The Great Gatsby/Cassettes

Rating:
Summary: A Tragic Love Story
Review: Finally I can say that I've read this great book!

Essentially, THE GREAT GATSBY is a tragic love story. In this novel, we are shown the extremes to which a person will go when they are in love. Gatsby is desperately in love with Daisy -- a gal way "out his league" and social standing -- so that he transforms his entire existence (reinvents himself) to win her love, even sacrificing his life. Of course, in the end there may be those who ask: Was Daisy worth it?

There is nothing to replace the experience of reading this great, beautifully written novel. All the drab film adaptions fall short, maybe because the beauty is not in the somewhat slender story, but in the telling, the language Fitzgerald uses, exquisitely rendered lines that you'll find yourself re-reading for their intense beauty. The final closing pages, in particular, are amazing -- prose that is closer to poetry. This is a MUST reading experience -- by the end you'll agree: a shining jewel of literature. Pick up a copy of this classic book!

Another novel I need to recommend -- completely unrelated to Fitzgerald, but very much on my mind since I purchased a "used" copy off Amazon is "THE LOSERS CLUB: Complete Restored Edition" by Richard Perez, an exceptional, compelling romance of sorts I can't stop thinking about. THE LOSERS CLUB and THE GREAT GATSBY are by far my favorite two Amazon purchases this year.


Rating:
Summary: Are there more stars available?
Review: Hands down - the greatest piece of fiction I have ever read (and I am not a big reader of fiction). What do I love about Gatsby? 1) It is such a tight story, what a masterpiece in writing! 2) The first couple of sentences. 3) The last paragraphs -- I read them often. Some of the most beautiful words I have ever read. Don't we all have a green light?

Rating:
Summary: Very good introduction to Fitzgerald
Review: This is the very first book by F.Scott Fitzgerald that I have read, and it was actually engrossing and interesting. There are parts that seem to move slow, but the author makes up for it with his amazing lyrical writing/description and his great characterization. The way he writes of the character's reactions and emotions seems so realistic, that is what I beleive will make it easy for one to read and get "into", so to speak.
Now, yes, Fitzgerald was an alcholic, but that does not mean that he wrote this while being drunk. Quite the contrary; Fitzgerald is known for his notorious revisions - in which 'Gatsby' was revised several times before he was satisfied with it.
I am saying this to basically let the reader know that it is very worth giving it a chance, and even though by the end it may not be ones' "favorite" story, however it is a very good introduction into the writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Rating:
Summary: An outsider's view of the inside
Review: It should come as no surprise that F. Scott Fitzgerald is a Midwesterner who came to New York City to try his luck. Many great New Yorkers came from outside the City (PT Barnum, Robert Fulton, Alexander Hamilton, etc.). However, their fresh perspectives of Gotham--something a native might overlook--allowed them to see things in a different way. Nick, the narrator of THE GREAT GATSBY, is also a Midwestern boy who comes to New York. In Jay Gatsby, Nick sees someone alluring, mysterious, dazzling, intimidating, aloof, and shady--all those qualities associated with Jazz Age New York. And the population of Gatsby's parties, like the population of Roaring 20s New York, are money-, power- and sex-hungry, yearning for celebrity, and, in many cases, hollow people who drink too much.

For all the drinking, Nick's view (and therefore Fitzgerald's) is incredibly sobering and clear-eyed. Caught up as he is in the excitement, he is often repelled by some of it. THE GREAT GATSBY, in my book, contains some of Fitzgerald's most lyrical writing. In form, character development, and plot, this book stands out as just an important book of early 20th century American literature as anything by Steinbeck, Dos Passos, or Dreiser.

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Summary: HS student required to read this---and loved it
Review: I was required to read this book for English II. I am a bibliophile by nature and have always loved books.

This is one of my favorites. We were required to extensively research the 1920s in order to fully understand the background of the book, the time period, the setting. That research and this book have made the 1920s one of the most interesting decades in the 20th century for me; certainly, the one I am most attracted to.

THE GREAT GATSBY is written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, "social historian" of the Lost Generation of disillusioned writers in the post-war world. Fitzgerald's prose and style so eloquently capture the fleeting spirit of the 1920s, the breaking through of social taboos and finding little on the other side, the desire for something impossible, the continuing themes of disillusionment, spiritual isolation, and death.

Rating:
Summary: The introduction comes after the conclusion.
Review: At the end of this novel, I finally understood why it is considered a piece of classic literature. Fitzgerald vividly depicts the gildedness of the Jazz Age without being obvious. Several plots are intertwined at once, offering an intriguing complexity that keeps your interest without confusing you. Nick's omniscient narration offers the reader a unique perspective on the corruption of high society, considering he is not a part of it. The poignancy of the story doesn't hit you until the end, but the ride on the way there is wonderful.

Rating:
Summary: One of the all time great books.
Review: This book is one of the all-time greats. No other book out there fleshes out the pre-World-War-1 era like this one. Everyone knows the story is about a man who amasses a lot of wealth by various dubious means, solely to please Daisy, a socialite that he has his heart set on. Daisy had rejected him once before in favour of a social equal, Tom Buchanan. But poor Gatsby. No matter how high he rises, he is doomed. When he takes the blame for a hit-and-run murder committed by Daisy, he is murdered by the victim's husband. Gatsby is an anti-hero. His main fault is that he has fallen in love with the wrong girl. Fitzgerald was very brave to write this book since it took such a blatant shot at the "American Dream" and the shallowness of the idle rich. This book is classic that will endure for a long time.

Rating:
Summary: Just added to my favorites
Review: I'm a high school student, and I'm still reading the book -- just started ch. 8 -- I got to say this book is pretty good. I love Fitzgerald's style of writing, and although some parts may be hard to understand, going over it again is very helpful. This books makes me wish I could've lived in the Jazz age.