Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

Fitzgerald—inspired by the parties he had attended while visiting Long Island's north shore—began planning the novel in 1923.
The novel take place in the summer of 1922. Nick Carraway, a Yale graduate and veteran of the Great War from the Midwest, takes a job in New York as a bond salesman. He rents a small house on Long Island, in the fictional village of West Egg, next door to the lavish mansion of Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire who holds extravagant parties but does not participate in them.

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I read this book a few years ago and highly recommend it.

I read this book so long ago, I might as well say I have not.

This book is in my toread list.will read it very shortly,a literary masterpiece from the magician of words.

Good morning!

I probably read this book in high school, and it appears on my Goodreads read list; but because I remember nothing about it, like Lesle I might as well say that I haven't read it. I found this morning; under my bed, a 1953 Scribner's Library paperback edition, bearing the stock number SL 1(!), that I bought at a library book sale. (YES!!) Switching it from my read shelf to my currently reading shelf, I am on page 2 of 182.

Over the next two months my wife and I, after a July, 2015 burst hose on my washing machine flooded my kitchen, downstairs bathroom, and part of my living room with about 3" (80 millimeters) of water, are remodeling my entire house. As a result I need to determine what I need to keep and what I need to throw out. I am finding out that I have an amazing amount of crap. Among the stuff I'm tossing are books that I own that I have already read or don't want to read. I may donate them to a church, or to Goodwill, or to a library. Or, if there are people willing to take them off my hands, I can accommodate.

Jim

The flood in your house sounds horrible. We have remodelled before and you are right, it is amazing how much stuff you accumulate.

When I read the Great Gatsby about ten years ago, I noticed the difference between the narrator, Nick, and the people he socialized with. Most of them were very shallow and egotistical, and took advantage of Jay's hospitality.

The Great Gatsby is one of the greatest books of the twentieth century, perfectly capturing the Jazz Age in its depiction of the lifestyles of the idle rich. Fitzgerald's prose gives the reader a "you are there" immediacy while making her or him think, "Man, these people are strange!"

Jim

Strange is a good word, but I can think of stronger words to describe them too. I know that I would not want to spend time with them.

The stronger words probably are scatological.

They certainly aren't flattering. I don't want to give the plot away, but Daisy is an extremely amoral character.

If AIDS existed 95 years ago, Daisy would have been in a world of trouble.

Has anyone read other books by Fitzgerald? I have read Tender Is the Night and enjoyed it. I feel sorry for Dick Diver, being married to a crazy woman like that.

Tender is the Night is as heartbreakingly beautiful as Gatsby. But haven't read any other Fitzgerald.

Everyone here knows that Daisy was based on his wife Zelda, right? She was a piece of work.

That describes them all right- the woman and the character.

I agree with le_fino that Tender is the Night is well worth reading. While I enjoyed reading The Beautiful and Damned and This Side of Paradise, both seemed slight, though I had overly high expectations for This Side of Paradise. To me. even slight Fitzgerald is still worth reading. The Last Tycoon is good, but unfinished. He has some interesting short stories, such as The Diamond As Big as the Ritz.
Starting today, Amazon is showing a 10 part miniseries on Zelda called "Z; the Beginning of Everything" with Christina Ricci as Zelda. There are also competing Zelda movie projects, with Scarlett Johansen and Jennifer Lawrence as Zelda.
I recently watched the movie Genius about the Max Perkins/Thomas Wolfe editing relationship, and there are scenes with Guy Pierce as a writers-blocked Scott and Vanessa Kirby as a quietly disturbed Zelda. Thomas Wolfe was born in Asheville, N.C. while Zelda Fitzgerald died there.

I feel like I was one of the few of my high school cohort not to have read this book originally in high school.

I read this book shortly before it was made the book of the month by this group. I immediately fell in love with the story and the characters, Nick especially. The only qualms I have with the book is that it's so short. Perhaps that's part of its unique charm, however. I desperately wanted to know more of the character's backstory.

I do agree that Daisy is based on his wife Zelda. I intend to start watching the Amazon Prime series on her tonight.

Andrew, I agree with you that it is short, which I believe leads to its excellence. It is a very well-constructed book, with no superfluous details.

I'm not a re-reader of books. Unfortunately. If I ever was to re-read a book, The Great Gatsby would be it. It's probably the best book I've ever read. The rhythm of Fitzgeralds language is amazing. The story is great. The message? It still very current. The symbolism? The yellow car is still a symbol to this day. And the green light of hope still haunts me.

The best of all is this amazing quote: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

It's pure beauty.

Perhaps I should re-read it soon.

That is a wonderful quote, Lars.

I just read the book for the first time thanks to those who chose it for the group :)

I really enjoyed Fitzgerald's style of writing. It was elegant and accessible.

It is very interesting to be so close to a world but yet so different from them, as Nick is in the book, so apart from them and everyone really. Even Daisy who he is close to you find little intimacies shared with the reader.

Anyone watching "Z: the beginning of everything" Amazon prime movie about Zelda and the Fitzgerald's?

It looks interesting and very fitting to our read

Christina

Rosemarie wrote: "That is a wonderful quote, Lars."

Thanks :)

"The rhythm of Fitzgerald's language is amazing...pure beauty"-Lars
"elegant and accessible"-Christina, on Fitzgerald's writing
"a very well-constructed book, with no superfluous details"-Rosemarie
"one of the greatest books of the twentieth century"-Jim

If Scribner's is looking for back cover blurbs, these should do. All well-said and true.

At the end of his life, when he struggled to write, he wrote this short story called The Crack up that is worth reading also. It is about his struggle to write and the spirale of destruction his life has now became. The story starts like this :"Of course all life is a process of breaking down"
As if the inevitable break down of life was an evidence for everyone. And simply, as if life was condemn to eventually be destroy. Which it is true in a sense.

One of the most elegant prose writers ever.

"Out of the corner of his eye Gatsby saw that the blocks of sidewalks really formed a ladder and mounted to a secret place above the trees—he could climb to it, if he climbed alone, and once there he could suck on the pap of life, gulp down the incomparable milk of wonder."

“... the incomparable milk of wonder.” Language that is a wonder!

I'm still way behind on my TBR, after the flu laid me out for the end of January and most of February. I'm still working my way through everything I wanted to read, just posting really late.

I had never read the book before, or watched any of the movie adaptations, so I had no idea what to expect. I really enjoyed the book-- I was really taken unawares by the twist at the end, and Fitzgerald's use of language is beautiful. Gatsby is the first Fitzgerald I've read, but it definitely won't be the last.

That sounds like a really horrible flu. I'm glad you are better now. I agree with you about his writing being beautiful. I highly recommend Tender is the Night. I liked it even more than Gatsby.

Rosemarie wrote: "That sounds like a really horrible flu. I'm glad you are better now. I agree with you about his writing being beautiful. I highly recommend Tender is the Night. I liked it even more than Gatsby."

Thanks, Rosemarie! I do have a copy of Tender is the Night, and am planning to read it soon. :)

Christina wrote: "I just read the book for the first time thanks to those who chose it for the group :)

I really enjoyed Fitzgerald's style of writing. It was elegant and accessible.

It is very interesting to be ..."

Yes, Christina...I watched the pilot episode a long time ago (2015, I think!) when they first released it, but they didn't release any other episodes until January of this year!! So I started watching when they finally came out. It has been a few weeks since I watched one...I'm on episode six. I just think Scott and Zelda's true story is so tragic. I hope they are able to finish out the series and tell the whole story. Are you enjoying it?

Suki wrote: "I'm still way behind on my TBR, after the flu laid me out for the end of January and most of February. I'm still working my way through everything I wanted to read, just posting really late.

I had..."

The flu is awful hard on your body. Im glad your doing better now Suki!
We always leave the threads open just for this kind of reason. We do not always get to read the Classics when we want to because of life!
Take care of yourself Suki! and enjoy your next read!

Lesle wrote: "Suki wrote: "I'm still way behind on my TBR, after the flu laid me out for the end of January and most of February. I'm still working my way through everything I wanted to read, just posting really..."
Thanks, Lesle!