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A review by writervid
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
3.0
(3.5 stars)
Whenever I asked about The Great Gatsby, I found that most people tended to love it or hate it. Those who loved it tended to be a fan of the writing style, and those who hated it tended to think it was too dense. After reading it, I have to agree with both sides of the story.
The dramatic scenes are done remarkably well, and the writing style is lyrical and stunning. The clothes scene (while I thought it was a bit overhyped) holds metaphoric integrity, and almost every scene adds to the plot and the characters. It's clear to see why English classes all over the States mark this as required reading: it's a gold mine of thematic imagery and a great source of discussion.
However, the craft behind the story isn't translatable into an enjoyable time reading. I found that there were too many steps to getting Nick to be friends with Gatsby, whom we meet incredibly far into the story. I feel as though we spend too much time with Nick, who is just bland enough to draw us in to the mystery of Gatsby's world and provide some good context to it. There is so much time spent establishing and trying to space out that establishment that I felt bogged down by exposition. As a relatively quick reader, this took me a good chunk of time to get through, and was harder to get into each time I picked it up.
Ultimately, I'm glad I read this book. I think it serves as a different perspective of the 1920s from our modern one, and is one of the best writing styles I've ever read. But am I falling over myself to reread it? Not anytime soon.
Whenever I asked about The Great Gatsby, I found that most people tended to love it or hate it. Those who loved it tended to be a fan of the writing style, and those who hated it tended to think it was too dense. After reading it, I have to agree with both sides of the story.
The dramatic scenes are done remarkably well, and the writing style is lyrical and stunning. The clothes scene (while I thought it was a bit overhyped) holds metaphoric integrity, and almost every scene adds to the plot and the characters. It's clear to see why English classes all over the States mark this as required reading: it's a gold mine of thematic imagery and a great source of discussion.
However, the craft behind the story isn't translatable into an enjoyable time reading. I found that there were too many steps to getting Nick to be friends with Gatsby, whom we meet incredibly far into the story. I feel as though we spend too much time with Nick, who is just bland enough to draw us in to the mystery of Gatsby's world and provide some good context to it. There is so much time spent establishing and trying to space out that establishment that I felt bogged down by exposition. As a relatively quick reader, this took me a good chunk of time to get through, and was harder to get into each time I picked it up.
Ultimately, I'm glad I read this book. I think it serves as a different perspective of the 1920s from our modern one, and is one of the best writing styles I've ever read. But am I falling over myself to reread it? Not anytime soon.