The Great Gatsby in Around the World in 80 Books

Oct 02, 2014 Bogdan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: new-world

I heard of The Great Gatsby as one of masterpieces of 20th century novel, but didn't manage to read it until now. And even now, it was because I received it as a present last Christmas. And I can only thank to my brother and sister-in-law for choosing this one, as it is indeed an excellent book.

The premise is about one of the essential American myths: money bring happiness (or not). The story of Jay Gatsby is proving that money can buy many things, but the most important ones are usually requir I heard of The Great Gatsby as one of masterpieces of 20th century novel, but didn't manage to read it until now. And even now, it was because I received it as a present last Christmas. And I can only thank to my brother and sister-in-law for choosing this one, as it is indeed an excellent book.

The premise is about one of the essential American myths: money bring happiness (or not). The story of Jay Gatsby is proving that money can buy many things, but the most important ones are usually requiring some other kind of currency. Fortunately, almost every other character from this novel has a story to tell, a message to transmit. This is in my opinion the beauty of this magnum opus: it deals with an entire generation. Thus my rating is 5 for premise.

Regarding the form, I liked Scott Fitzgerald's writing style, even though the first person narration is not perfect. It is easy to read but also with sufficient meaning between the lines to keep entertained the academic reader. I will rate it with a 5 for form.

In terms of originality, I did not come across too many books about the Roaring Twenties or The Lost Generation, but this was mainly because I was mostly interested in post World War II writers, that had other themes. But the overall focus on American way of life makes it to be part of the traditional American novel. So I will give it a 4 for the level of originality.

The characters are carefully designed to capture as much as possible and entire generation. Of course it focuses on the rich, but Gatsby was born in a rich family and Wilson and his wife are also not part of the same elite. So I think it does a great job to portray interesting and vivid characters, thus I'll rate it with 5.

Regarding the complexity and difficulty, it is obvious that the author took enough time to refine it and eliminate all that it was not necessary. Due to the numerous themes it also makes it quite complex, but without being inaccessible to the casual reader. Great combination! Thus, I will rate it then with a 5 for complexity and difficulty.

In terms of credibility, I was almost able to feel as if the Long Island society lives next door to me and Jay, Tom and Daisy or Nick are my acquaintances. This is how lively he managed to create the atmosphere and the society of those years. So my rating for credibility is 5.

The last criteria is edition. I liked this hardcover, elegant edition with a nice jacket and great paper. It was also sewn in such a way that it allowed me to read it on flat surfaces, even though it was not necessarily required as it is not a long book. My only issue was with the translation. I wish to find time to read it in original, as I felt I am missing something. Maybe I am wrong but I will rate it with a 4.

To summarize, I enjoyed greatly this already classic masterpiece. All in all, my final rating for it is 4.71, which I will round it to 5 on Goodreads system.


+--------------------------+-----------------+
| Criteria | Rating |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Premise | 5 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Form | 5 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Originality | 4 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Characters | 5 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Difficulty/Complexity | 5 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Credibility | 5 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Edition | 4 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Total | 4.71 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+

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Jan 03, 2016 Keeley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club

This book, to me, was depressing. Not because of the ending, per se. I despised the Buchanans. Despised them. As happens often, in literature and real life and Episodes I-III of Star Wars, I cannot, for the life of me, understand the love interest. In this case, I cannot understand why Jay Gatsby is so in love with Daisy. I do not consider a "thrilling voice" to be a foundation upon which to build a hope for the future upon. Perhaps that's just me. Maybe there's more to her that is supposed to b ...more

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