THE GREAT GATSBY


Title: The Great Gatsby 

Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Series or Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Literary Fiction

Format: Paperback

Publication Date: 30th September 2004

Goodreads Summary:

A portrait of the Jazz Age in all of its decadence and excess, The Great Gatsby captured the spirit of the author's generation and earned itself a permanent place in American mythology. Self-made, self-invented millionaire Jay Gatsby embodies some of Fitzgerald's--and his country's--most abiding obsessions: money, ambition, greed, and the promise of new beginnings. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter--tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning--"Gatsby's rise to glory and eventual fall from grace becomes a kind of cautionary tale about the American Dream.

It's also a love story, of sorts, the narrative of Gatsby's quixotic passion for Daisy Buchanan. The pair meet five years before the novel begins, when Daisy is a legendary young Louisville beauty and Gatsby an impoverished officer. They fall in love, but while Gatsby serves overseas, Daisy marries the brutal, bullying, but extremely rich Tom Buchanan. After the war, Gatsby devotes himself blindly to the pursuit of wealth by whatever means--and to the pursuit of Daisy, which amounts to the same thing. "Her voice is full of money," Gatsby says admiringly. His millions made, Gatsby buys a mansion across Long Island Sound from Daisy's patrician East Egg address, throws lavish parties, and waits for her to appear. When she does, events unfold with detached, cynical neighbor Nick Carraway acting as chorus throughout.

My Review:

The Great Gatsby was a bit beyond my years, as in terms of writing style. I quite enjoyed it, but if I had of been a few years older I would have understood everything that much more. It is a Classic, so that is saying something. 

I loved reading about the 1920's, it's such an amazing time period. If I had to live in one time period, it would be then. Although I didn't understand many words and phrases, I caught up on the plot quite quickly. Fitzgerald has created Gatsby character as such a unique individual with real emotions that people can relate to and can enjoy reading about. I would have preferably wanted to read from Gatsby's prospective rather than Nick's. Nick is a great character, but the book would of made more sense if it was from Gatsby's point of view and Nick was just the neighbour with links. Throughout the read though, we do deal with Nick's problems, needs and wants making him emotionally stand-able as a protagonist.

I also would have loved to have heard more about Daisy and what was going through her head in that whole period of time. The additional characters in The Great Gatsby were interesting and well added into the story which was another bonus for me because any books with great developed characters I will enjoy reading about them. 

The ending of this novel to me was greatly done, I maybe would have wanted a different ending, but it was approached in the right way and the way it was written made up for what actually happened.

I appreciate that I got a chance to read this and I'm glad I did. These books make me take moment to look at the world we live in now and compare the differences. 

Plot: ★★★★

Characters: ★★★★★

Writing: ★★★★★

Feels/Romance: ★★★★


Overall Enjoyment: ★★★★

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