Rating: 
Summary: Good But Not "Great" (for me anyway...)
Review: I really enjoyed This Side Of Paradise" so I thought I'd have a go with this one. It is very well written,of course, and it does create a mood,but it failed to truly move me. I guess it was the narrator's detached air. I realize that literature is a subjective art form,so I'm not going to say"Don't read this book!" because it might really "speak" to the next person who reads it. So get the book,read it and draw your own conclusions..!
Rating:
Summary: Charaterazation brings out theme
Review: "The Great Gatsby" is narrated through Nick Carroway, a man who is new to the town of West Egg. Through Nick's eyes the reader learns of Gatsby, Daisy and Daisy's husband Tom. Gatsby is a veteran who has horded much wealth through corrupt means. In the beginning of the story, the reader knows very little of Gatsby or his past. The conflict is apparent in Gatsby's utter love for Daisy. The plot centers around this conflict and much happens because of it. The theme of this story is that money can't buy happiness; therefore the search for happiness should be of one's own accord. This theme is brought out by the characterization the author uses in the story. For example, through the first quarter of the book the reader learns about Gatsby from rumors and gossip. The characterization brings out the tone of suspicion and nerviousness, leaving the reader to guess the next step of the plot for themselves. Through and through "The Great Gatsby" is a classic book with very effective literary techniques and a universal theme.
Rating: 
Summary: The Great Gatsby
Review: "The Great Gatsby," by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a well written novel that explores the everyday life of a town through the eyes of an outsider. This onlooker sees not only the town, but every detail that paints a picture, for the reader, of the town and its people. The authors use of imagery is very good, because he uses great detail to from the smallest item to the largest disaster. He describes, in one part, a simple billboard for T.J. Eckelburg's, who is an eye doctor. Fitzgerald describes the billboard which has a great big pair of glasses with two eyes starring through, yet this is not only a good ad, but it also describes the town by a simple picture. These eyes describe, that everybody is watching everybody, and all is seen sooner or later. Through his use of imagery, a metaphor is produced, and the glasses and eyes are those of mainly Nick who sees all, but also of the townspeople, who sooner or later see all that has happened. This imagery also is used at the end of the book when the town is described as the fire is burning it down. This helps paint a mental picture of the destruction the fire did to all the buildings and the few people still alive in the town. All in all this book was a very good book because of its use of imagery which placed the reader with in the story making that much more exciting.
Rating:
Summary: Setting reveals characters and lifestyles
Review: "The Great Gatsby" is a story of a man who is very rich and could buy anything he wants. But the only thing that he wants is his past love Daisy. Daisy is now unhappily married to Tom Buchanan, who is also very wealthy. Daisy is caught between her true love Gatsby and her husband Tom. Gatsby's quest to capture the love of his one and only Daisy leads to heartbreak and conception. Fitzgerald does an excellent job in portraying the mood of the roaring twenties. Gatsby's parties are described very well and all the events show this time period. Fitzgerald also shows the lifestyles and the characteristics of the time period of all three classes of society. The three classes shown where Gatsby and the Buchanans as the upper class, Nick Carraway as the middle class, and The Wilson's of Asheville as the lower class. The second thing that Fitzgerald does well is capturing the reader's attention. The character Jay Gatsby is a very handsome and rich and is left very mysterious by Fitzgerald. This mystery of such a character draws the reader into the book. Later in the novel the reader attention is obtained by tragic and unpredictable events. One part where the author may not have succeeded in his purpose was showing how Gatsby obtained the "American Dream". The novel talks about how Gatsby is so successful, yet Fitzgerald never even mentions directly what he does for a living. Overall Fitzgerald is successful in portraying not only the characteristics and lifestyles of the time but also turning it into a popular novel that is very interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: The Classic Tale of a Classic Time
Review: Its written with high detail and low action. Fitzgerald's now classic piece of life in the 20's set in New York, Long Island. I cant think of a more moving book than this one, however, I had realized that I felt more when I was done with book. When I had a chance to see the story as a whole that the emotions began to set in. Truly wonderful writing that is top notch among any of the writers I have read. His reading does not "talk" over you, but rather with you. Which is what makes the story attractive. Although many people complain about being forced to read it for school, its probably best read on your own time without constrictions. The story of Jay Gatzby, party man, millionaire, mansion owner. Everyone knows Jay. But who really knows him? Highly reccomended!
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated classic good for nothing more than '20's spirit
Review: I was intially enthusiastic that I had found time to read the "great American novel" and the definitive work of the 20th century, Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby". Much to my disappointment I found nothing more than an a superficial plot based mostly on descriptions of the 1920's. Fitzgerald succesfully caught the spirit of the 20's so if you're looking to get a feel for that era this would be a good book to read, on the other hand if you're looking for a grand literary work, there is a lot more out there. Fitzgerald's characters are shallow and unidentifiable, his plot weak and slow-moving to an extent which becomes tiresome even though the book is relatively short. Fitzgerald is not an author but rather a social historian, something apparent in other of his works, such as "Bernice bobs her hair". So if it's insight on the 20's you want, this should be great, but it falls short of anything else it's reputation demands.
Rating:
Summary: Down with school...
Review: I did not go to school in America, and read this book about a year ago, but for whatever reason, I ended up here, and have to write some kind of upbeat report on the Great Gatsby to try to balance the tide against all the revisionist critics. The reason I mention school is that it would appear a lot of people have had traumatising experiences with classics being thrust down their throats. I do not know if it is a case of bad teacher, bad student, or simple incompatibility, but I would say this - if you really did not enjoy a book, DON'T TELL OTHER PEOPLE NOT TO READ IT! One of the most disappointing experiences of my literary career (if you can call it that) was when I recommended my girlfriend to read Catch-22, and had it metaphorically hurled in my face after "3 chapters". That's her right, but the negative reaction will always hurt more people than help them, whereas vice-versa for the positive one...especially since I have noticed that works that someone has always been attached to can still be reduced for them in the face of violent enough criticism. If you had a bad experience at school, it's fair enough to be upset about it...but this truly is a great book which should only have great things written about it. Both of Catch-22 and the Great Gatsby have humour and grace, and not a little hidden dignity. But Gatsby is clearly the superior work for the symbolists and amateur students of literature. It is a period novel, but like all the greatest of these kinds of works of fiction, it reaches far beyond its time. The writing is timeless, and the mystery makes for a latter day Much Ado About Nothing - perhaps it is boring on the surface, but boring like tectonic plates: fundamental, dealing in huge issues in subtle and slow movements. Yet it is not even a particularly long novel - several hours of great entertainment and effort well expended. I hate having to write prescriptively, but sometimes you can't help reacting, you know?
Rating:
Summary: The Overrated Classic
Review: I had to read this book for school. I enjoyed it very much, and I see how it defined the "Jazz Age" so well, but I tend to think this book is overrated. It is listed as the 2nd best novel of the century according to the Modern Library's List of the Top 100 Books of the Century. The book has many good points, but I do believe there are many better books out there. I like the characters and how the story is told from the eyes of a bystander to the happenings, Nick Carraway. I also admire Fitzgerald's way with words and his ability to tell a story. The descriptions of Gatsby's mansion and parties give a vivid picture of what the 1920's were really like, and because of this, the book is known as the definitive novel of the 1920's. The theme of the "death of the American Dream" cannot be underrated, either; this undoubtedly is a major reason why the book is rated so high in booklists. On the bad side, I believe the story takes way to long to get going. It only contains 197 pages and nine chapters; the first four chapters all contain exposition. Once the action gets going, the book is good, but overall, I believe this book, while definitely a classic, is overrated.
Rating:
Summary: "Gatsby", the best novel of the twentieth century.
Review: Fitzgerald wrote this classic in the grip of a stroke of archetypal genius. Hemingway, who previously disliked Fitzgerald, said that the book's cover was the ugliest he'd ever seen. Then, after reading it, Papa decided he would be Scott's friend for life because he could write a book like that. Jay Gatsby attempts to reach back into the past to retrieve Daisy, the southern belle who rejected him when he was poor. Now mysteriously wealthy, Gatsby moves to Long Island where Daisy is ensconced with her husband and proceeds to re-establish contact with her. Gatsby is an characature of a famous Mafioso of the twenties that always stood behind the scenes, never in the news. Alas, for all his guile in the underworld, he succumbs to love or what he thinks is love. The end of Chapter Six reveals the archetypal nature of the book, that Daisy is the object of a projection and transference. The absolute proof lies in the final paragraph of the chapter in the words of "Nick Wheat", the first person chronicler. We should all take heed of the last page in the book, where the message comes across that pursuing old dreams is living in the past. "...so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
Rating:
Summary: Timeless
Review: What a magnificent piece of work this is. I first read it about 15 years ago, and my reflections on it over the years just get better and better. A modern tragedy, the failure of the American Dream, the existentialism of the enlightened, the tragedy of the romantic, the poetry of the spiritual, call it what you will-it works for me.
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