Sunday, March 4, 2012

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Title: The Great Gatsby
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Pages: 216
Published: 1995 (first published 1925)
Challenges: 2012 Back to the Classics, 2012 TBR Pile
Genre: American, Classic
Edition: Paperback
Source: Purchased

Description: Nick Carraway, a Midwesterner now living on Long Island, finds himself fascinated by the mysterious past and lavish lifestyle of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby. He is drawn into Gatsby's circle, becoming a witness to obsession and tragedy. (via IMBD)

Thoughts: Despite the fact that this took me almost 2 months to read, I really enjoyed it.  There are a lot of similarities to the excess of the 1920s to what happened in the late 1990s, early 2000s with a lot of people living "high off the hog".   The story was a little dull at times and there were a few times in which I had to back track and reread what I had read in order to so that I wouldn't miss anything. Despite this, I could see why people are fascinated by the story and have to it time again and again.  And we will see it yet again coming to a theatre near you in December of this year (or January/February depending on where one lives).

While I wasn't as enamoured with The Great Gatsby as I was with This Side of Paradise, it was certainly worth the read and thought it to be a beautiful portrayal of those who try to live in the fast lane for any period of time and who are unable to manage who they associate with.

Bottom line: If you have read any of Fitzgerald's other work or anything by Hemmingway, you would probably like this.

Rating: 4/5

Pages for 2012: 6495


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