The Great Gatsby: The Only Authorized Edition

After spending some precious time reading works from this era, I have been trying to stay away from US-based classics telling stories based in the 20th century. I tend to dislike the overall feeling they give me; the way most local authors wrote during this period is definitely not my cup of tea. I, however, started a certain list of classics and finally got to reading this one among others mentioned in the list. So, here are my two pence on the matter: the book uses smooth, general language and is quite easy to read. I definitely recommend it to ESL students who want to test their knowledge of the era. I don't know if the version I read is a somehow edited version which doesn't coincide with the original or not; I know this was done often back in the days and not only in the US. What bothers me is how could this turn into the epitome of flapper, of la mode, of fashion and lifestyle when even Gatsby's own lifestyle is barely touched upon in the book. Obviously, I'm misguided by the visual adaptations of the story. Be warned, ye who may end up in my shoes! The story seems very slow during most of the book, but there are huge leaps at the very last of the pages. I almost missed the huge event (starting vague to eliminate spoiler possibilities, even though it's a classic) because it was written somewhere at the end of a book I found very exhausting. The last chapters have 1,000% the action of all the previous ones. I found it lacking in parties, vague when it comes to relationships, flat when it comes to character development of secondary characters. The only character amongst these pages who was worth it for me was our protagonist. I guess I expected too much from Gatsby and the ladies. I am fully aware that writing a somewhat negative review of a classic is a risky endeavor. However, I think honesty, especially in this case, cannot hurt anyone.

This is considered to be one of the best fiction novels and no doubt it is a great novel. After I watched the movie, I just had to read it and oh boy!, what a beautifully written book. The book definitely arose more emotions than the movie. Gatsby is about the emptiness that is profound in the lifestyle of the society where values are completely distanced from the opulence. The more you read this book, the more you would fall into it. This is a tragic love story. The feelings are intense and at times you would feel so much for Gatsby. There are things you can't buy with money and that is what is shown profusely in the novel. This is a very simple story but a very very complicated one at the same time. There is a lot of symbolism that one may want to understand a bit in detail. So do a bit of research on those scenarios that the author is building. This one is a classic and will always be with me. I will always revisit this story. Gatsby is a great character that Fitzgerald has developed and many people will relate with him. Daisy is the demure girl that many people would feel so much for. This book rouses emotions and feelings to a different level.

I purchased the kindle edition from this page and it is unreadable... I struggled through the first few paragraphs thinking that maybe Fitzgerald had a very strange writing style.. but it became evident quickly that this Kindle edition is a mess. I have never tried to "return" a kindle purchase before.. so lets see how that goes.

So I thought I should read some of the classics once in a while, to improve my mind, expand my knowledge, etc. So having now read 'The Great Gatsby", I don't know how it got to be a classic. Bad writing, long run on pompous sentences, totally boring characters and very little plot don't add up to a classic in my opinion. Mostly it's plot, what little there is, involves some rich full of themselves people trying to score some booze and looking for a party during prohibition. What is somewhat interesting is the description of daily life in the U.S. in the 1920s. The technology, clothes, hairstyles, and attitudes. Otherwise I would say why bother, unless you want to cross a "classic" off your reading bucket list.