A review by catrad
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

2.0

Really? Great classic of 20th century literature? I'm sorry, I just don't get it. The first half of this book was so horrifically dull that I could hardly be bothered to pick it up to read it. But I'm a stubborn old mule, and once I'd started it there was no other option but to finish it. Eventually. There were only three chapters where anything actually happened, and they were vaguely interesting, but overall I wish I hadn't bothered. Halfway through reading I got opinions from three friends who'd read it to ask if it got any better. I receive two flat 'no's, and a 'yes, I loved it, it's like a soap opera'. And perhaps therein lies the problem. I am not a soap opera girl and cannot abide the petty, selfish, self-centred vagaries of that type of character, which unfortunately filled this book from start to finish. I had no empathy for a single person in The Great Gatsby, and not even much interest. I rated it 2* solely because the story did seem to pick up a little two thirds of the way through and I was slightly interested in what was happening. Overall though? Don't bother unless you love empty-headed rich people and their issues.