Gatsby ratings

by **Symmetry** on Sat Jun 09, 2012 9:37 pm

The Great Gatsby? Kind of an arrogant title.

by **Dukasaur** on Sat Jun 09, 2012 9:49 pm

Of all the books that were required reading when I was in school, the Great Gatsby was the only one I never finished. I was always a compulsive reader, so to not finish a book was pretty rare for me.

In fairness, though, my not finishing the book probably had more to do with the massive river of alcohol that I was being subjected to that year than with any negative qualities of the book, so I've gone middle-of-the-road and rated it "Ok" since I honestly don't remember anything about it.

by **Army of GOD** on Sat Jun 09, 2012 10:22 pm

Great. Loved it.

by **Army of GOD** on Sat Jun 09, 2012 10:24 pm

Although I'm not sure about how good the film adaptation is going to be because Fitzgerald's amazing writing-style will be lost.

by **Crazyirishman** on Sat Jun 09, 2012 10:28 pm

Army of GOD wrote:Although I'm not sure about how good the film adaptation is going to be because Fitzgerald's amazing writing-style will be lost.

I thought they already made a movie about it? I personally felt the book was a good read

by **Army of GOD** on Sat Jun 09, 2012 10:29 pm

Crazyirishman wrote:
Army of GOD wrote:Although I'm not sure about how good the film adaptation is going to be because Fitzgerald's amazing writing-style will be lost.

I thought they already made a movie about it? I personally felt the book was a good read

yea, forgot about that. I never watched it though.

by **Symmetry** on Sat Jun 09, 2012 10:34 pm

My vote is the ok. Great writing, really great writing. Plot was kind of boring, and characters were kinda forgettable.

by **Army of GOD** on Sat Jun 09, 2012 10:54 pm

Symmetry wrote:My vote is the ok. Great writing, really great writing. Plot was kind of boring, and characters were kinda forgettable.

I thought the plot and theme weren't as powerful as my other favorites (Clockwork Orange, Brave New World, The Stranger), but I thought it was still pretty strong. Probably would've meant more if we read it soon after it came out.

by **nietzsche** on Sat Jun 09, 2012 10:57 pm

More than in the plot, the great of the book is in its prose style.

by **whitestazn88** on Sun Jun 10, 2012 1:20 am

robert redford as gatsby in the first time they made that book into a movie: hotness, no homo (is that a flame?)

book, i've read it 3 times, all for school (which is dumb). it's pretty good. i like the premise of the story, and the writing is indeed of high quality, but some of the characters really make you scratch your head

the upcoming movie, i think, will be more impressive than the first. it's gonna be amazin'

by **saxitoxin** on Sun Jun 10, 2012 3:38 am

Definitely one of the better story arcs in Entourage. Not sure how well they'll do spinning it off into a film, but then again, look at Cheers and Frasier.

by **huamulan** on Sun Jun 10, 2012 8:17 pm

'characters were kinda forgettable'

I think that was kind of the point. People like the Buchanans are (to the outsider) living the consumerist dream but it's all just a facade. The people are still bland and unoriginal underneath it all (in the same way as Gatsby's persona is all just an illusion).

I love the book.

by **thegreekdog** on Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:28 am

I read it in high school and did not like it.

That being said, I suspect there are novels I read in middle school and high school that I should read again with a new (older) perspective.

by **Symmetry** on Mon Jun 11, 2012 2:00 pm

huamulan wrote:'characters were kinda forgettable'

I think that was kind of the point. People like the Buchanans are (to the outsider) living the consumerist dream but it's all just a facade. The people are still bland and unoriginal underneath it all (in the same way as Gatsby's persona is all just an illusion).

I love the book.

I'd agree with that- it's a book that owes a lot to symbolism, and I think that's the way most people read it. The characters are more symbols or representatives of ideas. I can see that that's what the book is doing, and it does it pretty well, but acknowledging that doesn't really mean that I like the way its done.

That's why I love the prose so much.

by **rdsrds2120** on Mon Jun 11, 2012 6:10 pm

Urrghghguuhg. That's about the only book I couldn't stand reading in High School. I'm not sure what it was, but making myself read it for class was just an uphill battle at every page turn.

edit: Actually, I think it was the writing and the time that the novel took place. I'm really not a fan of the early 1900's in America.

-rd

by **nagerous** on Tue Jun 12, 2012 2:21 pm

Symmetry wrote:The Great Gatsby? Kind of an arrogant title.

One of my favourite books of all time. I saw the movie trailer the other day though and wasn't sure what to think, didn't really fit to the theme with the Kanye/Jay-Z soundtrack that was apparently being employed.