The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

MrsCatInTheHat · Post by **MrsCatInTheHat** » 09 Aug 2016, 09:56

alwaysdaddygirl wrote:Aloha,

One of my favorite books. I will be having a future tattoo of this book cover.

Blessing?

That kind of tattoo will definitely be a conversation starter.

Caroline2023 · Post by **Caroline2023** » 21 Aug 2016, 16:35

This is one of my favourite books. I was introduced to it in high school English, as I'm sure most of us were. At the time, I didn't fully appreciate what a masterpiece of literature it was. I think the complexities of the book are better understood when you have a bit of life experience behind you - issues such as sexuality, morals and honesty are all addressed, some in a very subtle manner. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!

elanger333 · Post by **elanger333** » 25 Aug 2016, 07:14

I loved the book because I was able to taste and smell what Nick was describing. I preferred the movie with Robert Redford as opposed to the new one with Leonardo DiCaprio. I just felt that the old one captured the essence of the book.

Joshiemic2 · Post by **Joshiemic2** » 30 Aug 2016, 07:09

This is the book that got me into reading classic literature!! The mystery that is Mr. Gatsby, the should-be love affair between nick and daisy, every bit of this book is absolutley superb! It has a beautiful backdrop of the 1920s with a plot that leaves you absolutely speachless by the time you reach the last page. And then hollywood had to ruin it!

-- 30 Aug 2016, 07:09 --

This is the book that got me into reading classic literature!! The mystery that is Mr. Gatsby, the should-be love affair between nick and daisy, every bit of this book is absolutley superb! It has a beautiful backdrop of the 1920s with a plot that leaves you absolutely speachless by the time you reach the last page. And then hollywood had to ruin it!

Carsh_Lohal · Post by **Carsh_Lohal** » 01 Sep 2016, 23:27

I was assigned to read this in high school and ended up powering through the whole thing in a weekend. I think I realized after a little ways in that if I read it in pieces and analyzed it like crazy through the semester I'd end up hating it, and the book really didn't deserve that. I've re-read it again now that I'm older and can appreciate some of the content more, it was even better than I remember.

godreaujea · Post by **godreaujea** » 20 Oct 2016, 18:58

This book was good, but I don't think it is amazing or anything. When we had to read it in high school, a lot of my friends were going crazy over it, but I didn't find the characters to be very complex or the story line to be shattering.

MaryKnight · Post by **MaryKnight** » 30 Oct 2016, 15:08

I LOVE Gatsby. It was seriously one of the best books I had to read in HS. Reread the book in college for an education class and we found so much more in the book that I had missed the first time.
I always vouch for the books over movies just because I feel like books allow you to take the words and form your own images in your mind. However, there are two movie versions of The Great Gatsby and I honestly prefer the older version. The recent film was a bit of a let down with how poorly they captured the vision of the book. From music choices to the way things were filmed, it was too unrealistic.

bookloverInCBOR · Post by **bookloverInCBOR** » 02 Nov 2016, 17:41

Am I the only one who found this book inaccessible? I have read The Great Gatsby four times now (three times as an assignment and once on my own), and taught it in my freshman English class once. And I have really wanted to like it. But so far I just find it tedious. The characters are insipid and if I can't find a character I like, I find it hard to connect with the book. Nick is somewhat redeemable as the narrator, but he feels like a catalyst more than a character. Things happen around him; he isn't an active participant in this story. And so, like with some other classics I know, I just have not found a part of this story with which to engage.

AMagnificentAmberson · Post by **AMagnificentAmberson** » 04 Nov 2016, 09:58

The Great Gatsby is the most beautifully written book I've read. More importantly, I love how it juxtaposes the reckless romanticism of Gatsby with the reckless selfishness of Daisy, Tom, and Jordan. Both sides are so extreme as to be caricatures, but this only heightens the fear, beauty, and realism of these people's problems. And despite the blindness of Gatsby's romanticism, he is still better than all the others because he feels and dreams and wants more rather than simply stifling and making do. While Fitzgerald wrote the novel about a specific time, I believe this sentiment is timeless because I still feel it very strongly.

Free Roth · Post by **Free Roth** » 09 Nov 2016, 03:21

reading this now. love it.

Ocean-Pepper · Post by **Ocean-Pepper** » 22 Nov 2016, 14:14

The movie is the perfect rainy day movie for me. I could watch it a hundred times, and it'll take me right to 1920's New York City. It's a magical time, and I love the narrative descriptions in both the book and the movie. It's my favorite Leonardo DiCaprio film, and I even think Tobey Maguire was a great fit for Nick Carroway. The book itself is poetic in nature to me, and reminds me of how relatable it is; especially during my high school days. "The Great Gatsby" is one of the rare cases wherein both the book and the movie are my favorites.

Connor_reader · Post by **Connor_reader** » 24 Nov 2016, 05:11

The book was of course better than the film. But I feel like the film came a very close second. Leonardo Di caprio acted brilliantly(like always) but I feel like daisy was quite a let down. Where as in the book she was a gripping character to read about and was a irresistible force. The was what the American Dream was but the movie downplayed this quite a bit.

sydneypro_27 · Post by **sydneypro_27** » 03 Dec 2016, 17:11

The Great Gatsby is easily one of my favorite books of all time. Personally, I think what makes the book so great is the character development along with Fitzgerald's writing style. Nick Caraway is supposed to be the character that most people can relate to, the one that we can all empathize with. I think that Tobey Maguire portrayed Nick Caraway brilliantly. He had the same subdued easy-going personality as the character that Fitzgerald created. I think that the creators of the movie tried very hard to stick to the important details. They even had Tobey Maguire narrate several internal dialogues going on inside of Nick's mind which were exact quotes from the book. Not only did I think that Maguire was a great choice of actor, but Leonardo DiCaprio was INCREDIBLE as Gatsby. He portrayed Gatsby with the same hollow confidence and mystery that Fitzgerald had created. In the movie Leo had the same mannerisms that I had imagined when reading the book. I know that a lot of people don't like Carey Mulligan as Daisy but I thought she played her character very well. Not only did she look exactly as I had imagined, but she also perfected Daisy's head-in-the-clouds personality. Daisy had a way of always appearing to be thinking of something else. I think Mulligan perfected the "distant stare" and egregiously shallow mindset of Daisy Buchanan. Joel Edgerton played Tom Buchanan and although I was not a huge fan of his role in the movie there was one aspect of the character that I think he portrayed very well. In the book I recall Fitzgerald describing Tom as always leaning "aggressively forward" and I think Edgerton did this perfectly. Overall I really enjoyed the movie, I think they did a really good job of taking an older story and modernizing the movie. The modern music and other modern aspects of the movie, gave people a better idea and helped people relate more to the scenes described in the book. I may only believe this because I'm young but these things really stood out to me.

Jennashby_87 · Post by **Jennashby_87** » 14 Nov 2019, 10:51

I actually have never read this book or seen the movie but I definitely think I need to give it a shot!

Rachel_Yee · Post by **Rachel_Yee** » 19 Nov 2019, 02:45

This is a book I have not had the chance to read yet. A classic which I believe should be enjoyed thoroughly with a nice cup of cocoa, sitting in a armchair and a fireplace crackling nearby.