Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Anne Collins

50 reviews

caribbeangirlreading's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

2023:  Re-read this book for my Classics Book Club. As always, we had a spirited discussion as to the themes of the book. However, I still did not enjoy reading it and I still hate all the characters - Gatsby is a con-man. Daisy is NOT a victim. Tom is still a horrible human being. Gatsby and Daisy's relationship is toxic AF. Daisy and Tom deserve each other and all their unhappiness. And Nick . . . This time around I really noticed something that I had forgotten from my first read, that Nick is our narrator, and he's a very unreliable one. He "thinks" he's above the superficial and vapid lifestyle of the rich and famous of East/West Egg, but he's in fact just like them. He just doesn't have the money.

2013:  Intellectually, I can see why this book has remained a classic.  It is a scathing social commentary on life in the 1920s, and maybe even specifically of upper class society in the northeast US.  But emotionally, I despised Gatsby, and Tom, and Daisy, and Jordan and many of the other secondary characters so much that reading this book was more torture than pleasure.  I had to force myself to finish this book (over 2.5 weeks!) just so I could say I have read it.  And then F. Scott Fitzgerald's book will join the ranks of the classic American novels that I despise, i.e., every book ever written by his friend and contemporary, Ernest Hemingway.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Toxic relationship, Classism, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Physical abuse

Minor: Gun violence and Racism

atlantisblauw's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Took until about page 140 for it to get interesting, but I did like the ending. Fitzgerald is a good writer, there are some beautiful sentences in there and he's good at writing flashbacks and other jumps through time. His characters are credible, but quite flat.

Ironically, Gatsby is presented as the mysterious one but you learn more about him than all other characters combined. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Antisemitism, Car accident, Sexism, Violence, Classism, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Domestic abuse

faith99's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Infidelity, Classism, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Racism, Physical abuse, and Car accident

Moderate: Grief and Alcohol

Minor: Murder and Gun violence

nataliapassos's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Classism, Racism, Alcoholism, Death, and Misogyny

Moderate: Physical abuse, Gun violence, and Murder

buud_w0rm's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I haven’t read the great gatsby or watched the movie in a long time. This is definitely THE classic. The ending broke me …

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident and Alcohol

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

joygarcialim's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

The story of a mass of toxic characters, being observed by Carraway- it’s impressively written, well ahead of its time. The narration was wonderfully crafted and Fitzgerald truly has a way with writing that makes it sombre, even without referencing much to Carraway’s own emotions as the novel unfolded.

For such a short book though, it started off really slow and the build-up to the climax was slow too. 

I don’t really think Fitzgerald wrote with the intention to flesh out the characters, there is a lack of backstory to all of them except Gatsby. As much as I hated Daisy and Tom, Carraway was ostensibly acquainted with them yet didn’t have much to say about them. The dialogues were confusing at times too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Racism, Toxic relationship, Classism, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Suicide, Car accident, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism

eloiseug's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Rereading an old favourite and it's just as good this time around as it's always been. The Great Gatsby is a phenomenal piece of writing which tugs at my heartstrings every time I read it and I wouldn't have it any other way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Stalking, Suicide, War, Car accident, Death, Infidelity, and Classism

tifftastic87's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

I genuinely don't understand how this book is one of the "great American novels." Maybe there is something to take away about how wealth is a disease or that being a socialite doesn't mean you are liked, likeable, or capable of friendship. But there has got to be a better way to do that then to tell the story of wealthy people getting drunk, complaining, fighting and running around on their spouses. 

Nick, the narrator, reminds us so many times that hes one of the few honest men, that I fail to believe he is a reliable narrator at all. 

Gatsby, whom we know so little about until the end, is honestly a man who is so stuck on the past when he "fell in love" with an 18 year old barely legal Daisy that he spent his whole life accumulating wealth to get her attention. He throws wild parties just to hope she'll come. 

The women, Daisy and Jordan, are pretty much here for decoration and to be an object for the men to either fight over (Daisy) or be guided by (Jordan). The exception is Myrtle who is there to simply show you how horrible Tom is and for Nick to describe as fat and bossy. 

She carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some women can.

Tom is a racist, white supremacist piece of garbage who cheats on his wife, abuses his mistress and just talks trash about everyone. 

I disliked every single character in this book. I loathed every page. I am so glad I was never forced to read this in school. 

Only giving it some credit for the accuracy in which Fitzgerald describes drunk people and the way he sets scenes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Antisemitism, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Car accident, Classism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Blood, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

paigeinabook's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Medical content, Murder, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcoholism, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Sexism, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

edwardian_girl_next_door's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Racism, Classism, Death, Gun violence, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Infidelity

Moderate: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Suicide

Minor: Stalking and Antisemitism