Rating: 
Summary: Ugh, Gatsby anything but Great
Review: As a much praised literary work of art, I must say, this book leaves much to be desired. While it does depict a historically accurate and believable account of the 1920s, not one of the characters seems to be anything more that a superficial comsumer or partygoer. Through the entire novel, Nick Carraway, our straighfoward, if not boring, narrator is a shadow of a real man, showing no courage or brain for himself. In the end, just when he could stand up and change the entire point of view for the characters, he chooses to stay comfortable in his little corner of his unimpressionable life. Unless you are being forced to read this for a class, or are drawn to incredibly dull and lifeless books, I would advise you to skip this and do something like wash your hair or watch paint dry, instead.
Rating: 
Summary: The Best book of the Twentieth Century
Review: The search for the mythical "Great American Novel" still continues only because the idea of such a thing is so abstract and open to interprutation that it cannot be given a clear definition; but Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" has come as close to defining that ideal thus far. In every way it has come to embody American culture and the loss of our innocence in the latter half of the twentieth century. Aside from it's symbolic nature, "Gatsby" has stood the test of time as one of the most perfectly written and costructed novels. The amount of similar praise written about this book as accumulated over the years to such a level that anything else I could say about this literary gem would be old hat. The Modern Library hailed Joyce's "Ulysses" as the greatest novel of the century, leaving "Gatsby" in second place. I must strongly disagree, the tables should be turned. If someone were to say to me that he could only read one book in his life and for me to reccomend him a title, I'd say: "The Great Gatsby, my friend. It is surely the best novel written, even to this day."
Rating:
Summary: Inspirational
Review: The Great Gatsby has been one of the most inspirational books to me. I have actually found it easier to find things fascinating after reading it. This is a great American novel about the "American Dream" and is one of the most real and thought provoking readings I've ever done. It ranges from romance to even some action that keeps you turning the page. This book is already considered a classic and though it may be slow moving in the beginning, you'll appreciate it once you get through the book and understand that the points that the author has made definitely provokes your mind to think about things in real life. To say the least, this book was inspirational to me and I see it more than a good read. It creates a fascination that not many authors can create. If you're looking for an inspiring book about the American Dream... look no further than "The Great Gatsby."
Rating:
Summary: Fitzgeralds great "The Great Gatsby"
Review: Written in the 1920's, F. Scott Fitzgerald's 240 page novel, "The Great Gatsby," tells of a love story gone wrong caused by the desire for material objects. The story describes Mr. Gatsby's life as he tries to regain his past love, Daisy, who left him because he was not wealthy enough. She, as well as many of the characters in the book, was only concerned with wealth, so she married another man for his riches. Mr. Gatsby tries to do everything to regain her love. He spends his whole life becoming wealthy so that he may sweep her off of her feet and get the past back. Mr. Gatsby is a foolish man trying to repeat the past, who does not realize how superficial and shallow Daisy is. He is only concerned with her beauty. The storyline of this book is shaped similar to a believable soap opera because of all the lying and cheating that is going on between many of the characters. This book is full if symbolism, which cleverly reveals many different aspects of the story and characters. Several of the examples of symbolism are so subtle that they require a second or third reading to even notice them. This great love tragedy is smoothly written with a storyline that leaves you desiring to read further. This story is thought provoking and simply amazing. This is a brilliant novel and I recommend it to everyone. "The Great Gatsby" is a timeless classic written by an incredible writer.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST Read
Review: I just finished reading this book for my AP English class (I'm a junior in high school) and I absolutely fell in love with it and Fitzgerald. This book is so well written and so masterful that I found myself sitting up late at night just to finish the chapter--and going into the next chapters as well. I am now a lifetime fan of Fitzgerald. In The Great Gatsby, one sees a different side of the wealthy class of 1920's New York, and embarks on a bittersweet journey with Gatsby to regain the inobtainable past. This book is what partly inspired me and a few of my friends to start a school wide book club---I don't think I'll have any trouble getting them to choose another Fitzgerald book as our first read: we all loved it.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderfully Scripted Read
Review: I absolutely loved the Great Gatsby. This may be due in part to the fact that the 20's is my favorite time period, but I think its mainly because I love the way Fitzgerald writes. His work is full of gems and wonderfully sad quotes. He successfully reflects the essence of the 'Lost Generation' more than any other author I have read, that 'party-hard' attitude punctuated by melancholy. His characters are rich and successful, but unable to escape the weight of their pasts. They subsist on the American Dream gone wrong, finding happiness only in their fantasy versions of others. The main character, Jay Gatsby, lives for the hope of a relationship with his lost love, Daisy Buchanan, but he finds out that the real person can never live up to the ideal he has set for her. In essence, this novel conveys the melancholy and loss of missed opportunities. Gatsby is unable to accept that he cannot live his life with Daisy the way he once envisioned, so he retreats to a fantasy in which he convinces himself that if he just tries hard enough, he can win Daisy back and make everything right again. But he can't. He is living in a dream world, and when it is shattered, he is unable to really come back to reality again. Basically, the whole book can be summed up by Fitzgerald touching last line, "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
Rating:
Summary: Fitzgerald at his best
Review: The first time I read "The Great Gatsby," I found it superficial and trite. It took a much more careful read to realize what a masterpiece this book is. Fitgerald uses the quick and flowing style of writing born in the Jazz Age, making this an easy read as well as a very satisfying one. I'm tempted to say that the basic storyline of Gatsby, a self-made millionaire, who pursues his fickle sweetheart to a tragic end, is outweighed by the synesthetic descriptions and intimate character studies. Fitzgerald has a skill for highlighting the dark, tragic moments in the book by contrasting them with beautiful and carefree lifestyle of its characters. This can make the book seem too light and at times arrogant; however, look deeper at the dialogue and actions of the character to find the disquieting sense of melancholy that make this book so sadly lovely.
Rating:
Summary: A Drama of America
Review: You'll get your fill of fatcats and flappers in this period piece.
Rating: 
Summary: The Great Gatsby
Review: Nick Carraway having graduated from Yale and fought in World War I has returned home to find a job. Being unsettled, he decided to move to New York to learn the bond business. The novel opens early in the summer of 1922 in West Egg, Long Island, where Nick has rented a house and seems to be unlike the other inhabitants of West Egg. Next to his place, is the Gatsby's mansion. Shortly after his arrival, Nick travels across the Sound to the more fashionable East Egg to visit his cousin Daisy Buchannan and her husband, Tom, a hulking, imposing man whom Nick had known in college. While Nick is there, he meets a young woman golfer named Jordan Baker, whom Daisy wants Nick to be interested in. During dinner, the telephone rings, and when Tom and Daisy leave the room, Jordan informs Nick that the caller is Tom's woman from New York. Nick also learns a bit about Daisy and Tom's marriage: Jordan tells him that Tom has a lover, Myrtle Wilson, who lives in the valley of ashes, a gray industrial dumping ground between West Egg and New York City. Not long after this revelation, Nick travels to New York City with Tom and Myrtle. At a vulgar, gaudy party in the apartment that Tom keeps for the affair, Myrtle begins to taunt Tom about Daisy, and Tom responds by breaking her nose.
As the summer continues, Nick turns his attention to his mysterious neighbor, who hosts weekly parties for the rich and fashionable. Upon Gatsby's invitation, Nick attends one of the extravagant gatherings. There, he bumps into Jordan Baker, as well as Gatsby himself. Gatsby, a gracious host, remains apart from his guest; more of an observer more than a participant. As the party winds down, Gatsby takes Jordan aside to speak privately. Jordan is greatly amazed by what she's learned from Gatsby.
One day, Nick and Gatsby take a trip into the city and there Nick meets Meyer Wolfshiem, one of Gatsby's associates and Gatsby's link to organized crime. On that same day, while having tea with Jordan Baker, Nick learns the amazing story that Gatsby told her the night of his party. Gatsby, it appears, is in love with Daisy Buchannan. They met years earlier when he was in the army but could not be together because he did not yet have the means to support her. In the intervening years, Gatsby made his fortune, all with the goal of winning Daisy back. He bought his house so that he would be across the Sound from her and hosted the elaborate parties in the hopes that she would notice. It has come time for Gatsby to meet Daisy again, face-to-face, and so, through the intermediary of Jordan Baker, Gatsby asks Nick to invite Daisy to his little house where Gatsby will show up unannounced.
The day for the re-acquaintance of Gatsby and Daisy finally arrives. Gatsby makes sure that everything is perfectly prepared, and wants every detail to be perfect for his reunion with his lost love. When the two former lovers meet, their reunion is slightly nervous, but shortly, the two are again comfortable with each other.. Later on, the three move the party from Nick's house to Gatsby's, where he takes special delight in showing Daisy his meticulously decorated house and his impressive arrangement of belongings, as if demonstrating in a very tangible way just how far out of poverty he has traveled.
When Nick, Jordan, and Tom take a drive one day, they discover that Gatsby's car has struck and killed Myrtle, Tom's lover. They rush back to Long Island, where Nick learns from Gatsby that Daisy was driving the car when it struck Myrtle, but that Gatsby intends to take the blame. The next day, Tom tells Myrtle's husband, George, that Gatsby was the driver of the car. George, who has leapt to the conclusion that the driver of the car that killed Myrtle must have been her lover, finds Gatsby in the pool at his mansion and shoots him dead. He then turns the gun on himself.
After Gatsby's death, Nick is left to help prepare for his burial, only problem is that no one seems overly concerned with Gatsby's death. A telegram from Gatsby's father indicates he will be coming from Minnesota to bury his son. Gatsby's funeral hosts only Nick, Gatsby's father, a few servants, the postman, and the minister at his gravesite. Although Gatsby, during his lifetime held high popularity, at the time of his death, he was completely forgotten.
Nick, after everything he has experienced, heads back home to the Midwest.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful work
Review: If you could pick any type of book, what kind of book would you like to read? Great Gatsby is a book that I would highly recommend to others. It maintains a readers interest, and also tends to be a thought-provoking book. The characters throughout the novel seemed to be almost as real people. With the plot fulfilling everything you could ask it to be, and with an unexpected twist. The author F. Scott Fitzgerald developed the novel thoroughly throughout the entire novel. The way in which he utilizes every aspect of the book to keep the attention of the audience is remarkable. As you can tell I admire the author's writing gift, with each and every character having characteristics that are possible to relate to people in real life situations. The main character was Nick Carraway, and he seems to be a very studious, and intelligent person. Along with this main character, the author added in many other characters to help makeup his cast. The main focus of the book was Nick's wealthy neighbor, Jay Gatsby. He is a mystery to many of the people around his area, and everyone wants to know, or find out about him. The other characters that the author develops are all of an authentic and credible nature. The writer explains each character with just the perfect amount of information, and in a way in which the reader can feel as if he understands how each character thinks. Along with the creative nature that he introduces, and maintains his characters throughout the story the author makes the plot thicken with wonderful ploys. The author made very unique descriptions of everything, no matter how large or small throughout the scheme of the novel. He manages to seduce your thoughts by keeping the story running through your mind, even after you sit the book down for a minute. This way of writing was very elaborate and tended to make an obvious impression on the reader. The author manages to keep the readers interests in the plot and develop the story very elaborately. Throughout the development of the book, there are new things being entered into your mind, which tend to keep you thinking. This makes the reader stay on his heals, and wonder what may occur next. Even until the end of the book you wonder what will occur next. I would definitely recommend this book to others. It will make you want to keep reading, and even think about the book after you put it down. This is the kind of book that will keep you coming back for more. I would give this book a try; who knows, you may even find a new favorite author.
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