The Great Gatsby by F. Scott-Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott-Fitzgerald
ISBN: 0-684-16325-X
Pages: 182
Back of Book Description:

The Great Gatsby captures all the romance and glitter of the Jazz Age in its portrayal of a young man and his tragic search for love and success. It is a rare combination: a literary masterpiece--and one of the most popular novels of our time.

My Rating:B

My Review:

Personally for me, looking at this book as pure entertainment, not delving into all the symbolism that's involved, most of the time this is an engrossing story. The difference I see between it and other novels of it's time, or even other classics, is that the author described things well enough that I actually could see what was going on in my head. I have found that this is sometimes hard for me with other classics. F. Scott-Fitzgerald obviously did very well in this. Not only because I said so, but also because you don't get to be a classic by being a crappy writer. It's very hard for me to 'review' this book because what I say about it really doesn't matter. It's made it's imprint on the world.
I think that the way he told Gatsby's story from the point of view of someone who not only disdained him but was simultaneously in awe of him was a very unique idea. I really enjoyed being a bit more objective about a main character.

For the symbolism though, I had to get a copy of the Sparknotes for this book. I'm a bit ashamed, but if I want to understand it I guess I need a bit of help. I'll be posting a review of the Sparknotes as well.

All in all I enjoyed this book much more this time around than I did when I was in high school. Being able to read it at my own leisure was a big help. If you wat to read a classic this one is the way to go.