Stephen’s review of The Great Gatsby > Likes and Comments

Looking forward to your review of this, Stephen.

This has been on my TBR list for a long time and your review makes me much more excited to read it. Great review, Stephen.

One of the classics. Thanks for the review.

Great review Stephen. I have an 11X17 copy of the original dust jacket on my office wall. One of my favorite books and certainly one of my favorite dust jacket cover art.

I love The Great Gatsby, Stephen! Many people don't, but I do. I think it's one of the greatest love stories ever written, and also one of the most tragic. Fitzgerald's prose is simply wonderful and there is not one word that shouldn't be there. He really made an impression with this one and never topped it.

Mira wrote: "This has been on my TBR list for a long time and your review makes me much more excited to read it. Great review, Stephen."

Thanks, Mira. This one really surprised me with how much I liked it. I hope you have a similar experience.

Fantastic review! Another one I need to re-read.

Jeffrey wrote: "Great review Stephen. I have an 11X17 copy of the original dust jacket on my office wall. One of my favorite books and certainly one of my favorite dust jacket cover art."

Thanks, Jeffrey. I never quite understood what the cover was supposed to represent until I read the book. Definitely one of the more memorable covers in literature.

Maciek wrote: "I love The Great Gatsby, Stephen! Many people don't, but I do. I think it's one of the greatest love stories ever written, and also one of the most tragic. Fitzgerald's prose is simply wonderful an..."

I haven't read anything else by Fitzgerald (though I now plan to) but I completely agree with you on the prose and the love story. As I mentioned in my review, it ranks up there with Heathcliff and Catherine in Wuthering Heights for sheer tragedy.

Stephen wrote: "I haven't read anything else by Fitzgerald (though I now plan to) but I completely agree with you on the prose and the love story. As I mentioned in my review, it ranks up there with Heathcliff and Catherine in Wuthering Heights for sheer tragedy. "

To that I can't realte since I haven't read Wuthering Heights, but I believe you. I haven't been crazy about any other Fitzgerald novels I've read. This one has everything. I enjoyed a whole lot of his short stories, though. You might want to try some. The first one I've read was "The Diamond as Big as The Ritz", which is enormously captivating and totally outrageous.
http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/diamond/...

Great review Steve.

This book bored me to tears, but the fact that it was a required read in high school and my 17 year old self was more obsessed with girls and Led Zeppelin may have had something to do with that.

If I had submitted a review half as eloquent as yours I would surely have earned an A.

Kate wrote: "Fantastic review! Another one I need to re-read."

Thanks, Kate.

I have a copy of The Great Gatsby right in front of me, as I type this. I guess it's meant for me to read it today. Thanks for the push to get this off my "to be read" list. P.S. Great review once again!! :)

Bill wrote: "Great review Steve.

This book bored me to tears, but the fact that it was a required read in high school and my 17 year old self was more obsessed with girls and Led Zeppelin may have had somethin..."

I have had similar experiences with a lot of books I "had" to read as a child. For the most part, when I have re-visted them as I got older I have really enjoyed them.

Jenn wrote: "I have a copy of The Great Gatsby right in front of me, as I type this. I guess it's meant for me to read it today. Thanks for the push to get this off my "to be read" list. P.S. Great review once..."

Thanks, Jenn.

One of my favorites, great review.

Great full, fleshy review, Stephen!

Thanks Gavin and Jason.

excellent review. I've read this book about 5 times. I always stop to ponder the crates of oranges loaded into the kitchen discarded out as so many pulpless halves.

Donna wrote: "excellent review. I've read this book about 5 times. I always stop to ponder the crates of oranges loaded into the kitchen discarded out as so many pulpless halves."

Thanks, Donna. I agree about the reference to the oranges. Fitzgerald's use of imagery was amazing.

Why oh why have I not read this?

Marvin wrote: "Why oh why have I not read this?"

Until last week, I was asking myself the same question. Now, all I can say is that you really, really should.

Kerrie wrote: "I wish I had read the book you described in high school!"

Exactly! Great review!

Kerrie wrote: "I wish I had read the book you described in high school!"

I've had the exact same thought about a number of "classics" I was forced to read when younger. As I go back and re-read them now, I am finding I really enjoy them (most of them at least).

Mike wrote: "Kerrie wrote: "I wish I had read the book you described in high school!"

Exactly! Great review!"

Thanks, Mike.

Seems like excellent timing to have read this book now, as everyone is so heatedly discussing the current condition of the American Dream. Not much has changed, really, except for a decided downturn in cautious optimism. I didn't like this book when I was forced to read it, several times, for various classes, but I appreciate it much more now than I did then. Your review was truly excellent; it got right to the heart of it.

Thank you, Amber. That is very nice of you to say.

I don't see the restrained optimism that you see in this book. It is a favorite of mine, but its bleak vision of Murrikin richness is all I retain. And share.

Oldfan wrote: "I don't see the restrained optimism that you see in this book. It is a favorite of mine, but its bleak vision of Murrikin richness is all I retain. And share."

If you look at the very last line of the book (i.e., the quote I used at the beginning of the review), I think that sums up Gatsby's optimism pretty well. I saw Gatsby as representing the belief that one can "reinvent" himself/herself out of whole cloth and will continue to believe (even if foolishly) that they can achieve their dream despite all the obstacles in their path. In Gatsby's case, this dream was ending up with Daisy. That was my take at least.

But what he did not know was that it was already behind him, somewhere in the vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night.

My take on that line is tied up in the "dark fields of the republic" meaning the huge, grim wasteland of "flyover country" that Fitzgerald was harshly, though not pitilessly, skewering with Gatsby's character. A more hopeless, hapless, and small-souled persn I cannot readily conjure.

This is how I know the book is art of a high order...your basic optimism finds the positive reading, and my basic pessimism finds the dark, gloomy reading, and they're equally valid.

Oldfan wrote: "This is how I know the book is art of a high order...your basic optimism finds the positive reading, and my basic pessimism finds the dark, gloomy reading, and they're equally valid."

Very well said.

Classic novel, classic review.

Ian wrote: "Classic novel, classic review."

Thanks, Ian.

You make this sound really good.

Petertpc wrote: "You make this sound really good."

Classic comment.

This review is almost as good as the book itself. Well done.

Sarah wrote: "This review is almost as good as the book itself. Well done."

Thanks, Sarah. That is very nice of you to say. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Stephen, just a check-in on my strange reluctance to read The Great Gatsby. It was my turn to choose a book for our book club (the June pick) so guess what I picked. Now I can't put it off any more. It was actually quite surprising to see so many of our little educated group has not read this yet.

I hope you like it, Marvin. I can't believe it took me so long to read this one either. I am now very glad I did.

Dania wrote: "I agree wholeheartedly with Sarah! Your reviews are too good!"

Thank you, Dania. That's very nice of you to say.

Basically, she’s a bitch.
YES! It's about time someone said that.

This is an excellent review, I think I liked it more than the actual book! Not that it's bad, I must admit I thought it was 'weak shit' in high school but my reread for a college course changed my tune. Then my prof pointed out Nick has a one night stand with a guy and I realized, 'wow, I need to pay more attention to books!'.

Oh and DiCaprio is apparently starring in a remake of this due out sometime soon. Should be interesting.

By chance have you read Fitzgeralds short piece 'Babylon Revisited'?

I haven't read that, s, but it is on my list of works to read by Fitzgerald. I have heard good things. By the way, getting ready to start Hunger, based on your outstanding review. I had never heard of it before your review, so thanks again for that.

Stephen wrote: "I haven't read that, s, but it is on my list of works to read by Fitzgerald. I have heard good things. By the way, getting ready to start Hunger, based on your outstanding review. I ha..."

Excellent, I hope you enjoy! It is definitely one of my favorites. There isn't much in the way of a plot, but it really pits you in the tortured mind of a starving artist.

I have I feeling I'm going to enjoy it.

Well, well said. Thank you. :)

Great review. I was going to write one myself but you captured everything perfectly. This book is one of my top ten of all times!

I LOVED THIS REVIEW, THANKYOU

Love your review ! You should become a writer yourself

s.penkevich wrote: "Basically, she’s a bitch.
YES! It's about time someone said that.

This is an excellent review, I think I liked it more than the actual book! Not that it's bad, I must admit I thought it was 'weak..."

Ok, what chapter does he have the one night stand...meaning NICK? I missed it...it must be really subtle....clue me in Spenk.

Excellent review! You make very strong arguments.