Reviews with content warning for Antisemitism - The Great Gatsby

I picked up The Great Gatsby for the second time in my life and found it a lot more pleasant and beautiful than I remember it was when I read it in high school. Daisy and Gatsby were much more rounded characters than I remember them being and the writing is beautiful in many places.

This story is a tragedy and beautiful because of that. Gatsby is a very good cautionary tale about even when you get everything you want, you can still have an empty life. He had an idea of who he wanted to be both with his riches and with having a relationship with Daisy, but while he managed to get both those things at least fleetingly, it didn't mean anything in the end. Nick ended up being his only true friend and everything else was just a mirage.

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a_sleepy_berry's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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pelledorso's review against another edition

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reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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m4rtt4's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.25

Didn't expect this to feel so plain? Lukewarm? Clearly something was there, but it felt like it was kept away at an arm's length and eventually my arm got tired of reaching. The Roaring 1920's vibes were definitely there, but not as vividly as I had hoped. A world of careless partying and glorious riches, but also one where beating up your wife and being racist is the norm. There was quite a lot of deep stuff between the lines, like how rich people can get away with anything yet money can't buy you love, but the stuff felt very surface-level and I don't quite get why this is such a hyped book.

I didn't really like Gatsby at all, so the ending pleasantly surprised me :') I was also kinda rooting for Nick and Jordan, but then again I didn't really like Nick either and I'm glad Jordan knew her self worth.

As a Finnish person I was pleasantly surprised to hear of Carraway's housemaid being a Finn, but oh, the hypocrisy of these American upper-class people! Being blatantly racist, they speak about the superiority of the white Nordic race which they deem themselves a member of, but the only person from an actual Nordic country, the Finnish housemaid, is repeatedly described as demonic, just a nameless creature muttering incomprehensible nonsense.

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bethisgood's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

ok.

i don't condone cheating, but they seem to enjoy it

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