The Great Group for Great Gatsby discussion
dear God, why am I obsessed with this book
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Dawn
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Mar 10, 2012 08:38PM
New to the group, not sure what it is about...I am totally intrigued by this book. I used the narrative technique for my master's comp paper. Anyway, just saying hi.
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Hi Dawn, I am glad I found this group as I too have a soft spot for TGG. I have just re-read it and reviewed it with an acute eye on the language and the best passages. I wld love you to read my review and if you enjoy it to leave a comment. I put my back into it and although a few seem to have looked at it no one has left one syllable of appreciation. SOB!http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...
Hope all is well across the pond!Will you be seeing the remake of TGG coming out this fall. Not sure what I think of Leo as TGG. While I know the 1974 movie wasn't as good as the book, I totally bought into Robert Redford as TGG. (As I've said before, you can't slap the handsome off that man.)
HAve you seen the trailer for new TGG remake? Want me to post it?
I soooooo LOVE that turn of phrase! YCSTHOTM! Yep, I will deffo go and see it. looking fwd to it.
And yep, forgot to say, pls post it. Need to start prepping for this!
Ack, they've delayed it for next summer! But here's a link to the trailer. Looks very visually intoxicating. I kind of like the feel of the music too...maybe the movie will also increase interest in this thread.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rARN6a...
Heya, just up to page 30 of this. I like the mystery style to the writingBut I'll be honest I'm not that attached to it.
Welcome Sophie! personally, the first time I read it, I thought it was okay. It wasn't until years later that I was like---hmm, let me revisit. Did you notice how there is the delayed entrance of the main character? We hear ABOUT Gatsby, but the first time we "see" him he's looking at the light...I think that's an interesting set up. RJ is more of the Gatsby expert than I.
sophie wrote: "Heya, just up to page 30 of this. I like the mystery style to the writingBut I'll be honest I'm not that attached to it."
I swear to you Sophie, there is intense, heartbreaking beauty in the book with some exquisite strokes of writing from a master word-wielder. And the principle theme of delusional dreaming versus entrenched reality is as relevant to most of ours lives today as the day the author inked in his last full-stop. And then drank himself to an early death. Stick with it Soph girl!
Sally, I've been on holiday so sorry it has taken me time to get back with you? There are few of us on this board, but the ones who are are rabid!I have not seen the Gatsby movie yet, but it is on my short list when I get back to the States! You can expect a full report
E.g. Leo DiCaprio:
I really have tried not to like him. Really. I don't go for that pretty boy persona...but I was pleased with his work in the aviator, and of course, his early work in Gilbert grape and Marvin's room.
I am anxious to see how he does. If he blows it, I'm going to drive to LA, look him up, and personally slap him...
And though the 1979. Movie had its faults, I still see Robert Redford when I think of Gatsby, and that wonderful scene where he turns to Tom and says "she doesn't love you."
Rj...any feedback?
BTW, sorry about my Random Capitals. I wrote this on my iPad and my iPad keyboard hates me.
Hurrah, Gatsby is upon us again! I'm going to tweet like the devil today .. Get ready for Gatsby with this hot drill into #review of a work of genius http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_... … …
The NY Times review of 1925 is worth a look, too
bumps-a-Daisy .. R.J.Askew@R_J_Askew10s
I say my pearly queen, pass the jellied eels while I read this bangin' book review of #gatsby tally ho #Wigan ! >>http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_... …
There is brilliance in Gatsby .. something in me makes me hesitate about going to the film for fear of diappointment. On the other hand, old sport ..
Prelim reviews, at least in my area, say that the film captures the sadness better than any of the others, there's something so despondent about gatsby, it's so metaphorical, and this director didnt blatantly go for the literal or take it on surface value. On surface value, it's a love story, but we know it is so much deeper than that, it is a metaphor for everything that is wrong with the world.
I know some people above are saying that the 1974 adaptation wasn't very good... but if anyone wants to judge for themselves (and anyone is near London) I'm going to a screening at The May Fair on the 16th! It looks like a big glamorous event: www.vintagescreenings.com If anyone would like to join me send me a PM! There's free tickets to give away on their Facebook group but the draw is sometime today so you'd have to be quick.
Thank you for the offer for folks who love all things gatsby....I think, as with any movie, there's always going to be something lost in translation. A part of this is inherent in the way we approach literature from different angles.
I wouldnt go so far as to say the 74 adaption was bad, they just..
SPOILER ALERT
Left out the end part where nick confronts daisy and Tom...I thought this was powerful because they just seem to blissfully float along in life, as if they are unaware, or in denial, about how they all indirectly contributed to the fall of Gatsby.
Of course, if being absolutely honest, I'd watch Robert Redford read the phone book for two hours and still think it was a good movie.
Hello, As my kids will attest ("kids" ha, right: one 25 a Berkeley/AFI grad and the other 31 an Editor at a good San Francisco publishing company) I have read TGG maybe 40 times. Did my thesis on it at UVa sometime last century. To me the Great American novel, prose taken to the level of poetry. An oft-misinterpreted metaphor for the emptiness American excess. The futility of the faith that money can buy happiness. Yet it is also a celebration of our need to pursue our dreams, "pursue" the key word. Few fully attain them, yet life must have purpose. All that said I believed the book would never translate to film, the rare beauty of the prose it's hypnotic allure. The new version, imperfect just as life itself, actually surprised me. Quite good on many levels. First 3D flick I've seen since I was like 12. Once adjusted to the graphic novel feel of it, I thought it built to a gripping intensity, finding the tragic depths of some (not all) the characters. DeCaprio's portrayal "turns out all right in the end". A matured actor at his best. Check it out. (And I think I just wrote another thesis right here)
Welcome John! I am anxious to see the new gatsby, and I must confess, I have been impressed by Leo in his more recent roles...aviator, inception.
TGG was the subject of my comps paper for my masters degree,
As a woman, I found something equally heart breaking on how I felt daisy was, to some extent, clueless? Denial? Over what gatsby had sacrificed to be with her. He made his sacrifice, it was her turn to sacrifice. Yet, she remained either unable or unwilling (I waiver between both) to make that sacrifice for him,
Come to me, Gatsby, there are still women in this world who know how to treat a good man.
Hi Dawn.Actually I have been a "voyeur" on this Group for a year or so. Curiosity.
Nick's farewell to Gatsby says it: "They're a rotten crowd. You're worth the whole damn bunch put together."
Daisy and Tom the center of that rotten crowd, charming as she may be. The book reflects its time. As do many of the greats (eg: Huckleberry Finn, Moby Dick etc). Hints of racism, sexism. Women as "Beautiful little fools" in Daisy's own words just looking for a good husband. So yes she is clueless in many ways. Jordan, despite her dishonesty, represents the confidence and equality women deserve...and to a reasonable degree have gradually, rightfully attained in our society. Not to get all preachy. Leo reveals moments of menace that Redford, admire him as I do, did not. Gatsby is, after all, a romantic yet ruthless gangster. But I should "spoil" the movie no further for you and others...
Well, this is all true. gatsby, romantic figure tho he is, is not a choirboy. The thing about Jordan is, though she is ethically challenged, she is what she is, she doesn't play one thing and be another,I'll come out and say it....Daisy is a b--ch. Sorry. She pisses me off.
My biggest obsession is now Fitzgerald uses the delayed entrance of the main character. Gatsby himself doesn't appear until page 22, and even then, I think we get a brief glimpse of him looking at the sky.
Btw, have you seen that great gatsby video game online?
The Gatsby video game is amazing!! I can't get past level four though. Have you had any luck?
Oh, I've gone all the way on the TGG videogame. Is level four the one at the beach? I had trouble with the jumps, but once I got those down it was okay. Like Donkey Kong, it just takes a bit of practice.BTW, when you get to the "end"--you get this music and the whole long section at the end where Nick says "Gatsby believed in the green light..."
I love the interim scenes where Daisy is crying over the beautiful shirts.
Okay guys, in an attempt to rally around TGG, I'm trying to blog/ direct folks to this thread. I'm doing a Summer of Gatsby promo on my blog (and yes, there are prizes!)Here's the link--
http://dawn-theyearofwritingdangerous...
PS-- I'm also an artist and I have a small studio, so by the end of the summer if any of you guys would like a hand-drawn Gatsby-themed bookmark, I'll be glad to just send it to you guys. Hoping to have them done by end of June. If you're interested, you can just contact me via: www.dawndeannawilson.com
Oh and PPS-- this isn't a scam or anything. I'm a bit ADHD and sketching the bookmarks actually helps me focus and relax so I do it as therapy. The studio was to try to help me find a place to put all the stuff I was doing. What can I say? It's cheaper than a shrink.
Dig it...my favorite GReat Gatsby Cartoons. By Kate Beaton....http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php...
Thanks for starting a great group! The Great Gatsby is one of my all time favorite books. It gets better each time I read it. I love the language. I love the characters. Their is a representative for every kind of human being in this book, yet there are no caricatures. They are utterly human, flawed. I believe Nick is one of the greatest characters ever written. Fitzgerald endows him with naivete but also intelligence, instinctive curiosity, empathy and basic human kindness. He is the perfect lens through which to experience the wonder, excess and ultimate debauchery of the 1920s. As the secrets and many injustices of the world are revealed, his innocence is lost, but his dignity and humanity serve his choices and reactions. Through Nick, Jay Gatsby's blind American Dream is replaced. We are left with Nick's quiet, profound sense of wisdom, empathy and strength. Nick emerges as an allegory for a newer, wiser American dream. He is a testament of hope.
Hello. I adore The Great Gatsby. Or, I should rephrase, I love HATING some of the characters *cough cough* DAISY! *cough cough* I also adore what several aspects of the books represent symbolically.
So, I'm one of those people who saw the movie and hated it, so I decided I would never read the book... well, I read it anyway. My friend said it was his favorite book, and well, I figured "why not hate it knowledgeably instead of blindly?" So I read it and found that I LOVE this book. It's fantastic. I didn't realize that you are supposed to hate the characters!I've taken the last month to tear the book apart and learn and analyze it all. It's beautiful and relatable.
This discussion's title is too accurate! I'm re-reading the book and loving it even more and yes it's just deeply satisfying to hate so many things about the characters and still love the story somehow. I'm re-reading it so isn't there like a book-reading club for it? (I'm new to goodreads)
First of all, hello group! I go by Jay Catsby on Goodreads and I'm so excited to be a member of this group! Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" has defined me as a person, and taught me so much about myself as a person, helped me develop my values, and helped me to understand the human psyche in living and love. When I find myself in need of inspiration, being a poet, musician, and visual artist, I look to Fitzgerald's greatest work. My copy is falling apart, marked up and highlighted. Fitzgerald's characters are inspiring and as well as well-developed and highly dynamic. Daisy being the most obvious example, and Wolfsheim is more horrific than any other movie or book character with whom I have become familiarized.I grew up on Long Island, in the heart of the Hamptons, as did my family. When he was young, my grandfather lived just around the corner from the Fitzgerald's Long Island home. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald has been the subject of multiple school assignments and research projects. Being new to the Goodreads platform, I am ecstatic to finally have an outlet and community of other Gatsby lovers and Fitzgerald admirers who understand my love for the book that changed me.
Gabriella wrote: "Hello! It seems to have been a while since anyone posted on this, but I need help lol... I just finished reading The Great Gatsby and I loved it so much (like seriously it's my favourite book, I ca..."
Hi Gabriella. First off, I completely agree with you that TGG is an extraordinary book and upon my first reading I too found it hard to put it down - even after reading it over and over again. However what I did was read more books that were somewhat like The Great Gatsby. May I suggest Daughters of The Moon by Susan Sallis? If this doesn't work then it may be an idea to get into reviewing, write down a review of The Great Gatsby about both good and bad things and weigh them out a little. If this doesn't work then it may just be that this book will always have a place in your heart, eventually you'll find other books that are good but they may not be worthy of the magnitude that The Great Gatsby had. Don't worry though, having a favorite book is natural and honestly I don't blame you for liking this book so much. It is also one of my favorites. :) - Octavia.
Hi Gabriella. First off, I completely agree with you that TGG is an extraordinary book and upon my first reading I too found it hard to put it down - even after reading it over and over again. However what I did was read more books that were somewhat like The Great Gatsby. May I suggest Daughters of The Moon by Susan Sallis? If this doesn't work then it may be an idea to get into reviewing, write down a review of The Great Gatsby about both good and bad things and weigh them out a little. If this doesn't work then it may just be that this book will always have a place in your heart, eventually you'll find other books that are good but they may not be worthy of the magnitude that The Great Gatsby had. Don't worry though, having a favorite book is natural and honestly I don't blame you for liking this book so much. It is also one of my favorites. :) - Octavia.
Gabriella wrote: "Octavia wrote: "Gabriella wrote: "Hello! It seems to have been a while since anyone posted on this, but I need help lol... I just finished reading The Great Gatsby and I loved it so much (like seri..."
No problem! Have a good day!
No problem! Have a good day!
