The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

Title:  The Great Gatsby

Author:  F. Scott Fitzgerald

Narrated by:  Sean Astin

Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC

Length: Approximately 5 hours and 30 minutes

Source: Checked out from the Kewaunee Public Library through Hoopla.  Thank-you!

What is your favorite party scene in a book or movie?  Whenever I think of a rip-roaring party scene, I think of The Great Gatsby and his Roaring 1920’s parties.

Jay Gatsby is a very wealthy man, but his love, Daisy, married another while he was stationed overseas during WWI.  His one obsessions is winning back Daisy’s love.  By chance, Daisy’s cousin Nick is staying in a home next door to Gatsby.  As Nick gets involved in their lives, he realizes that not everything is better with wealth.  Will Gatsby win back Daisy’s love?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       The writing in this novel is so beautiful and descriptive.  It is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece.

·       The audiobook narration was excellent.  Sean Astin was an expressive narrator with difference voices depending on the character.

·       I read this in September for the Back to the Classics Book Club pick for the Kewaunee Public Library.  We had a fun discussion the book which ranged from bootlegging to Robert Redford as Gatsby.  We are going to watch the 1974 movie at the end of this month as a tribute to the late Robert Redford.

·       We also discussed how The Great Gatsby became popular as it was sent by the War Department to soldiers in WWII.  It harkened back to happier times in the 1920s, discussed the American dream, and also pointed out that even rich people have problems.

·       The parties at Gatsby’s house are just crazy.  The book describes the roaring 20’s excess perfectly.

·       Gatsby was the American dream.  He reinvented himself from his humble American beginnings.  He did all he could to amass great wealth.  He dreamed of the beautiful Southern girl with a voice “full of money.”  He very nearly had it all, before it all came crashing down.

·       The plot really showed how money drives society.

·       I read this for class in high school and twice in college, but I still love it every time I reread it.

·       I enjoyed how the book has the mystery of Nick finding out who Jay Gatsby truly was and where he came from as well as a slight murder mystery at the end as well.  It was an interesting story.

There are so many great quotes in this book.  A few of my favorites include:

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic 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-- So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”

“So we drove on toward death through the cooling twilight.”

Overall, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald has an engaging and unique plot with vividly drawn characters.  This book is a classic for a reason.