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comment by thenewgreen
thenewgreen  ·  4662 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Great Books that aren't all that great.
Gatsby is often criticized as not being relatable. -I for one felt great empathy for Gatsby. I read the book when I was 16, I was madly in love with a girl that used to be interested in me but was now with someone from a "nicer" family and drove a convertible at 16 etc. -Defining moment for me really. Sad but beautifully written IMO.




alpha0  ·  4662 days ago  ·  link  ·  
I had the ~ same experience with GG.

It's funny how age affects our perceptions. Today, I am convinced that Fitzgerald was actually projecting the emotional underbelly of the American dream intersected with the Immutable Laws of Desire :) It is, I would think, a critique of the said dream. Something of a personal prophecy too, considering what Zelda managed to do to him.

AhimMoonchowsen  ·  4662 days ago  ·  link  ·  
Yeah, Zelda really did a number on him didn't she? Hemingway loathed that relationship and what it did to Fitzgerald. I think I read a piece here on Hubski regarding Hemingways views of Fitzgerald.
mk  ·  4662 days ago  ·  link  ·  
Oh crap. Now I am going to have to read this book again. :) Thanks guys.
caio  ·  4661 days ago  ·  link  ·  
I also read a little of Gatsby. Didn't finish it. Call me crazy, but I was annoyed with the narrator. It was like he wasn't even there. He was just an eye and words describing what was happening. to make matters worse, my edition has an introduction, a preface to the brazilian edition, an appendix with "The Brief Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald", notes on the author, explanatory notes about parts of the book, a postscript from the american editor, a preface to the "critical edition" (?) of 1991 and an essay entitled "The text of The Great Gatsby".

Well, that's just trying too hard, good sirs.