Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Review: I read this book in high school AND saw the movie (Robert Redford version) years ago and for the life of me, I could barely remember the plot of this book when I recently reread it. It is widely considered Fitzgerald's greatest work and one of the great American novels and I wanted to LOVE it, but it wasn't in the cards. I liked it well enough, but it's not a book I would ever recommend to anyone or choose to reread again.
The basic plot: It's the 20's. A young man moves to Long Island and his wealthy, enigmatic neighbor befriends him. Add in some raging parties, a few love triangles that result in tragedy and presto!-we have ourselves a novel. First of all, '..Gatsby' is beautifully written. However, it is extremely short (almost a short story and I'm just not a short story person) and almost every character is odious (especially Daisy and her awful husband, I could not stand either of them). While it's descriptive in many ways, the basic plot was very simplistic. I can see why Hollywood has made this into a film several times-the book provides a good framework they can expand upon.
If you like to read about the end of eras (in this case the roaring 20's) and you like shorter books, you may love this.
Grade: 3/5
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