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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
Everyone quotes [b:The Great Gatsby|4671|The Great Gatsby|F. Scott Fitzgerald|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1218672960s/4671.jpg|245494] as Fitzgerald's quintessential American novel, but this existential coming-of-age story flogs Gatsby with a curtain rod--and I don't mean any cheapo one you can get at Wal-Mart for $3.87 plus tax, but one of those decorative jobs you get at high-end home furnishing stores that have various protrusions, um, protruding.
The haunting but exhilaration exhortation of "I know myself, but that is all" made by Amory Blaine (son of Beatrice) at the novel's conclusion is a declaration that I will spend the rest of my life recalling and repeating.
The haunting but exhilaration exhortation of "I know myself, but that is all" made by Amory Blaine (son of Beatrice) at the novel's conclusion is a declaration that I will spend the rest of my life recalling and repeating.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ugh, this book frustrated me with the mix bag of writing quality, so it's no wonder I gave up on it halfway through and picked it up again months later. Some passages were beautiful and engaging, clearly echoing his later works, others left me fending of boredom or indiference. The sudden shifts in narration, poems, and stage play passages did not endear the book to me. The main problem is the protagonist, who works really hard to never turn sympathetic. I much prefer The Great Gatsby, author's later work.
F. Scott Fitzgerald's first novel reads like a first novel -- but a first novel written by a great writer. There's an inventiveness and a formlessness here, as is the striving for something deep and not quite expressing it, that are often found in debut works. Yet the hallmarks of his style are already evident in various forms of maturity, from his cynical, though somewhat sympathetic, portrayal of women (and society) to some of the most poetic prose to be found in American literature. Not his masterpiece, but worth reading.
3.5 out of 5 stars
At first glance, this book might look thrown together randomly because of the many styles of its different parts, but I personally found that very intentional and meaningful. The book was very interesting and left me questioning some things along with Amory, especially in book two. I will be definitely reading more of F. Scott Fitzgerald's work in the future.
Happy reading!
At first glance, this book might look thrown together randomly because of the many styles of its different parts, but I personally found that very intentional and meaningful. The book was very interesting and left me questioning some things along with Amory, especially in book two. I will be definitely reading more of F. Scott Fitzgerald's work in the future.
Happy reading!
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sometimes I liked this book and other times I didn't. There were a few times I almost put the book down. I didn't like the main character, Amory. In the beginning he came across as a snob but later as a depressed drunk. I liked him more towards the end of the book..the last chapter. I didn't care for the poetry but I did like the writing style.
Amory Blaine, the main character of the novel, is a brilliant boy whose mother, even young in his life, was glamorously insane (no mention is made of any kind of concrete insanity, but she suffers frequently from “breakdowns”) and who teaches Amory to follow in her footsteps. He goes to prep school and eventually becomes a Princeton boy, all the while redefining himself in light of the people he encounters and, perhaps most especially, the books he reads. I know, I know, it sounds like your fairly typical coming of age story, and it quite possibly would be if it weren’t for the way that Fitzgerald tells the story. His word-work is fantastic. And although Amory experiences some things later in the novel (don’t worry, no spoilers here!) that change him a little more radically, he remains throughout the book the kind of boy that I wouldn’t mind meeting in real life! He may be arrogant, a little lazy, and hopelessly aristocratic, he’s still adorable! Overall, I’d have to say that the plot could have done with a little more beefing up, but that’s just kind of what Fitzgerald writes, from what I can tell, and Amory was wonderful enough that I’m not sure I really care all that much!
emotional
sad
medium-paced
This is the first book that F. Scott Fitzgerald ever published and he published it just out of college. The book follows Amory, a young man, making his way through college at Princeton (one can see that the story kind of mirrors Scott's own story). It follows his loves and the losses of those loves. While not his best work, it's definitely a good read.