The Great Gatsby is said to be Fitzgerald’s greatest work and has earned a place in history as one of the greatest works from the Twentieth-Century. Apparently I missed the memo and just wasn’t overly moved by this novel. I have heard that I just need to read it a few more times and it will become the greatest novel ever to me when I “get” it. I don’t plan on re-reading in the near future, too many new reads to tackle first, maybe later in life.
For a historical fiction novel based on the Roaring Twenties I missed feeling like I was transported back to 1922. The pretense of friendship based on economic status could happen anytime any place. The mention of bootlegging seemed brushed over, almost as a side note thrown in just to have given Gatsby some egg on his face. The love story making up the basis of the novel is said to have been loosely based on Fitzgerald’s own life and desire to win over a Zelda Sayre.
The characters seemed one-dimensional and lacking the motivation to learn from opportunities presented to them during the course of the novel. Nick, the narrator, had some room for growth and seemed to have maybe learned from the events, but the novel ends before we can follow his story. We are required to follow Nick along as he learns bit by bit the controlled tidbits of Jay Gatsby’s life. Jay is fixated on his love for Daisy, who happens to be Nick’s cousin, in what can only be described as an unhealthy obsession. Gatsby spends his days trying to spin a web to snare Daisy to his side. Daisy is married to a Tom Buchanan, but he seems to be more of a philandering type.
I will leave the plot recap here to avoid any spoilers. I haven’t watched any of the movie remakes, so I can’t make any statements comparing the two formats. Overall I felt I was being led aimlessly along and never became invested in the plight of any of the characters.
Nick’s father did give him good advice to start the novel:
“Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,” he told me,
“just remember that all the people in this world haven’t
had the advantages that you’ve had.”
Even if one feels that you haven’t been dealt a fair amount of these advantages you still probably were afford some opportunities that surpassed someone else in the world.
I decided not to count this as a historical fiction read for my 2014 - Historical Fiction Reading Challenge because I just did not get the 1920's vibe.
[Notice: Original posting 2014-01-20 at Plethora of Books Blog: http://bookchallenges.weebly.com]
Tags: 2014, Classics