Rating: 
Summary: "The Great American Novel" - Hunter S. Thompson
Review: I would have to agree with Mr. Thompson on this one. I can't add any new words of wisdom that haven't been written already by one of the other 600+ reviewers of this book. This deserves 6 stars, and is the quintessential american novel, putting the American Dream under the microscope and finding the ugly truths that lies beneath the glammor. The jazz age of the 20's is the perfect setting for a novel like this, about the American Dream, and the people who would do anything to acheive it. This is the era of bootleggers (how Gatsby got his money) and the sort of reckless spending and investment that sent the country into the Great Depression. If you are in high school, you should definitely read this book, and most high schools make you read it. I read it back in high school and didn't think too much of it, but after reading it again on my own, without useless worksheets or stupid deadlines, I got a lot more out of it, and that's what I suggest, read it on your own. If you are over high school age and haven't read this, shame on you. Pick this book up now, and read it front to back. No cheating! Do yourself a favor, and pick up this american classic, old sport.
Rating:
Summary: A Jazz Age Classic, Old Sport
Review: The Great Gatsby is a classic novel of the Jazz Age about aspiration in America. As V.S. Naipaul was recently quoted in the NY Times Book Review: "The only valuable life is one that is shaped by the anguish of aspiration and that is engaged in a struggle against the void of nonachievement." Gatsby's life personifies the aspiration of a young man who has just returned from World War I so poor that he wore his uniform after his discharge because he couldn't afford to buy new clothes. Through his own entrepreneurial talents he rises to attain an immense fortune, which he hopes will renew the affection of his much beloved object of desire, Daisy Buchanan. She once jilted him because of his abject poverty and married another wealthy man. Now that Gatsby is rich, he wants Daisy to become his wife at any price. He asks her to forsake her relationship to her wealthy, philandering husband. The denouement of the novel is opulent in its irony. Gatsby's demise and the response of his many friends to it is truly memorable. Fitzgerald as Nick Carraway is an intelligent, articulate, noble and faithful narrator in this great American novel. At a time when so much focus has been placed on the hubris of American CEOs, the message of this novel about the unbridled pursuit of material wealth plays with as much high fidelity now as it did in the Jazz Age. This brief but important and beautifully crafted novel is a must-read for anyone who seeks to know the best work of one of America's most legendary writers.
Rating: 
Summary: Classic? I don't think so.
Review: To put it short, The Great Gatsby is a soap opera with depth. This book is obviously more than just a boy meets girl who is married to another boy book, but it is not much more. Sure, it raises interesting issues of consumerism and 1920's post war culture, but it never sets its heart on it. It touches it half heartedly, but it doesn't attack it like it should. Or as english teachers would say, it doesn't "commit murder". Fitzgerlad is too busy telling the story which happenes to be dull and unexciting at the most. The plot, the storyline, the story, and the execution of it is just poor. It's boring. It's futile. It's dumb. I fail to understand why Fitzgerald chose to use Nick, this incredibly dull and uninteresting character, as his narrator when he could have written it third person, or used a more interesting character for the narrator. Even the conversation and dialogue is quite useless. Take this for a sampler, "I read somewhere that the sun's getting hotter every year...or wait a minute- it's ust the opposite- the sun's getting colder every year." And this quote comes from nowhere and has to do with nothing. Gatsby was obviously drunk, or smoking marijuana when he was writing this book, and must have thougth that this book was pretty clever. It isn't. All I can say is that, I don't consider it a classic. It's just so haphazard and bad that people mistake it for being good.
Rating: 
Summary: Friends in Need...
Review: What a great book, a classic that can be read at any time....Fitzgerald style in writing is amazing, a book that is so easy to read and comeplete in one day... Nick builds a great relationship with his neighbour the great Jay Gatsby and they become the best of friends. Gatsby has the best parties in town, and people show at his house with no invitation...Gatsby's love for superficial Daisy is to be admired, he is calm in his ways, but makes sure that things are under control... Nick discovers the hard way what people are made of, how opportunist they are, and how they are driven by money and fame, they make it a point to be next to what they call a "friend" in good times, and you don't find any when things start going south...
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Summary: A sumptuous read - a period piece
Review: Finding the famous Robert Redford movie of this story intriging but somewhat confusing, I decided to read the relatively thin novel -- hoping to capture some of the same period glamor and calm. The book does indeed have much of the same feel as the movie, and provided a welcome Summer distraction. It also provides a more complete and satisfying version of the story. I had not realized at the time that this is considered an important piece of American literature. However it is a charming and well crafted work of art that deserves recognition. Like several American classics (such as Huckleberry Finn), it evokes a certain period in American in a personal way that a historical reference never could. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Green Light, Go!
Review: Green light means go. In The Great Gatsby, green light means don't go.. The green light is mentioned three times in the novel: at the beginning, at the middle, and at the end. Before I proceed, should I also mention that the The Great Gatsby is one of the most important novels in the American language. I emphasize, this novel is uniquely American. You will find no other work of literature that can hold a candle to this book. It may be required reading in high school, but oh what a work of art the world considers this book to be. Read it and be forever thankful this country can produce a novel like this. The style is decptively simple. When Gatsby says, "Old sport!" I think of Holden Caulfield saying, "For Chrissakes!" Salinger owes Fitzgerald a lot. Without The Great Gatsby, there can be no Catcher In The Rye. Nick Carraway is a grown up Holden Caulfield. Carraway is confiding in you. He is talking to you one on one. You listen to him because you want to be his confidant. Going back to the green light. The green light means the green American dream. How ironic that the road ends on your side of the intersection when the traffic light flashes go! Gatsby stands at land's end and stares at the green light hanging at the end of the pier behind Daisy's home. The road ends at his feet. He can get no closer to his American dream that this! All that money he has doesn't help him win Daisy one bit.. All those flashy shirts he pulls from his closet, all those different color sports cars he drives, all of it means nothing.
Money can't buy you love. (That;s a good title for a song!). That is what The Great Gatsby is all about.. Green light, go..... My copy of this hard bound Scribner edition of The Great Gatsby has the printed price of [price]. That is how long ago I bought it. I suggest you run out and buy this edition before the price goes any higher. The book is worth every penny.
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Summary: bv
Review: nb
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and Entertaining!
Review: I must admit I was quite intimidated by this novel. I had a number of preconceptions that made me shun away from reading it. I always heard it was about a rich guy trying to win over a girl... From this I imagined a snobby Victorian English guy playing polo saying "Marry me my dear?" and the girl says, "Oh no I can't!" Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. End of novel. In short, I imagined it was a story with thick characters with which I couldn't identify. Well, fortunately I did get a chance to read it. And I was capitvated, (not to mention on a very long car trip) that I devoured it it one sitting. The Great Gatsby broke down everyone of my preconceptions and now has become one of my favorite novels. The intense drama that unfolds between these very different and very inter-connected characters will cause the book to shake in your hands. I loved every minute of it. Especially how Gatsby's character is slowly reveiled, lie by lie, truth by truth, until the large tragic picture comes into focus. This is the American tragic love story. Don't waste anymore time. Don't be intimidated. Read it, you'll be glad you did.
Rating:
Summary: Gatsby nails it!
Review: The Great Gatsby is one of the best books for any reader, young adult or adult to read. The book is a wonderful idea of what the Jazz Age (1920s) were all about. Reading this book for AP English was one of the best selections anyone could have read for a class. The thematic touches, along with unforgettable characters make this book a sure win for any reader's heart. I would recommend this book for not only school study but for pleasure reading as well.
Rating:
Summary: A Favorite
Review: When I was in high school this was on my summer reading list and at the time it was boring to me. I didn't understand all of it. Later on during college I picked the book up one night when I couldn't sleep and found it hard to put down. I had read the book again a few times since then. Its a good read and is a beautifully written story of how a good person goes through great lengths and personal scarafice to impress a shallow socolite.
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