick is not prejudiced for or against certain characters so it allowed the reader to make up their own mind who is in the right, number two is that Nick was an outsider in the high society so it seemed he was able to see the true emptiness that was on the inside of those people and how greed and lust had corrupted them. Overall using a minor character for narrator worked in developing the other characters very well. I thought the plot of this book was more focused on characters and atmosphere than anything else
Over all I absolutely loved this book it is an amazing piece of literature. Dont be put off by the fact that it isnt the easiest to read, it is well worth it
Rating:
Overall Quality 5/5
Violence 3/5
Language 1/5
Drugs 2/5
Sex 2/5
Age 13+
The Plot and Characters (my thoughts): The plot of The Great Gatsby is quite straightforward. It is about Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchannan. It is a story of the moral corruptness of the rich at that time. The narrator Nick Caraway is not rich and is drawn into Gatsbys and Daisys affair because he is both the neighbor of Gatsby and Daisys cousin. I found it interesting that the narrator was not Daisy or Gatsby since the book was primarily about them. Instead Fitzgerald chose to make Nick the narrator. This I thought was very smart for many reasons. A few are, the fact that Nick is not prejudiced for or against certain characters so it allowed the reader to make up their own mind who is in the right, number two is that Nick was an outsider in the high society so it seemed he was able to see the true emptiness that was on the inside of those people and how greed and lust had corrupted them. Overall using a minor character for narrator worked in developing the other characters very well. I thought the plot of this book was more focused on characters and atmosphere than anything else
Over all I absolutely loved this book it is an amazing piece of literature. Dont be put off by the fact that it isnt the easiest to read, it is well worth it
Rating:
Overall Quality 5/5
Violence 3/5
Language 1/5
Drugs 2/5
Sex 2/5
Age 13+
Helpful Score: 1
After reading the book 'Reading Lolita in Tehran' and her continual discussion of 'The Great Gatsby' I felt that I just had to read it. I love the way F. Scott Fitzgerald writes and was an amazing read even though I had seen the movie twice. I recommend everyone that enjoys the well written word should read this book. I'm hanging on to my copy.
I am in my '40's and had never read this book before (not even in college). I was only familiar with the 1974 movie with Robert Redford... Anyway, I have to say I'm sorry I hadn't read it sooner. I wasted a lot of time listening to other readers who've said, "it's slow", or "it's boring".
The Great Gatsby does begin slowly but it's anything but boring! I felt great pity for Jay Gatsby and his hopeless love for the hopeless Daisy. I felt that this book, much more so than Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, explores the futility of the lives of wealthy, listless, wandering people in the 1920's (and the damage they can inflict on innocent people during their wanderings).
The Great Gatsby does begin slowly but it's anything but boring! I felt great pity for Jay Gatsby and his hopeless love for the hopeless Daisy. I felt that this book, much more so than Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, explores the futility of the lives of wealthy, listless, wandering people in the 1920's (and the damage they can inflict on innocent people during their wanderings).
Thought I'd read a classic that I never had the opportunity to read before. I even read reviews of why this book is considered a classic. I still don't get it. It was hard to finish, and it's only 180 pages long!!
If someone wants to enlighten me as to what I am missing, I'm all ears.
If someone wants to enlighten me as to what I am missing, I'm all ears.
Tiffany K. (tiffanyak) -
It took far too long to find out that nothing really interesting was going to happen in this book, and so I was too close to finishing by then to stop reading it. From a writing standpoint, it's rather brilliant and easy to see why it's considered to be a classic, but that doesn't make it entertaining. The glimpse into the time in the 1920s was definitely well-captured, but that alone wasn't enough to make me truly like the book. It's fortunate it's so short, or else I wouldn't have finished it. As it is, I don't regret doing so, but I also cannot recommend it, unless one is simply looking for a look at life at that time in history.
I'm attempting to re-read some of the classics, but I'm discovering that I'm finding them somewhat different than when I read them last, which was usually in high school or the early years of my undergraduate program. I can't remember exactly when it was I first read this one, but it makes more sense now, even if it's not one of my favorites. It's seemingly come into fashion, so to speak, in recent years, largely due to the much-panned Leo DiCaprio movie (2013), which I didn't see. The novel, written in 1925, is certainly a product of its time. It's set in Long Island in the summer of 1922, nearly a hundred years ago, but some things, it seems, don't change all that much.
In general, the novel can be read in many ways; perhaps that's the genius of many of the books written by the Lost Generation, youth whose experiences were forged in the fire of travesty, most having been subjected to the unparalleled brutality of the Great War and the associated trauma from which many never recovered-Fitzgerald may have been one of them. The premise is the story of a mysterious nouveau riche, "Jay Gatsby," a man seemingly a product of his own creation, whose longtime obsession with a married flapper he had met and briefly "loved" five years prior proves his ultimate downfall. I won't rehash the plotline here, but will instead focus on the major themes, as I see them. Primarily, I think the novel is a critique of the so-called Jazz Age's decadence and its lurid, wild abandon which was as distinct and radical a break with the traditions of the past as were the 1960s from generations before. It's also a cautionary tale, specifically that change too much and too quickly leads to tragedy.
The book also attempts to illustrate the emptiness of a vacuous life filled with endless parties and hedonism, in that that despite his great wealth, charm and one-time popularity, the narrator, Nick, has difficulty in finding a single associate or "friend" who is even willing to come to the title character's funeral. The novel also seems to serve as a condemnation of the casual sex culture which likewise emerged from the war, when it seemed that both the men and women of that generation simply threw caution to the wind, and engaged in whatever distractions diverted their attention, and sorrow, elsewhere, however self-destructive and fleeting. Men lost comrades, friends and relatives, and women lost husbands, brothers and sweethearts: after, they seemingly attempted to find something in each other, but, as often occurs in the wake of trauma, not in a healthy way. Instead of relying on solid social support, they instead turned to alcohol-fueled, orgiastic explosions of wild excess and reckless expenditure, so adroitly captured in the pages of Fitzgerald's magnum opus.
In a related vein, the novel also speaks to a similar theme of the era, that of futility: despite all his money and pretense at being someone important, Gatsby is concealing his common background from his ostensible social superiors, by pretending to be an "Oxford man" - although he never specifically refers to himself as such, he's fine with others referring to him that way. All the bed-hopping likewise comes to nothing, with women dying or remaining trapped in loveless (and sometimes abusive) marriages and relationships, enjoying a respite only for a short time in the arms of another, which, in all cases, ends badly, sometimes in tragedy and death. A real-world event, the Halls-Mills murder, the double-murder of an Episcopal priest and his church-choir lover (possibly committed by his wife and her brothers, although all were eventually acquitted), which was endlessly sensationalized in the tabloids of the day, served as an inspiration for the plot of the novel.
It's also an instructive exercise to track the events of Fitzgerald's own life with those of the characters in his novels: he, too, was a young Midwesterner who was educated at an Ivy League university, and fell in love with a rich socialite whose family rejected him on account of his lower-class background. Fitzgerald himself saw the reality of modern warfare when he joined the army; while enlisted, he met Southern belle Zelda Sayre at a country club in Alabama, whose parents likewise forbid a relationship until he could prove his financial stability. The (mis)adventures of the Fitzgeralds' relationship provide sufficient material for a novel all their own, and also probably influenced the novel. Financial difficulties plagued the couple, as did Zelda's schizophrenia diagnosis, which she seemingly developed in 1930, and for which she was first hospitalized in Baltimore in 1932. Her rather meteoric temperament remained a challenge for the rest of her life.
Not surprisingly, in the wake of his time spent in the war and faced with the vicissitudes of a writing career and the responsibilities of caring for an ailing wife, Fitzgerald became a raging alcoholic, but had been since his college days. His drinking accelerated in the 1920s when he became well-known for his inordinately frequent intoxication. He may have been afflicted with tuberculosis as well, but the symptoms may actually have been a result of his severe alcoholism, including a bleeding esophagus. Like many of his characters, he died young, at age 44, of a heart attack. Zelda likewise died young and tragically, at the age of 47, in a fire at the hospital where she was being treated, in which eight other women also perished. F. Scott Fitzgerald's legacy as one of America's most preeminent writers of the 20th century remains, however, and this novel will likely perpetually stand as his greatest achievement.
In general, the novel can be read in many ways; perhaps that's the genius of many of the books written by the Lost Generation, youth whose experiences were forged in the fire of travesty, most having been subjected to the unparalleled brutality of the Great War and the associated trauma from which many never recovered-Fitzgerald may have been one of them. The premise is the story of a mysterious nouveau riche, "Jay Gatsby," a man seemingly a product of his own creation, whose longtime obsession with a married flapper he had met and briefly "loved" five years prior proves his ultimate downfall. I won't rehash the plotline here, but will instead focus on the major themes, as I see them. Primarily, I think the novel is a critique of the so-called Jazz Age's decadence and its lurid, wild abandon which was as distinct and radical a break with the traditions of the past as were the 1960s from generations before. It's also a cautionary tale, specifically that change too much and too quickly leads to tragedy.
The book also attempts to illustrate the emptiness of a vacuous life filled with endless parties and hedonism, in that that despite his great wealth, charm and one-time popularity, the narrator, Nick, has difficulty in finding a single associate or "friend" who is even willing to come to the title character's funeral. The novel also seems to serve as a condemnation of the casual sex culture which likewise emerged from the war, when it seemed that both the men and women of that generation simply threw caution to the wind, and engaged in whatever distractions diverted their attention, and sorrow, elsewhere, however self-destructive and fleeting. Men lost comrades, friends and relatives, and women lost husbands, brothers and sweethearts: after, they seemingly attempted to find something in each other, but, as often occurs in the wake of trauma, not in a healthy way. Instead of relying on solid social support, they instead turned to alcohol-fueled, orgiastic explosions of wild excess and reckless expenditure, so adroitly captured in the pages of Fitzgerald's magnum opus.
In a related vein, the novel also speaks to a similar theme of the era, that of futility: despite all his money and pretense at being someone important, Gatsby is concealing his common background from his ostensible social superiors, by pretending to be an "Oxford man" - although he never specifically refers to himself as such, he's fine with others referring to him that way. All the bed-hopping likewise comes to nothing, with women dying or remaining trapped in loveless (and sometimes abusive) marriages and relationships, enjoying a respite only for a short time in the arms of another, which, in all cases, ends badly, sometimes in tragedy and death. A real-world event, the Halls-Mills murder, the double-murder of an Episcopal priest and his church-choir lover (possibly committed by his wife and her brothers, although all were eventually acquitted), which was endlessly sensationalized in the tabloids of the day, served as an inspiration for the plot of the novel.
It's also an instructive exercise to track the events of Fitzgerald's own life with those of the characters in his novels: he, too, was a young Midwesterner who was educated at an Ivy League university, and fell in love with a rich socialite whose family rejected him on account of his lower-class background. Fitzgerald himself saw the reality of modern warfare when he joined the army; while enlisted, he met Southern belle Zelda Sayre at a country club in Alabama, whose parents likewise forbid a relationship until he could prove his financial stability. The (mis)adventures of the Fitzgeralds' relationship provide sufficient material for a novel all their own, and also probably influenced the novel. Financial difficulties plagued the couple, as did Zelda's schizophrenia diagnosis, which she seemingly developed in 1930, and for which she was first hospitalized in Baltimore in 1932. Her rather meteoric temperament remained a challenge for the rest of her life.
Not surprisingly, in the wake of his time spent in the war and faced with the vicissitudes of a writing career and the responsibilities of caring for an ailing wife, Fitzgerald became a raging alcoholic, but had been since his college days. His drinking accelerated in the 1920s when he became well-known for his inordinately frequent intoxication. He may have been afflicted with tuberculosis as well, but the symptoms may actually have been a result of his severe alcoholism, including a bleeding esophagus. Like many of his characters, he died young, at age 44, of a heart attack. Zelda likewise died young and tragically, at the age of 47, in a fire at the hospital where she was being treated, in which eight other women also perished. F. Scott Fitzgerald's legacy as one of America's most preeminent writers of the 20th century remains, however, and this novel will likely perpetually stand as his greatest achievement.
I tried to read this and thought it would be easy since it was so short, however, I just couldn't do it. I found it to be boring. I wasn't the least bit interested in knowing Gatsby's secret.
Excellent book! One of my favorite of all time!
A true classic, and deservingly so!
Definitely a classic.
I had heard a lot of great things about The Great Gatsby but never read it before and was eager to finally read it. It was well done and an easy read even after all this time.
The tale is told by the neighbor of Gatsby. It is a twisted tale of adultery and adoration. Some say it is the quintessential American novel. Gatsby's neighbor tell us of Gatsby's quest to win a married woman's, Daisy's, heart. Daisy struggles with a husband who cheats on her with another woman and she married him for money. The whole tale ends in a tragedy not unlike a Greek play.
The tale was an easy and quick read and fairly engaging. Fitzgerald does an excellent job describing the era and the surroundings, making everything easy for the reader to picture.
The story quickly gets twisted and complicated with various characters involved with other characters that they aren't supposed to be with. The tragic ending is strangely ironic and suiting of all the selfish characters present.
I can understand how some might root for Gatsby and Daisy and their supposed quest for true love; but personally I found all of the characters to be selfish, shallow and deserving of what they got in the end. This tale truly shows an era of American decadence.
Overall a decent read and I am glad that I read this. I loved the ironic symmetry of the story, but didn't really enjoy any of the characters much. The story is paced well, has great description throughout, and is engaging. I wouldn't run out and read everything by Fitzgerald based on this book, but I enjoyed this book and am glad I can say I finally read this.
The tale is told by the neighbor of Gatsby. It is a twisted tale of adultery and adoration. Some say it is the quintessential American novel. Gatsby's neighbor tell us of Gatsby's quest to win a married woman's, Daisy's, heart. Daisy struggles with a husband who cheats on her with another woman and she married him for money. The whole tale ends in a tragedy not unlike a Greek play.
The tale was an easy and quick read and fairly engaging. Fitzgerald does an excellent job describing the era and the surroundings, making everything easy for the reader to picture.
The story quickly gets twisted and complicated with various characters involved with other characters that they aren't supposed to be with. The tragic ending is strangely ironic and suiting of all the selfish characters present.
I can understand how some might root for Gatsby and Daisy and their supposed quest for true love; but personally I found all of the characters to be selfish, shallow and deserving of what they got in the end. This tale truly shows an era of American decadence.
Overall a decent read and I am glad that I read this. I loved the ironic symmetry of the story, but didn't really enjoy any of the characters much. The story is paced well, has great description throughout, and is engaging. I wouldn't run out and read everything by Fitzgerald based on this book, but I enjoyed this book and am glad I can say I finally read this.
great classic novel!
A really engaging and entertaining book. Well written, a must read.
I read the book when i was in High School and now that I am an adult i enjoyed it even better. Now I wanted to read it, in High School I had to read it
I believe this is the best novel ever written. I have read it seventeen times.
I actually enjoyed The Great Gatsby immensely when I attended St. Peter-Marian high school. Great imagery and very insightful with characters you will never forget.
Ome of my favorite books of all time.
My favorite book of all time...A classic
Lots of description but a good read. Tugs at your emotions!
Such a great book and an American classic!
Haley Joy F. (Joynessdotcom) reviewed The Great Gatsby (Wordsworth Classics) on + 53 more book reviews
What a great book! I enjoyed it so much and the description is very good! I can't wait to read more of Fitzgerald's work.
A classic!
I'm usually not fond of the books that a literature class would call a classic, but this one is a don't miss.
I'm usually not fond of the books that a literature class would call a classic, but this one is a don't miss.
Shannon M. (confuzzledbooks) reviewed The Great Gatsby (Wordsworth Classics) on + 486 more book reviews
This book has often been described as Fitzgeralds most beautiful piece of work and frankly I do not see it. I first read this book as a teenager for fun and remember disliking it immensely but later not remembering why. Now that I ave reread it I realize what that is. The type of people described and the way they act irk me. They are well off family surrounded by people that do
things to each other with no feelings. They just keep hurting each other without caring about the consequences.
In the beginning of the book it is very boring and does not become interesting until Gatsby becomes involved in the story but the way people act towards one another.
I do not really see the beauty in this story but I do see commentary on society I just do not agree with it.
things to each other with no feelings. They just keep hurting each other without caring about the consequences.
In the beginning of the book it is very boring and does not become interesting until Gatsby becomes involved in the story but the way people act towards one another.
I do not really see the beauty in this story but I do see commentary on society I just do not agree with it.
Lenore M. (Lenorethedeadgirl) reviewed The Great Gatsby (Wordsworth Classics) on + 11 more book reviews
A total Classic
whats not to love?!
whats not to love?!
A very enjoyable read; Nick Caraway's narration draws you in and doesn't let you stop caring about the characters in the book. Full of symbolism and thought.
This is a great book to read. I had to read this book in English literature in high school some years ago. It still is a good read now. When I was in high school, I was fortunate to see the movie after reading the book.
I would recommend reading this book, especially to those in literature classes.
I would recommend reading this book, especially to those in literature classes.
Story was interesting and easy to read. Many of the characters have good and bad qualities to their personalities. Definitely a good book for older teens.
One of the greatest classics I've ever read. I think everyone should read this at least once in their lifetime.
A great book about a man who pretends to be greater than he is from the point of view of the new guy in town.
A Classic
This is a radio discussion of the novel by Robert Redford, Jim Lehrer, and others. It is an excellent accompaniment to the novel and would be great to use in a classroom setting.
Did not live up to its hype. I was not impressed, however, it is worth checking out if you read classics like I do. I hope you will like it better than I did!
The Great Gatsby wasn't as great a book as I had expected it to be for a classic. I think reading it for a class or a book club discussion book would of been more informative.
Charlene Y. (CharleneY) -
One of my all-time favorites, SOOOO GREAT.
The Great Gatsby is a staple of American Fiction. Fitzgerald creates an all too believable scenario in the roaring twenties in the wealthy seemingly utopia of Long Island.
It was good. I enjoyed it and you should too.
Another great classic that I'm proud to say I've read.
Julianna & Vanessa T. (torotech) - , reviewed The Great Gatsby (Wordsworth Classics) on + 124 more book reviews
A classic. So good and it is required reading for some High schoolers. I just loved it.
Cristina L. (literarylover) reviewed The Great Gatsby (Wordsworth Classics) on + 20 more book reviews
An American classic that I enjoyed, and I hope many others will too...
The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan has been acclaimed by generations of readers.
A sad book, about a man who built his castle on sand.
For some reason, I never got around to reading this book until now even though I've had copies of it in the past and even lived for years near the Fitzgeralds' burial place in Rockville, Maryland. I recently saw the new movie version of this with Leonardo DiCaprio and was quite impressed so decided it must be time to read the novel. Well, I'm sorry I never read this sooner - a really great short novel that was easily readable telling the story of Gatsby who fell in love with Daisy during the Great War, then somehow became super wealthy, and who threw lavish parties during the jazz age in an enormous mansion all to impress and win his lost love back. Unfortunately, he found that he was unable to relive the past and of course the story ended tragically. Must read!
One of my FAVORITE books I read in high school.
Not my favorite book, but Fitzgerald fans are likely to enjoy it, or those who have seen the movie may also enjoy the book. It has been quite a long time, but I think the movie was faithful to the book.
An American MAsterpiece.
Another classic I finally got through. Great writing, imagery.
Authorized by the estate of F. Scott Fitzgerald. This edition, based on the Cambridge critical text, restores all the language of Fitzgerald's masterpiece.
Has movie reviews and pictures
Prior to starting this novel, I was convinced I had read it some time in school while I was growing up. Throughout my public school education, we had read a variety of classics from Steinbeck, Dickens, Hemingway, Miller, etc. So I really thought I had read this one along the way. After a couple of paragraphs, I realized that I hadnt, because I think I would have remembered the different feel this one seems to have from most classic American literature.
The length of the novel alone is enough to show you that its not quite the same as some of those other novels. Fitzgerald seemed to have more of a sense of what to cut out and what to include than some of his contemporaries, because at no point during this reading did I sit and think Will you just get ON with it?!? Im sad to say that I have done that with plenty of other authors, so I was a bit worried Id have that reaction when going through The Great Gatsby. I very happily enjoyed this novel and hope to read more of Fitzgeralds work in the future.
To read the rest of my review, please visit my blog.
The length of the novel alone is enough to show you that its not quite the same as some of those other novels. Fitzgerald seemed to have more of a sense of what to cut out and what to include than some of his contemporaries, because at no point during this reading did I sit and think Will you just get ON with it?!? Im sad to say that I have done that with plenty of other authors, so I was a bit worried Id have that reaction when going through The Great Gatsby. I very happily enjoyed this novel and hope to read more of Fitzgeralds work in the future.
To read the rest of my review, please visit my blog.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published in 1925, yet it felt surprisingly applicable to current times.
Tabatha B. (lylathewicked) reviewed The Great Gatsby (Wordsworth Classics) on + 48 more book reviews
I just finished reading this a second time. I enjoyed it a lot more when I read it in high school about 11 years ago. Not as great this time, no pun intended. The ending was good though saddening. This book has a lot of eloquent language within it that's worth acknowledging.
The classic story of Gatsby.
Published 89 years ago, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald still creates discussion and controversy for its brilliant depiction of the characters. The enigma of Jay Gatsby remains still today. What does he want from life? Daisy? The self-assurance of those born to wealth? Acceptance? Belief that he has reached success? Each reader walks away with their own interpretation, and each interpretation seems equally viable. That, to me, is the the magic of this book.
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2014/11/the-great-gatsby.html
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2014/11/the-great-gatsby.html
One of the best classics! I loved this book. I loved the character Nick.
Enjoyed the book; easy readomg/
It was a decent book,but I'm going to go back & read it again.
The Robert Redford version of "The Great Gatsby" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071577/) came up on my Netflix menu and i started to watch it. But before the opening credits were through, i stopped it and went upstairs to grab this book off the shelf and (finally) read it after all these years. I knew it was fairly short and i read it in a day. This is a superbly written tale of disfunction and excess of the rich and famous living on Long Island during the 1920's. Todays reality TV and scandals have nothing on the people there 100 years ago. It was during prohibition, but booze and money were flowing like old man river. F. Scott Fitzgerald tells this story wonderfully, and i loved every page. For such a short story, the characters and places are painted with a rich economy of words that immediately put the reader in contact with and in the middle of this story. I loved it and highly recommend this version of the text which is "authorized" and contains many notes and explanations (at the beginning and end, NOT in the text itself). Now back to watch the Redford film version. :)
Great classic
A classic must-have. 4 out of 5 stars.
I avoided this book for years considering it a has-been but I was sooooooooo wrong, it's timeless. I gained a lot from having, finally, read it!
I love this book and read it every year. Gatsby is so sweet and romantic!
A classic.
Classic book - great for disecting in group discussions.
If I was supposed to read this book in high school, I didn't. Here I am less than a month shy of 39 and just read it for the first time.
I found the first few chapters slow and verbose. Actually, the story for me became interesting only on the fateful ride back from the city and that was over halfway through the book.
The language is antiquated, especially when you consider that this is a relatively modern book. Perhaps because of the language, I found myself backing up a few pages several times and skimming for something I thought I missed. In the end though, all the pieces fell together and everything made sense. I now have an intense dislike for Mrs. Daisy Buchanan!
The last sentence of the book is very poignant and elicits serious reflection on one's life. A great story about love, loss, morality, and mortality.
I found the first few chapters slow and verbose. Actually, the story for me became interesting only on the fateful ride back from the city and that was over halfway through the book.
The language is antiquated, especially when you consider that this is a relatively modern book. Perhaps because of the language, I found myself backing up a few pages several times and skimming for something I thought I missed. In the end though, all the pieces fell together and everything made sense. I now have an intense dislike for Mrs. Daisy Buchanan!
The last sentence of the book is very poignant and elicits serious reflection on one's life. A great story about love, loss, morality, and mortality.
I remember reading this book in high school and doing a paper on it in college. I just loved the book and how it described the 20s. A classic in itself but also very entertaining.
Obviously it is a classic that is read often, but unlike so many so called classics it deserves it's place on everyone's shelf. The characters are well developed to allow for a look at the differences between social classes without it being a dull school lesson.
Can't for the life of me see what the big rave is on this book. Very boring in my opinion. Author uses way too many adjectives in a sentence.
a classic, i think everyone should read it
Great book and a true, timeless classic!
This is an interesting love story.
Heather O. (peacefulreader) reviewed The Great Gatsby (Wordsworth Classics) on + 20 more book reviews
I know it's a classic, but I can't see why.
Good story, even if they do make you read it in highschool!!!!
Eileen G. (movedtomaryland) reviewed The Great Gatsby (Wordsworth Classics) on + 17 more book reviews
The Great Gatsby is probably the best American novel of the 20th century. It is certainly Fitzgerald's greatest book.
Jessica D. (demolitionlovers) reviewed The Great Gatsby (Wordsworth Classics) on + 12 more book reviews
This is the story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. This is the authorized text - the way F. Scott Fitzgerald intended it.
One of my favorites.
I'm not a huge fan of Fitzgerald's, I actually read this book as an undergraduate in an advanced grammar class and had to diagram (sentence by sentence) the ENTIRE book, thereby discovering that an underlying (and unconscious) mathematical "formula" of sorts exists in Fitzgerald's writing (extrapolate this to the entire species: do we all use rhetoric according to the biological patterns in our individual brains?)
Interesting
Fascinating classic!
From the back of the book: This is the definitive, textually accurate edition of a classic of twentieth-century literature, The Great Gatsby. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan has been acclaimed by generations of readers. But the first edition contained a number of errors resulting from Fitzgerald's extensive revisions and a rushed production schedule. Subsequent printings introduced further departures from the author's words. This edition, based on the Cambridge critical text, restores all the language of Fitzgerald's masterpiece. Drawing on the manuscript and surviving proofs of the novel, along with Fitzgerald's later revisions and corrections, this is the authorized text--The Great Gatsby as Fitzgerald intended it.
OLder Scribner's Oversized PB/Writing On One Page
this isn't the book's cover, the cover is off-white with red blocks. It's an older copy, with some wear on the spine, but still in readable shape.
Who wouldn't want to live in a town called EAST EGG? The book is my college copy---notes and underlines exist
I read this book in one sitting.
NOTE: IF YOU ORDER THIS COPY I EXPECT A BOOKCREDIT:
A classic title in great demand by pbswappers so I hate to just pitch it if someone can use a well-read copy with many notes and underlining. Someone has used this copy to pass a class and it may be just right for a student who won't mind the extra input. Lots of wear but solid and has at least one more read in it. Thanks!
A classic title in great demand by pbswappers so I hate to just pitch it if someone can use a well-read copy with many notes and underlining. Someone has used this copy to pass a class and it may be just right for a student who won't mind the extra input. Lots of wear but solid and has at least one more read in it. Thanks!
