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The Great Gatsby
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The Great Gatsby (November 2025) Buddy Read Discussion- Rther & Giulia
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Hi there! I'm just going to start here. I haven't finished the first two chapters yet but I just wanted to say that this is a reread for me - although my first read of this was eight years ago. So I do know the story and won't be making any predictions about how the plot will unfold. I probably missed a lot then, though, so I'm excited to get into it.
My first reaction to this reread was how much I love knowing that we've got an unreliable narrator. During my first read I took Nick at face value when he said that he doesn't really judge people - which isn't the case. And after reading that first page again I was quite amused at myself for believing it. That guy is so pretentious!
Chapter 1:I absolutely adore the way the characters are depicted. You get such a clear image of what they are like just a few pages in. I wanted to highlight passages I thought were beautifully written but that seems rather pointless if I'm going to highlight basically everything.
I also like how the conflict between the different social classes becomes apparent right from the start - how the East Egg and West Egg are mirrored across that bay and how Nick is at the center of it: a member of the old money class who lives among members of the new money class.
Hey @Giulia, thanks for the info. Now I'm even more intrigued. This is my first time reading this book. I haven't finished the first two chapters either, but my first impression is that Nick is somewhat naive and is just entering into this world of rich people with their own desires, but he is hiding something of his past because he left his home because of some gossip with a girl, or so it seems. Looking foward to keep reading this. ☺️
You're right! Nick does seem rather naive. He doesn't know what he's getting into and just sort of passively comments on what is happening around him. Chapter 2:
It’s interesting how Tom’s treatment of others contrasts with how he likes to see himself. He says that he dislikes being called "hulking" which he probably perceives as being brutish but then he behaves in a brutal and uncivilized manner by breaking his mistress's nose when he gets annoyed at her. And the same is true for his hypocritical opinion on loyalty. He has an affair but then doesn't want his mistress to mention his wife's name. He's a man of contradictions... or better: He pretends to be something different from what he actually is.
Chapter 1: Very interesting and confusing at the same time the first few pages. Nick is said to be a politician... in what way? We'll find out...
One frase that stuck with me: "Life is much more successfully looked at from a single window, after all".
Chapter 2:
A representation of a life free from boundaries, the life money and those blindfully in search of it bring. The last few paragraphs left me confused, 'cause I'm not sure if what I'm thinking happened... 🤐
An interesting frase: "these fellas will cheat you every time. All they think of is money".
ooff, great depiction of Tom. So true.
rther wrote: "Chapter 1: Very interesting and confusing at the same time the first few pages. Nick is said to be a politician... in what way? We'll find out... "
I think what is meant by that is that he doesn't show what he's thinking of others. That way his opinions stay vague which is compared to how politicians behave.
rther wrote: "Chapter 1:
One frase that stuck with me: "Life is much more successfully looked at from a single window, after all" "
I have absolutely no idea what he means by that. Apparantly, this statement didn't register with me. It seems kind of falty, but maybe that's just part of him being an unreliable narrator.
Hahahaha, maybe what you think happened actually did. I wouldn't put it past them and Nick did stress that this was the second time that he got drunk. This novel is from the 20s, so maybe that was Fitzgerald's way of hinting at some raunchy and at the time taboo behavior without getting in trouble for it.
Ok, I think I was a bit too ambitious when I suggested that schedule. I haven't had time to continue with The Great Gatsby today at all and I'm not sure if I will manage to read more than one chapter every day. What a bummer.
Chapter 3: I absolutely love Gatsby's introduction in this chapter and it is one of those scenes that impressed me the most when I watched the movie in the first place (I watched it as a teen before reading the book).
I love how there's this build-up of tension before you get to meet him: Other characters speculate about his past and one comment is more outrageous than the last.
And he simply doesn't disappoint:
He smiled understandingly - much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced - or seemed to face - the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.
I can't put into words how this description affects me. I wish I'd come across someone with that kind of smile before.
@Giulia hahaha about the taboo part I think the same. I haven't been able to finish the 4th.
Chapter 3: So funny the guy trying to get sober after a week 😂 poor guy.
About your comment on Gatsby: I think I have felt what he meant with the smile. It's just so awesomely described that it cannot be said better.
rther wrote: "Chapter 3: So funny the guy trying to get sober after a week 😂 poor guy."Hahahaha! Sometimes there are those weeks. But it's sort of surprising that this is not a college student having to sober up after a week but an old dude. (Wasn't it?)
Chapter 4
I don't know whether I find Gatsby incredibly romantic or quite pathetic. I believe both of these descriptions are sort of fitting. Gatsby himself probably knows that his request is sort of unusual since he tries to present himself in as positive a light as he can.
Chapter 5In this chapter Gatsby's actions and reactions swerve more in the direction of "incredibly romantic". I mean, look at this quote alone:
He hadn't once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes. Sometimes, too, he stared around at his possessions in a dazed way, as though in her actual and astounding presence none of it was any longer real. Once he nearly toppled down a flight of stairs.
He doesn't even know what to do with himself. Of course, you could also interpret this scene in a different way (him only wanting approval of somebody with old money), but I'm choosing to ignore that right now. :)
Chapter 7I remember that Nick remarked on Daisy's way of speaking in the beginning - that she managed to sound more interesting or charming by speaking softly. It's fascinating how this is contrasted with Gatsby's and Nick's perception now: "'She's got an indiscreet voice. [...] It's full of - ' I hesitated. 'Her voice is full of money,' he said suddenly."
Gatsby's slowly getting disillusioned because what he thought he wanted isn't quite like he imagined and apparently he doesn't know how to handle that.
Chapter 4: I'm glad Gatsby was not trying to steal Mrs. Jordan Baker from Nick. I felt Nick’s relief when Jordan told him Gatsby’s plan of meeting Daisy. Let’s see what happens.
Chapter 5: He really kept his fire lit for 5 years and waited for the right time to get his plan in motion. It's really amazing what love can do (if it's really love ;))
Chapter 6: Gatsby was trying to get something from the past back to the present moment. But that really never happens. Each moment is different from the one before that, and you can't never bring the past to the fullness of your own desire.
Hey @Giulia. Sorry I didn't write before. I managed to get back on reading. I'm just starting Chapter 7. I hope this doesn't affect our Buddy read...
rther wrote: "Chapter 6: Gatsby was trying to get something from the past back to the present moment. But that really never happens. Each moment is different from the one before that, and you can't never bring t..."I think that sums it up quite nicely. He lives in the past, not the present, and seems to be frustrated that he can't revive that, i.e. continue where he left off with Daisy.
rther wrote: "Hey @Giulia. Sorry I didn't write before. I managed to get back on reading. I'm just starting Chapter 7. I hope this doesn't affect our Buddy read..."No worries @rther! Chapter 7 is a juicy one, have fun! I really want to finish it tonight though. I hope that's ok with you.
No problem at all. I will try to read the most I can tomorrow and try to finish the book. Thanks Giulia.
Chapter 8 Here we have it with the unreliable narrator:
'They're a rotten crowd,' I shouted across the lawn. 'You're worth the whole damn bunch put together.' I've always been glad I said that. It was the only compliment I ever gave him, because I disapproved of him from beginning to end.
Yeah, right. Who is he trying to kid? We get so many mixed messages about his opinion of Gatsby. I'm not sure what he actually believes.
Chapter 9So, this is it.
(view spoiler)
I must say that I enjoyed this reread even more than my first time reading it. It was beautifully written and it is amazing how much more I was able to pick up on some nuances. I really need to reread classics more often because apparently it's a new experience every time.
Notes GatsbyChapter 7:
Gatsby is living in his dreams of a love that can't be reality anymore… Even though the events have taken such dramatic turns, he stays oblivious to reality. He loves her so much, he is willing to taken the guilt for her accident/incident.
Chapter 8
Gatsby really fell crazy in love with Daisy from the beginning. “He felt married to her, that was all.” All he did just to be with her, it really is amazing. This sentence broke my heart: “What was the use of doing great things if I could have a better time telling her what I was going to do?”
In some ways the expectations of society gave way to all this story. She had to marry a rich man, and Gatsby wasn’t there to help her resist the rough winds of society demands and also personal-relationship-love demands.
She moved on, but he didn't.
It's surprising to me all this happened in 3 months.
After reading the revenge of the madman Wilson, this frase, a few pages before is perfect: “paid a high price for living too long with a single dream”.
Chapter 9:
It really is a sad… none of the ones who came to his parties went to his funeral, only the funny owl-eyed guy… It was all really artificial and he was a fascade. But what was really real was, as the first chapter had already manifested to us: he had this amazing hope.
I loved the way the author describes the things that are happening. He really tries to describe the subtle human experiences we all have lived in one way or another. I really loved that.
@Giulia about the dishonesty of Nick: there was this one part I didn't understand. Maybe you can help me out. It's in the last Chapter, when he says goodbye to Jordan Baker. To whom did she refer as to a bad driver? Is it to Nick, Daisy or Gatsby? Or was she talking of something else? I just did not understand.
Each day we will be reading by chapters or page numbers. Page numbers are an approximation based on the hardcover or paperback that is the default on Goodreads. The suggested Buddy Read discussion schedule is as follows:
Week of 11/03
3rd: Chapter 1+2
4th: Chapter 3+4
5th: Chapter 5+6
6th: Chapter 7-9
PARTICIPANTS
~Rther
~Giulia