The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Great Gatsby
Book Review: "Blue" and bleak it is
Summary: 4 Stars
I see this book as being rather a bleak subject. If you are not sure whether you should buy it, YOU SHOULD. F Scott Fitzgerald is my #1 favorite author. He knows how to display a scene so vividly that's unlike most authors. His books can render much emotion in a small way. This book is the presentation of pitiable people and displays people in a realistic light-people with flaws and worries, not characters that do one bad thing and that's it, or characters that are all angel or all villain. The whole book is rather sad in my opinion. Nothing seems to be particularly happy or motivating and then ends on a tragic note. Yet Fitzgerald weaves a web around the reader that makes him want to continue with the rainy-day feeling and leaves you with a sad/wonderful/bittersweet/memorable book.
And that is how it is.
Book Review: "Great" doesn't even begin to describe this one
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a seriously awesome book. Quite simply, you must read it. I know you've heard it before: allow me to join in praising it.
The first thing I'd like to point out is Fitzgerald's brilliant use of symbolism. The cars, the colors, various characters' glasses... these aren't just trivial things, you know. Pay close attention to them.
Anyway, the next thing I'd like to discuss is the character of Gatsby himself. A very intriguing figure. In fact, he's a bit of an enigma to me in that I have no definite opinion on whether or not I admire him. My opinion on the other characters is clear-cut (I mostly dislike them, other than Nick - which I believe was Fitzgerald's intention, to portray the rich as shallow and irresponsible - another thing that comes off brilliantly). But Gatsby... I'm not sure on Gatsby. I have to salute him for sticking with his dream for so long, in spite of its hopelessness, but the ends of said dream would have resulted in disaster for all parties involved, and his motives would be questionable. Gatsby is charismatic, well-read, determined, and intelligent; he is also greedy, self-absorbed, and stuck in the past. In other words, very human. And that's the most intriguing part of his character: when the end comes, I am unsure whether or not I feel Gatsby deserved his fate. Something to ponder. I like books that make me think deeply, and this is one of them.
As for Fitzgerald's language, let us say he has total mastery over it. I knew he was a phenomenal writer from reading a collection of his short stories before I picked up Gatsby, but nothing could prepare me for what this book would present. Fitzgerald was a very, very talented writer, and there's a fine reason why he is widely considered one of the best. Books don't get much better.
As an attack on the fast, hard lifestyles of the wealthy (something Fitzgerald himself knew a lot about), and as a meditation on how time's passage can ruin lives, this is equally brilliant. Easily one of the best books I've ever read. Every character is fully fleshed out, even seemingly (but only seemingly!) trivial characters like Old Owl Eyes; the symbolism is perfect, the language is stunning, and the book is just the right length. I can think of no criticisms.
Book Review: "So We Drove On toward Death in the Cooling Twilight"
Summary: 3 Stars
The main story -- a romantic man's doomed attempt to recapture the love of an immature woman -- was less enthralling than expected. Daisy seemed hardly worth all the trouble Gatsby took, and for that matter, neither did entry into her world. She was a cipher. The use of a narrator to connect the various characters was interesting; how could the book have been written otherwise? But at times the plot felt contrived, as with the switching of cars and an accident, and the symbolism around the valley of ashes seemed heavy-handed. Other than the passive narrator, the people lacked even a small degree of self-awareness. The one who seemed the least conflicted and most sure of himself was the brutal, self-centered Tom.
It was the lesser details in this novel that were enjoyed most. A montage at the end of the second chapter in which the drunken narrator moved from an elevator, to a bedroom, to Penn Station. How Gatsby's smile affected those who saw it. A mansion housing a library of books with their pages uncut. The vapidity of a man who tried to act out his limited idea of the good life but had little of interest to say and thought San Francisco was in the Middle West. Dogged efforts at self-improvement linked to shallow goals. A shady character eating with "ferocious delicacy." The way Daisy conveyed her love for a character in just a few words said lightly in front of her husband. The class disdain someone like Tom felt for the main character -- he couldn't be an Oxford man because he wore a pink suit. The gust of hot shrubbery from Central Park wafting through the upper windows of the Plaza Hotel. The author's description of how it felt to reach 30. And the concluding paragraphs, which can still move despite the superficiality of the people portrayed.
Book Review: "They're a rotten crowd You're worth the whole damn bunch put together."
Summary: 5 Stars
That quote sums up the book for me.
I don't think I would have appreciated this book as a young person. Now, however, I understand the folly of chasing castles in the sky. In Gatsby you see a man who could have done so much but wasted his precious life chasing an illusion. Daisy embodied everything he thought he wanted: beauty, wealth, and a name. Yet we see (and I don't think Gatsby ever understood) that it was all a mirage. For all of their wealth and breeding, Daisy and Tom were vapid, shallow, cruel people who deserved each other.
Anyone unfortunate enough to enter their sphere would be crushed and cast aside.
Book Review: * Loved It *
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my favorite books. The story takes place through the eyes of Nick basically an on looker.The era in which the book takes place is part of the attraction. It is the 20's and money is big. People are rich and notorious. Living in huge houses, throwing extravagent parties, and cheating spouces are common. Intertwined within all these themes is a tragic love affair. Written so elequently that the prose just flows off the pages.