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Original poster

Who has read 'The Great Gatsby'?

55 replies

notnowbernard · 10/01/2009 22:05

Am struggling a bit and don't know whether to persist

OP posts:
Flamespar · 11/01/2009 12:57

Ooh I love TGG. I haven't read it in years though, so can't remember why I love it. I think it must be to me what Jane Eyre is to everyone else

DisasterArea · 11/01/2009 12:57

i read it and liked it but not sure why. didn't like any of the characters or the story line.

KerryMumbles · 11/01/2009 12:56

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artichokes · 11/01/2009 12:56

I really liked it.

I would persevere as it is so short anyway. One good evening should finish it off and once you know the ending you might view it differently.

Don't you love the way he writes? I agree that none of the characters are that likeable but I still loved it (which is unusual if i don't love one of the characters).

Original poster
notnowbernard · 11/01/2009 12:54

Kerry, are you psychic?!?

It's next on the list... ordered it and a few others off Amazon the other day! (They were dead cheap)

OP posts:
KerryMumbles · 11/01/2009 12:52

This reply has been deleted

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KerryMumbles · 11/01/2009 12:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
notnowbernard · 11/01/2009 12:51

I'm throwing in the towel

I'm 88 pages in and keep having to re-read paragraphs because my concentration is wandering

Oh well

OP posts:
Clary · 10/01/2009 22:33
BoccaDellaVerita · 10/01/2009 22:32
Clary · 10/01/2009 22:31

Oh it's my favourite book.

It's very short tho - not sure if you should continue if y're struggling.

I love love love the visual descriptions - Daisy with her hat, Gatsby's shirts, the sheep on 5th avenue, the lavendar cab with grey upholstery, Dr Mekleburg's eyes...

Amazed that people find it tedious (tho some of my book club hated it as they didn't like any of the characters)

I cry whenever I read it again, at the end, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past

BoccaDellaVerita · 10/01/2009 22:28

Was, by popular consensus, the best book our book group read last year. I picked it.

or as you will.

Original poster
notnowbernard · 10/01/2009 22:28

I am about to start Chapter 4

If I am still struggling by Chapter 5 I will abandon

OP posts:
pointydog · 10/01/2009 22:25

yes, I liked it. Didn't find it a struggle. It's maybe just not your thang.

GreenGables · 10/01/2009 22:24

I rarely give up on a book, but I too am really struggling with this one! I have decided to take a break from it for now as I have found it far to slow and insignificant. I do hope my (eventual) perseverance will be rewarded by a fab ending!

OhBling · 10/01/2009 22:21

Bleugh. All that floating around in white dresses. I would have punched the lot of them!

littlelamb · 10/01/2009 22:19

Keep going it's worth it I promise! I too read it at school and I remember reading the last bit of it one night when I was babysitting and being so surprised at how it ends. One of those books I wish I could read again for the first time iyswim

Penthesileia · 10/01/2009 22:17

Like it, though it has that 'tarnished after being school book' feel for me.

The film has a buff young Robert Redford though. Raaarrrrr!

bodiddly · 10/01/2009 22:15

We had to read it at school ... haven't felt any compelling need to read it again to be honest!

francagoestohollywood · 10/01/2009 22:13

I loved it, while I didn't like TITN

Original poster
notnowbernard · 10/01/2009 22:10

Thanks for replies

I just really hate not finishing a book - rarely do it

But it hasn't grabbed me yet

OP posts:
Lizzylou · 10/01/2009 22:10

Tender is the night is better imo

Lizzylou · 10/01/2009 22:09

I loved it, sorry
And I don't normally "get" classics, they usually leave me cold, with the exception of Jane Austen and Evelyn Waugh

Quattrocento · 10/01/2009 22:08

I've read it three times and I still don't get it

Hassled · 10/01/2009 22:08

Persist! I adore it - one my favourite books ever. And then there is Tender is the Night, by FSF - another great book.