A review by howifeelaboutbooks
Great Gatsby: The Limits of Wonder by Richard Daniel Lehan

informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

I don't think I've ever read a critical book that wasn't for school, and I wasn't sure what to expect from this one, nor did I know what I'd get out of it. But it was amazing, and a lot of it opened my eyes to new layers in the classic text.

My favorite section was Chapter 12, Seeing and Misseeing: Narrative Unfolding, which breaks down the book's timeline. I also appreciated the chapters breaking down characters, including George and Myrtle Wilson. After reading Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor, applying those women's backstories to these straightforward interpretations was incredibly interesting.

While the book does focus on The Great Gatsby, the author also draws parallels between that and Fitzgerald's other works when there are common themes or character traits, so it gives you a broad scope of his writing. I took notes to create a suggested reading list as well.

I knew a fair amount about Fitzgerald's inspiration for the story, which this book addresses, but it also discusses some of his influences and, again, that helped me create a suggested reading list. I think it will be fun to check out some of these other authors (some I've read, some I haven't) and see if I can notice the commonalities myself.

There is also more general information, like this, from Chapter 3, Critical Reception:

It is hard for a reader today to realize that when F. Scott Fitzgerald died in December 1940, all of his books were out of print, including the fourth printing of The Great Gatsby, the 1934 Modern Library edition, which Random House had let go out of print because it was not selling well. Today The Great Gatsby sells over three hundred thousand copies a year, and over three hundred critical essays have been written about it since Fitzgerald's death.

(This book was published in 1990, for context.)

I'd be interested in seeing how many copies are sold annually now, how many more critical essays (and books) have been written, and, in the spirit of my upcoming chapbook, Green Light: A Gatsby Cycle, how many books and retellings it has inspired. 

Perhaps it's time for me to dive into a rabbit hole...