Book: The Great Gatsby
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Pages: 180
Published: April, 1925
Obtained: Purchased from Walmart (paperback), Amazon (kindle), and Audible (audio book)
Started: April 28, 2013
Finished: May 10, 2013
Summary (Courtesy of Goodreads):
In 1922, F. Scott Fitzgerald announced his decision to write "somethingnew--something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately patterned." That extraordinary, beautiful, intricately patterned, and above all, simple novel became The Great Gatsby, arguably Fitzgerald's finest work and certainly the book for which he is best known. A portrait of the Jazz Age in all of its decadence and excess, Gatsby captured the spirit of the author's generation and earned itself a permanent place in American mythology. Self-made, self-invented millionaire Jay Gatsby embodies some of Fitzgerald's--and his country's--most abiding obsessions: money, ambition, greed, and the promise of new beginnings. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter--tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning--" Gatsby's rise to glory and eventual fall from grace becomes a kind of cautionary tale about the American Dream.
It's also a love story, of sorts, the narrative of Gatsby's quixotic passion for Daisy Buchanan. The pair meet five years before the novel begins, when Daisy is a legendary young Louisville beauty and Gatsby an impoverished officer. They fall in love, but while Gatsby serves overseas, Daisy marries the brutal, bullying, but extremely rich Tom Buchanan. After the war, Gatsby devotes himself blindly to the pursuit of wealth by whatever means--and to the pursuit of Daisy, which amounts to the same thing. "Her voice is full of money," Gatsby says admiringly, in one of the novel's more famous descriptions. His millions made, Gatsby buys a mansion across Long Island Sound from Daisy's patrician East Egg address, throws lavish parties, and waits for her to appear. When she does, events unfold with all the tragic inevitability of a Greek drama, with detached, cynical neighbor Nick Carraway acting as chorus throughout. Spare, elegantly plotted, and written in crystalline prose, The Great Gatsby is as perfectly satisfying as the best kind of poem.
Cover: Technically, I have two different covers. The original cover with the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg imploring into your soul is just a work of art. It captures my attention and makes me think. I also have the movie cover edition. LEONARDO DICAPRIO. Need I say more? Leo for life, man.
Plot: I loved loved loved loved loved this book. I can't even begin to express an even thought about my feelings. The plot fixating around Mr. Jay Gatsby through the eyes of Nick Carroway was just something so impeccable. Not to mention, the Audible book narrated by Jake Gyllenhaal, was just fantastic. That man has a BEAUTIFUL voice.
The plot drew me in quickly. And let's be honest, I totally picked up this book because Leonardo Dicaprio was going to be Jay Gatsby in the movie. I was never forced to read this book in high school, and that's something I'm overly grateful for. Usually, if I'm forced to read anything, I'll always despise it to some degree. Having an opportunity to read at my own pace gave me an opportunity to truly enjoy this book through and through. But I honestly fell in love with the book for it's own beautiful reasons.
F. Scott Fitzgerald has a way with words. There are so many beautiful quotes in the book, and each of them took my breath. Fitzgerald captured the corruption of the American Dream with the tale of Mr. Gatsby and he warns how we can never truly leave our past behind. It is always good to learn from your past, but you should never forget where you came from.
This story had so many turns and I never knew what was going to become of the love that Mr. Gatsby and Daisy share for one another. I knew this was going to be a terribly sad book, but I didn't expect it to sadden me like it did. It forced me to think about Mr. Gatsby's decision, as well as Daisy, and analyze them. It also forced me to put my life in to perspective. Am I doing something relatively the same as Gatsby in thinking that the past needs to be rewritten? Or if I'm not, do I now have a better appreciation of learning from my mistakes but never forgetting them entirely?
This book has made it's way to one of my all time favorites, and I never thought I would say that about a classic. But here I am. Making history.
The movie was something else entirely. Though they stuck pretty religiously to the book, I still found things I didn't like about the movie. For instance, the music. They played rap in a movie about the 1920's. Say whut? AND Tobey Maguire's narrating voice did not do the story justice. They totally should have gotten Jake Gyllenhaal to narrated. I know first hand he'd be fantastic. ;) They also did this camera spanning thing that drove me nutty. Just a personal preference though. Becca quite liked it.
I've watched Baz Luhrmann movies before (Romeo and Juliet) and I knew beforehand that he has a unique directing style. I love his groove, but it's definitely something you have to get used to. The movie also changed up the ending a bit, too, but I think it worked well they way they did it and I was pleased. Overall, I liked the movie, but it wasn't anything mind-blowing. Except for Leo who is ALWAYS mind-blowing, not being bias or anything, just saying. I would take the book any day, though.
Characters:
Jay Gatsby - I love this man more than words can express, but my god, does he have some problems. A few years before our story takes place, he is in the army. It is during this time that he met Daisy Buchanan (I'm not sure what her maiden name is). They fall in love with one another, but he has to leave to go fight in WWI. She says she'll wait for him, but alas, she does not. Now, Mr. Gatsby is doing all that he can to find a way to win her back. He throws lavish parties in attempt to draw her in and show her the life he can give her. Gatsby is a dreamer. And these dreams tend to clog his point of view. His blind love in a woman who seeks an abundance of money is pitiful. I feel a sorrow for him that cannot be described. His story is a painfully sad one to read, and in order not to spoil anything for you, I will stop my thoughts here though my brain longs to continue. (by and by, Leonardo Dicaprio did a fantastic job as him in the movie. LOVED EVERY SECOND OF HIS FACE. Wait. What? *winks*)
Nick Carroway - I loved hearing the story from his perspective. He's such a down-to-earth man who lives around all of these rich folk because he got lucky and found a home he could afford. He's a nonjudgemental character who takes a liking to Mr. Gatsby fairly quickly. Their friendship was enjoyable to read about. Also, his opinion on the situation was eye opening. Being able to view Mr. Gatsby demise from a third-party allows people to create their own opinions of him. Seeing Gatsby through Nick's eyes, I pitied Jay and wished desperately for his happiness. I know others do not agree with me. That's the beauty of reading.
Movie wise, Tobey is a great actor, but I don't know.... I just don't feel like he was the one meant for this role. He was enjoyable to watch, yes, but still. All I saw was Spiderman. I read that Leo told Baz Luhrmnann that he would be in the movie, if Tobey was Nick Carroway. That's a tremendously sweet effort, but I'm just not feeling it, Leo. My apologies.
Daisy Buchanan - Daisy invoked all sorts of emotions in me. When I found out her husband was cheating on her, I felt an overwhelming pity. When I read that she doesn't have much to do with her daughter, I became furious. This is how it was the whole book. Back and forth and back and forth.
Carey Mulligan played Daisy beautifully. She has the type of spirit meant for this role. I fell in love with her acting in only a few minutes of watch her. She was cast appropriately. She has such a chemistry with Leo on screen that it was easy to believe their love story.
Tom Buchanan - What a(n) dick arrogant prick. He's just a god awful man, and I can't believe Daisy married him. The things these females would do for money. Give me a poor shack any day, thank you. He's cheating on his wife, he's manipulative, and he's a know-it-all who doesn't know anything at all. (You know the type.) I can't go into much detail or I'll give the story away. If you haven't read this book yet, beware of Tom. I honestly have no pity for such a degenerate, poor excuse of a man.
Mrytle Wilson - This woman is a down and out skank. She doesn't like her marriage, so instead she is having an affair with Tom. Deep down, I do feel sorry for her. Believe it or not.
Isla Fisher played her magnificently! I've always loved her acting, and she really came through in this movie. She's just an enjoyable person to watch on screen. :)
George Wilson - He's Myrtle's husband. He's a poor mechanic who lives in the Valley of Ashes. Tom purposely pokes and prods at him because Tom is doing his wife. (Did I ever mention Tom was a sick man? Well. He is.) And while I feel bad for him, he still manages to find a way to break me.
Jason Clarke, who played George Wilson, really showed George's progress from depression to just plain crazy. I am so happy that Clarke was cast for this role because he played it perfectly.
Jordan Baker - I didn't really like her character. I feel like she played a minor role in this whole get-up. And I couldn't really see a connection between her and Nick. Not at all.
The actress, Elizabeth Debicki, actually made me fall in love with her character though. Strange how that works, isn't it? She was mind-blowing in the movie. Congrats to Baz for choosing such a great woman to play the role of Jordan.
Series: This is a stand-alone book.
Book Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Tear Rating: 5 out of 5 tears. I cried like an insane person when I read that ending.
Next Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass
Happy Reading!
VF, xoxo
