The Great Gatsby in GoodReviews: The Official Book Review Contest

Mar 10, 2008

Lisa rated it:

Read in February, 2008

recommends it for: Anyone!

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I first read the Great Gatsby when I was sixteen. Gatsby’s relentless pursuit of unrequited love was enough to set my adolescent pulse racing and send me to the library with the grand ambition of reading everything Fitzgerald ever wrote. A decade later I am even more awed by the book than I was the first time I followed Gatsby’s story through the breathless pages of Fitzgerald’s modernist American classic.
The story takes place over the course of one summer, not coincidentally begi...more I first read the Great Gatsby when I was sixteen. Gatsby’s relentless pursuit of unrequited love was enough to set my adolescent pulse racing and send me to the library with the grand ambition of reading everything Fitzgerald ever wrote. A decade later I am even more awed by the book than I was the first time I followed Gatsby’s story through the breathless pages of Fitzgerald’s modernist American classic.
The story takes place over the course of one summer, not coincidentally beginning just before Independence Day. The narrator, Nick, moves to a peninsula out side of the city called West Egg which looks straight across to its physical double, East Egg. Despite the outward similarity of these two locations, the inhabitants of East Egg are from old money while the prosperity of the citizens of West Egg is due to much more recently acquired wealth. The towns are therefore described as, in actuality, bearing a “bizarre and not a little sinister contrast” to one another. This juxtaposition sets up a narrative of the push and pull of opposites: east versus west, new versus old, truth versus illusion.
The two worlds of West Egg and East Egg are brought onto a collision course through Nick who rents the house next door to James Gatsby’s enormous mansion and who happens to be the cousin of Gatsby’s love interest, Daisy, and friend to Daisy’s old moneyed, old fashioned husband, Tom Buchanan. As the summer unfolds, it becomes clear that none of the characters are whom they appear to be, Gatsby is not from a rich family nor is he an alumni of Oxford, as a matter of fact, when he first met and fell in love with Daisy he had almost no money at all. Tom is an outspoken proponent of the traditional family structure while he simultaneously carries on an affair, and Daisy is neither quite as brave nor quite as independent as she would like the world to believe. Even Jordan Baker, Daisy’s friend who has an affair with Nick that summer, is a professional golfer who has been accused of cheating and is described by Nick as “incurably dishonest.” Each character can also be understood to stand for a different arch type within American society, Tom is the wealthy patrician, carrying in his blood and his bearing decades of privilege and position, yet he has recently begun to read pseudo-science books about the impending fall of civilization. In other words, that civilization which has been shaped and protected by men in Tom’s social class is in jeopardy. Daisy is a modern woman, witty and provocative, she has even had sex before her wedding night, but when she announces to Nick that she is sophisticated he feels “the basic sincerity of what she has said.” Flappers of the twenties may have looked and behaved unconventionally, but when it came right down to it, most of them married men liked Tom who could provide them with material security. Jordan is more the truly modern woman, a professional who mostly takes care of herself, but she has achieved this position through various acts of dishonesty. Gatsby, of course, is the self made man, the challenge to the established order of society. It is not Gatsby’s existence that threatens the world of East Egg, America has always boasted of self-made men, it is the fact that he has suddenly come so close. He is just across the bay and his mansion, while gaudy and tasteless, is nevertheless every bit as big as Tom’s. Gatsby is finally in a position to make a claim on Daisy’s love, and therefore on Tom’s social superiority. He is so close to fulfilling the American dream he can almost reach right out and touch it.
Like Fitzgerald himself, Gatsby pursues his dream through the vehicle of fiction. Gatsby invents a new persona for himself in order to enter Daisy’s world; Fitzgerald created windows into the lives of the rich and glamorous and through these stories, became a figure of fame and fortune himself. In the end, Gatsby does not succeed in winning Daisy, but it isn’t really about her, it’s about his dream, his belief in limitless possibilities, that quality of bravery and ingenuity that has come to be known as the American dream. “The orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther...And one fine morning--"(less)

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Mar 10, 2008

Peter added it

Read in March, 2008

The Great Gatsby is the story of a presidential primary.

—I’m sorry; my notes must be confused here. Ah yes. Let me begin again:

The Great Gatsby is the story of the emptiness of the American Dream. Set in and around New York City in the 1920’s, Gatsby explores the lives of the rich as they pursue fulfillment in an era of booming stock markets, prohibition, bustling crime bosses, and jazz.

Three figures dominate a cast of smaller, if no less compelling,...more

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Jun 16, 2007

Matt rated it:

Read in June, 2007

recommends it for: Everyone

Perfection is a suitable word to describe ‘The Great Gatsby’ by Fitzgerald. If this goodreads contest had a one word limit reviewers might say: astonishing, enchanting, genius, beautiful, memorable, timeless, and so forth. Basically reviewers would use terms with extremely positive connotations.
Thankfully for the reviewers and readers our word limit is 750, a brief but adequate amount.
Narration is one element Fitzgerald used to make this book so engaging. Nick Carraway, the na...more Perfection is a suitable word to describe ‘The Great Gatsby’ by Fitzgerald. If this goodreads contest had a one word limit reviewers might say: astonishing, enchanting, genius, beautiful, memorable, timeless, and so forth. Basically reviewers would use terms with extremely positive connotations.
Thankfully for the reviewers and readers our word limit is 750, a brief but adequate amount.
Narration is one element Fitzgerald used to make this book so engaging. Nick Carraway, the narrator, arrives at West Egg New York from the Midwest. Early in the story the reader realizes that Carraway is reflecting back on something life changing that he will tell. First person can relay a story intimately, and the reader can feel directly in tune with the narrator’s thoughts.
With Carraway as the outsider looking in he introduces a whole set of characters: the Buchanans, Jay Gatsby, Gatsby’s mistress, a gas attendant, party flappers, gangsters and so on. All of the characters are described with precision. Fitzgerald like no one else can introduce a character and bring him or her to life through description, dialogue, opinions, and perfect word choices.
Now, here is the basic story outline. Nick Carraway looks back on his time with Gatsby. Carraway moved to small rental house next to Gatsby’s mansion. Carraway’s relative was Daisy Buchanan who lived in East Egg across the river. So Carraway’s social set was through Daisy and her brutish husband Tom. The story evolves and Carraway is invited to his neighbor’s party with others to follow. At these parties Gatsby created a mystique, because no one really knew him, but rumors were rampant. After awhile Carraway was summoned by Gatsby and became a confidant. Gatsby told of his Oxford days which he exaggerated, and soon expressed his passion for Daisy, an ex-girlfriend. Carraway becomes a go between for Gatsby and Daisy and soon becomes entangled in their situation. Toward the end in the hotel room scene the problem resolves and Daisy returns to her husband. Gatsby’s mistress gets run over and in a misunderstanding Gatsby gets murdered. Carraway arranges the sparsely arranged funeral, learns of his hatred for people like the Buchanans, and the novel ends.
This plot line unravels slowly chapter by chapter in this short American classic. Mysteries develop that pull the reader through the text. Almost every character Carraway encounters needs to be figured out. Three mysteries resolve around Gatsby. Who is he? How did he become rich and was it through illegal means? Lastly, what is his puppy dog infatuation with Daisy Buchanan? These mysteries and other questions all get resolved at the conclusion, giving the reader a very fulfilling feeling after the turn of the last page.
No book review of ‘The Great Gatsby’ can neglect to mention the theme of money. Nick Carraway, on the first page states his background from a well off family. Tom and Daisy are in the same boat with money passed down through generations. Gatsby fabricated his upbringing of inherited wealth when he had humble origins. The old time money in this story lived in East Egg, while the new money lived in West Egg. Gatsby yearned for and created his wealth solely to impress Daisy. But he did it the wrong way with gaudy parties that were attended by people with lower status. When Daisy finally attends a party, she does not care for it. Rich versus poor is also a theme, illustrated masterfully by the gas attendant and his financial woes with his unfaithful wife who he loved dearly. Near the end Carraway told Gatsby. ‘They're a rotten crowd.’…”Your worth the whole bunch put together.’ This shows the impact Gatsby had on the narrator in concern with society and money.
Perfection is the one word I chose to describe ‘The Great Gatsby’ and this is why; a definition of fine literature is the complete understanding of the human condition. This classic displays humanity vividly. The emotions of the characters are universal. Gatsby’s mansion, his car, the roaring twenties, and the extravagance are all the backdrop, or setting. But the drama, life changes, and interactions all adults can relate to. As the narrator, people go through life figuring out mysteries, and forming mottos to live by.
Fitzgerald wrote this and three other gems of novels along with his numerous short stories. One has to wonder if he lived until old age what he would have produced. For one thing, if he had more longevity, Hemingway would have nothing on him.

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Sep 07, 2008

MarkO rated it:

(review of isbn 185326041X)

bookshelves: classics

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in February, 2009

Generally considered to be F. Scott Fitzgerald's finest novel, The Great Gatsby is a consummate summary of the 'roaring twenties' and a devastating expose of the 'Jazz Age'. Through the narration of Nick Carraway, the reader is taken into the superficially glittering world of the mansions which lined the Long Island shore of the American seaboard in the 1920s, to encounter Nick's cousin Daisy, Jay Gatsby and the dark mystery which surrounds him.

The Great Gatsby is an undisputed classic...more

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Jun 29, 2007

Rob rated it:

bookshelves: high-school

Read in August, 1996

recommends it for: lit critics?

Read this one in the summer of '96 as prep work for my AP Lit class in high school. I did not get much out of it. Fitzgerald's Gatsby seemed full of whiny, vapid fakers; upper class hedonists of the worst kind. Whatever irony it was supposedly filled with was lost on me; the writing simply never broke through.

Looking back on it now, I suppose one might consider The Great Gatsby as its generation's Generation X. For whatever that's worth. (I suppose I'd better re-read with a mor...more

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Jul 10, 2007

Edan rated it:

I am re-reading this for the novel workshop I'm teaching.

***
This time around, the book didn't move me. Well, of course the language moved me--I even copied a few paragraphs from the beginning of chapter three so that I could get Fitzgerald's rhythm in my blood--but the story itself held no emotional resonance for me this time around. I am, at least, looking forward to talking about how the novel is put together with my workshop on Monday.

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Jun 22, 2007

Russell rated it:

I don't actually remember many of the details of this book, but luckily I do remember that middle aged hipsters throwing hipster parties and wooing the ladyfolk is dumb as shit. Doesn't matter how well written it is.

Three stars out of five for occasionally excessive, but frequently lame, drinking scenes.

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May 14, 2007

Anne rated it:

bookshelves: classics

Read in March, 2007

My library just participated in the Big Read, a NEA project encouraging people to read the classics. I am so happy that I got the book on tape version of this book.

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Dec 12, 2006

Elizabeth rated it:

(review of isbn 0192832697)

bookshelves: classics, fiction

recommends it for: Everyone

My favorite line from this book is, "Her voice was full of money." I think it reveals Fitzgerald's genius--what a telling phrase, and you know exactly what he means.

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