I re-read The Great Gatsby. Was I drunk before? *spoilers*

[Lily]

Dimity wrote: "Another classic read I didn't like in high school was Frankenstein. It totally seemed to me like bad pop literature that had somehow remained popular for a century and a half, but not really a legitimate "classic" to me."

Browsing through this discussion your comment caught my eye and I have to respond since it was over-looked. Liking a book is not a requirement to acknowledge that it has literary merit to readers. Frankenstein should be categorized as a classic; it's one of the earliest examples of science-fiction as well as being an embodiment of the Gothic novel. It has controversial and thought-provoking themes for the time that still hold to today: Dr. Frankenstein playing God, his creation desiring love, and vengeance bringing with it only more misery.

Beyond the novel itself, learning about the reception it received provides insight into gender-bias faced by women writers. It was written under a pseudonym by Mary Shelley. The reviews were varied: some people loved it, some hated it. When it was revealed that a woman wrote the story a deluge of critiques emerged judging Shelley a knock-off writer, and the novel as dismissible and obviously faulted because of the gender of the author.

It is an incredible work -- even if you didn't enjoy it!

[Emily]

I think I should give Gatsby another try. Whenever I think of F. Scott Fitzgerald, I tend to think of the super-unflattering way Hemingway talks about him in "A Moveable Feast". That's probably not fair. My brain works way differently now than it did in high school.

Kate Beaton sums up everything I remember/felt about Gatsby in this comic (WARNING: COUPLE OF BAD WORDS): http://harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=259

I WISH THAT GREEN LIGHT DIDN'T GIVE ME SEIZURES.

[Marsha]

What an interesting thread, and so many comments worthy of response.

Personally I do need to like at least one character in a book or a movie to enjoy the experience. If I don't have someone to root for, someone that I hope turns out okay by the end, then I usually feel that the author has wasted my time.

I did like "Gatsby" the book as well as Gatsby the character. I didn't like the Redford movie at all, though, and have no intention of seeing the latest version.

The part I liked best was the little poem at the beginning, and I memorized it (although it's been so long that I can't trust my memory and will have to google it :) --

Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;
If you can bounce high, bounce for her too,
Till she cry “Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover,
I must have you!”

I can't quite say what moves me about it, but I do love it.

[Renee]

Is anybody excited for the upcoming movie with DiCaprio ?

[Dee]

I found this book to be a disappointment, but I love the time and place. There's a great book called Rules of Civility that captures that 'Golden Age' fish-out-of water thing, but without the dreary Daisy.

[Nancy]

Renee - I would like to see it. Haven't investigated much and have no idea when it is scheduled for release.

[☼Marian☼]

Why I didn't like The Great Gatsby? While I was reading it, it felt like the characters are detached with the going-ons. I just don't like how it was written.

[Sofia]

Oh my, I guess I am in the minority here, but that is one of my favorite books of all time. I never read it in high school, I read it only a few years ago (well into my 'adult' life) and I absolutely fell in love with it!. Is it sad and depressing at times, yes, however, I don't think that makes it a bad read or "horrible' as some people refered to it. It is a love story, and a beautifully written one at that. It is one of the few "classics" that is clearly written and the story is easy to follow. It is a wonderful book.

[Barbara]

I have read this book several times: in high school, college, and several times since. I adore this novel. As an English major I wrote a paper on the significance of the color green in the work.

[Regina]

I recently re-read this book in January of this year and I loved it more than I did during my high school read. I do think the characters are detached but I think it was intentional.

[Barbara]

Regina wrote: "I recently re-read this book in January of this year and I loved it more than I did during my high school read. I do think the characters are detached but I think it was intentional."

I agree.

[Hima]

I've read it twice. Once 13 years ago in high school, and the other time Summer of 2009 (I believe.) I read the second time in one day, so I'm sure I missed things. Question, what was the significance of the Green Light?
I know I liked it in High School but despised it from a few years ago. Just felt like everyone was whiny, over-privileged, pretentious A-holes. Very similar feelings that I had to my re-read of "Catcher in the Rye". Holden Caulfield. you just want to smack him, and tell him to quit whining about every. little. thing.

[Mary]

Awwww, poor Holden. lol. I liked Catcher in the Rye, but did not read it in high school. I think I read it about 2 years ago. Plus or minus. The thing I couldn't figure out though was why it's considered a "classic" and why many high schools have it as required reading. Don't get me wrong, I liked the book, I just didn't understand what makes it so outstanding that it is given the place that it is.

[Shelley]

Gatsby has an emptiness, a silence, and a glow.

Any movie version that doesn't show us that has failed.

Shelley, Rain: A Dust Bowl Story
http://dustbowlpoetry.wordpress.com

[Hima]

I do want to see the new Baz Lhurman (sp) movie though. If only because the biggest star in the world is in it.
Amitabh Bachchan - a Billion people, are not wrong. Oh, and Leo of course.

[Jess]

You aren't really supposed to like the characters in the book! It is Fitzgerald's rebuke of the very Jazz Age that he named.

[Pauline]

I've read it but don't remember much about it... in any case, it's clearly going to be big news this spring so I think I might pick it up again. Bit surprised it isn't free on Kindle. Yay for libraries!

[Tabatha]

Mary wrote: "I read The Great Gatsby in high school (about 17 years ago). I remember that I LOVED that book. Recently, someone made a reference to it and I realized that the only details I remembered were the..."

Haha. I remember not liking it that much because i rated it a 2/5, but remembering some of it, I feel like it was one of the better books I've read. I have yet to become disillusioned with a book I read that I liked and reread. I've reread Ender's game twice, and the Hobbit twice, and I'm still as in love as the first time.