The Great Gatsby
Often recommended for:
contemporary books unrequited love the great american novel classics short booksWhat do readers say about The Great Gatsby?
Synopsis:
Invited to an extravagantly lavish party in a Long Island mansion, Nick Carraway, a young bachelor who has just settled in the neighbouring cottage, is intrigued by the mysterious host, Jay Gatsby, a flamboyant but reserved self-made man with murky business interests and a shadowy past. As the two men strike up an unlikely friendship, details of Gatsby's impossible love for a married woman emerge, until events spiral into tragedy.
Regarded as Fitzgerald's masterpiece and one of the greatest novels of American literature, The Great Gatsby is a vivid chronicle of the excesses and decadence of the "Jazz Age", as well as a timeless cautionary critique of the American dream.
Excerpt:
He didn’t say any more, but we’ve always been unusually communicative in a reserved way, and I understood that he meant a great deal more than that. In consequence, I’m inclined to reserve all judgmen...
About the Author:
F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) was born into a well-to-do Catholic family living in St Paul, Minnesota. At Princeton University he decided to become a writer, leaving without graduating in 1917 to join the army when America entered the First World War. Believing he would be killed at the front, he hurriedly wrote the novel that would become This Side of Paradise, but in the end was not sent to Europe. The novel was published in 1920 to great critical acclaim. He married Zelda Sayre a week after the publication and they embarked on an extravagant lifestyle in New York. Their marriage was blighted by alcoholism, mental illness and financial strife, and provided much material for Scott's numerous short stories and subsequent novels - The Beautiful and Damned (1922), The Great Gatsby (1925) and Tender is the Night (1934). Fitzgerald died aged forty-four, and is regarded as one of America's greatest and most influential writers.
Ratings (40):
Incredible (4) | |
Loved It (12) | |
Liked It (16) | |
Did Not Like (8) |
Reader Stats (55):
Read It (41) | |
Want To Read (14) |
Reviews:
bchcat An exquisitely woven story of betrayed love and shadowy protagonists. Enjoyable to read from beginning to end. Every time I read about Gatsby and Daisie, I feel like crying because of how complicated their love is. A timeless work that you should definitely read:)
Reading the book again did not diminish my appreciation for it. It ranks up there among the best books I've ever read.
A scathing dissection of the American Dream. One of the best novels ever written in the United States; definitely the best American book of the twentieth century
The combined greatness and insignificance of humanity, rendered in the most beautifully composed words. This is, without a doubt, the Great American Novel. This book is one of a kind, and it reveals the lengths that individuals will go to in order to demonstrate how much they care about and love the people in their lives.
A portrait of the attractive but fatally flawed wealthy of the 1920s in the United States that is absolutely radiant in its splendor. Quite easy to read, and the character analysis is very interesting. It's not hard to see why people like reading this little book so much.
I felt it was really nice overall. Both the characters and the narrative of the novel were very interesting, and the ending satisfying.
