Sharing Thoughts about Books with Others (STBO) discussion

Hello everyone. Has anybody read this book before, or is currently reading it? This is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. You can click on the title on this post so you can read the preview of the book.

I've placed this title here in the Classics / Classic Literature. Feel free to talk about your thoughts or opinions on the book on the comments section below. Most people would have read this in school and would probably be aware of the plot in the book. If not, then for the people who haven't read it yet, if you will have Spoilers just please post SPOILERS then post your message so those still reading can know that there are Spoilers in your message. Thank you all for sharing your thoughts about this Classic Literature, and have a good day and stay safe. Thank you.

I read The Great Gatsby not too long ago. I admit, I had pretty high expectations for it because of how popular it is. The story seems interesting upon first looking at it. But then I read it. I don’t know if it’s just that I wasn’t interested in reading it, but it was really boring to me. I didn’t even understand what was going on towards the end because it was so boring. I’m pretty sure it’s just not my type of book, but I just read it to see what all the hype was about. I would say, go ahead and read it. If you don’t like it, you don’t like it. But I know plenty who adore this story, so it’s really up to you if you want to actually go through with reading this piece.

I agree partially with the comment that called it slightly boring, I can’t even put my finger on it because it’s short, to the point and a lot happens so it can hardly be considered boring, I think perhaps I just lacked interest in it.

Admittedly I did see the movie before I read the book, and I was only half paying attention to the movie and so deemed it uninteresting enough for me to not pay attention at the time, so maybe I was biased.

I was moved by certain aspects, but for the most part, maybe it was just the way I felt at the time I read it, and I should pick it up again when more motivated, I was just uninterested, and I found myself only reading so that I could finish reading.

This was one of the first books I read and it left such a bad after taste for some reason. For a long while I was Nick Caraway and saw the world through his narration.

Read this one recently, and I was so excited for it! Thankfully my excitement for it didn’t get tainted despite me watching the movie~ I think it was important for me to know that the book was written during the same era it depicted; and honestly I just think I genuinely love everything Fitzgerald’s writing stands for... but Gatsby was such a wonderfully depicted world that didn’t just introduce the glorified 20s but also its hypocrisy, misogyny; the gender dynamics were so intricate in its association with love and obsession and also the characters
seem to be morally vacant which is partly what makes this book so great to me, I felt like there isn’t fantastication of being part of the American essence, but more about exposing the social dynamics within this two folds existence. Money vs. materialism hope vs. love... Just generally the themes it touched on makes this classic to the way I grew to understand the conventional American culture (which can also be applied elsewhere it’s not necessarily annexed to American culture); despite it not being diverse in what it showcases, there are of course some core ideologies that need eradicating but are still so present to this day, but the book isn’t supposed to do that I don’t feel, it’s just meant to show the reader the reality. I think something about Fitzgerald’s writing that I admire is that his writing feels utterly mundane that I can’t help but fall for it.

I’ve thought a lot about this book since I’ve read it. To really appreciate this book you need to understand it’s context. This book is about the 20’s and is a very good description of that time period and the people who lived there. In the 20’s people looked like they had everything to make them happy, but they weren’t happy because they didn’t have the most important things. So I’m this book you have Gatsby who seems to have everything and yet he isn’t happy. There are detailed descriptors of his house and objects and possessions to demonstrate just how much Gatsby has. And in the end you see that none of those things can buy true happiness. Only love and friendship can do that.

This book can be hard to get through. But if you read it in the right mindset it’s a very cool book with a lot to learn from.

I haven't read it yet. Is it worth a try? I always thought it might be too boring for me since I usually don't read that type of classics

Adriana wrote: "I haven't read it yet. Is it worth a try? I always thought it might be too boring for me since I usually don't read that type of classics"

Some classics can seem rather boring compared to present reading but I find it helpful to put it in the context of the time era. I enjoy them more when I learn about the author and the circumstances of the world. F. Scott Fitzgerald lived a rather interesting although brief life.

If you enjoy history, I would give it a try.