The Great Gatsby
June 22nd 2006 12:54
The Great Gatsby... this was one of those books I didn't get to read in school, though everyone else seemed to. I finally got around to reading it a few weeks ago and I tell ya... it sure was short for a classic! I like it. More short classics please. Less Tolstoy.
Published in 1925, while the twenties were still a-roaring and the Great Depression was a good five years away, this book is an ideal representation of post-industrial America in all it's debauched and bourgeois glory. We are introduced to East Coast American society via Nick, a newly-arrived bond-dealer from the west who has come to New York to have a go at making a fortune. Upon arrival he hears about an elusive and ulra-rich playboy, Jay Gatsby, who turns out to be his neighbour. The two become friends, but Nick can't help but wonder at Gatsby's shady past and motives towards his friend Daisy. To talk of the plot any further would spoil the novel ...don't laugh! I know it's over 80 years old and people talk about it in classrooms all over the world but I didn't have the slightest clue about it's plot until I read the book for myself just recently, so maybe others of you out there are just as much in the dark as I was, and so I don't want to spoil it for anyone!
Anyway, it's a good book. It's tight and there's not a wasted sentence. F. Scott Fitzgerald felt that it was his best book at the time of writing, and I guess he was right as it is commonly held to be one of the greatest American novels of all time. The corruption of the American dream is an especially spooky theme when you consider that the American dream was about to end for millions not too long after the book was published, what with the Great Depression and World War II just around the corner.
Actually, it's quite surprising that the book hasn't dated more. Despite coming straight out of the 20s, it doesn't shy away from the more decrepit facets of society and it feels quite modern. I found it's style fairly easy to follow and enjoyable to read - like I said earlier, it's a short book as far as 'classics' go. I can certainly see why it's taught in schools, I think it's digestability goes a long way towards it's effectiveness and it's no wonder it's so rock solid.
'The Great Gatsby' has been adapted for film three times, once as a silent film just after it's initial publication, again in the late 40s (starring Alan Ladd) and once again in the 70s (the Robert Redford/Mia Farrow version).
The Great Gatsby
Published in 1925, while the twenties were still a-roaring and the Great Depression was a good five years away, this book is an ideal representation of post-industrial America in all it's debauched and bourgeois glory. We are introduced to East Coast American society via Nick, a newly-arrived bond-dealer from the west who has come to New York to have a go at making a fortune. Upon arrival he hears about an elusive and ulra-rich playboy, Jay Gatsby, who turns out to be his neighbour. The two become friends, but Nick can't help but wonder at Gatsby's shady past and motives towards his friend Daisy. To talk of the plot any further would spoil the novel ...don't laugh! I know it's over 80 years old and people talk about it in classrooms all over the world but I didn't have the slightest clue about it's plot until I read the book for myself just recently, so maybe others of you out there are just as much in the dark as I was, and so I don't want to spoil it for anyone!
Anyway, it's a good book. It's tight and there's not a wasted sentence. F. Scott Fitzgerald felt that it was his best book at the time of writing, and I guess he was right as it is commonly held to be one of the greatest American novels of all time. The corruption of the American dream is an especially spooky theme when you consider that the American dream was about to end for millions not too long after the book was published, what with the Great Depression and World War II just around the corner.
Actually, it's quite surprising that the book hasn't dated more. Despite coming straight out of the 20s, it doesn't shy away from the more decrepit facets of society and it feels quite modern. I found it's style fairly easy to follow and enjoyable to read - like I said earlier, it's a short book as far as 'classics' go. I can certainly see why it's taught in schools, I think it's digestability goes a long way towards it's effectiveness and it's no wonder it's so rock solid.
'The Great Gatsby' has been adapted for film three times, once as a silent film just after it's initial publication, again in the late 40s (starring Alan Ladd) and once again in the 70s (the Robert Redford/Mia Farrow version).
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Comment by SueHoney
We had to read this as part of World Literature in our Lit class..but in the translated version..
I haven't got the chance to read the English version (soo many books, so lil time!) but I hope I will some day..
All those symbolisms in such a thin book- I simply love it