great gatsby book review

The Great Gatsby

By f. scott fitzgerald.

'The Great Gatsby' tells a very human story of wealth, dreams, and failure. F. Scott Fitzgerald takes the reader into the heart of the Jazz Age, in New York City, and into the world of Jay Gatsby.

About the Book

Article written by Emma Baldwin

B.A. in English, B.F.A. in Fine Art, and B.A. in Art Histories from East Carolina University.

The Great Gatsby tells a very human story of wealth, dreams, and failure. F. Scott Fitzgerald takes the reader into the heart of the Jazz Age , in New York City, and into the world of Jay Gatsby. Through Nick’s narration, readers are exposed to the dangers of caring too much about the wrong thing and devoting themselves to the wrong ideal.

Gatsby’s pursuit of the past central to my understanding of this novel. Fitzgerald created Gatsby as a representative of the American dream , someone who, despite all of his hard work, did not achieve the one thing he wanted most in life.

Wealth and the American Dream

Another part of this novel I found to be integral to my understanding of the time period was the way that wealth and the American dream did not exist alongside one another. The American dream suggests that through hard work and determination, anyone can achieve the dream life they’re looking for.

On the outside, Gatsby does just that. He raises himself out of poverty and makes his fortune (albeit not through entirely legal means). He worked hard and remained focused. For those attending his parties or who have seen his mansion, he is living the best possible life–an embodiment of the American dream. But, he’s missing the one thing he really wanted to achieve–Daisy’s love and commitment. His pursuit of wealth was not for wealth alone. It was for something that, he realized, money can’t buy.

It was impossible for me not to feel moved by the bind Gatsby got himself into. He put Daisy on a pedestal, one that required she fulfill her end of the bargain if he fulfilled his. He got rich and acquired the means to give her the kind of life she wanted. But, Daisy was unwilling to separate herself from her husband, Tom Buchanan, and return to Gatsby. She ended up being more interested in maintaining her social status and staying in the safety of her marriage than living what might’ve been a happy life.

Daisy Buchanan and the Treatment of Women

Her character is often deeply romanticized, with her actions painted as those of a woman torn between what she knows is right and her inability to guide her own life. However, I always return to the strange conversation she shares with Nick, revealing her concerns about raising a daughter. The quote from The Great Gatsby reads:

I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.

This quote proved to me that Daisy is well aware of her position in the world, and she turns to the safety of being “a beautiful little fool” when she needs to be. It’s the only way she feels she can survive.

There’s something to be said for the depiction of Daisy as a victim. Still, her callous treatment of Gatsby at the end of the novel, seen through her refusal to attend his funeral and dismissal of the destruction she caused, is hard to empathize with. Daisy may be at Tom’s mercy for a great deal, her livelihood, and her social status, but when she walks away from the death of a man she supposedly loved, it feels as though her true nature is revealed. She’s a survivor more than anything else and didn’t deserve the pedestal that Gatsby put her on. This is part of what makes Gatsby’s story so tragic. He was pure in a way that no other character in the novel was. He had one thing he wanted, and he was determined to do anything to get it. That one thing, Daisy’s love, was what let him down.

I also found it interesting to consider the differences between Jordan’s character and Daisy’s and how they were both treated. Jordan, while certainly no saint, is regarded as a dangerous personality. She sleeps with different men, appears to hold no one’s opinion above her own, and has made an independent career for herself as a golfer (a surely male-dominated world). I continue to ask myself how much of Nick’s depiction of Jordan is based on her pushing the envelope of what a woman “should” do in the 1920s ?

The Great Gatsby and Greatness

One of the novel’s defining moments is when Nick realizes who was truly “great” and why. Gatsby wasn’t “Great” because of his wealth, home, parties, or any other physical item he owned. He was great because of the single-minded pursuit of his dream. His incredible personality and determination made him a one-of-a-kind man in Nick’s world. This realization about who Gatsby was and what he represented was driven home by his death and the lack of attendees at his funeral. No one, aside from Nick, realizes the kind of man he was. Those he might’ve called friends were using him for the money, possession, or social status they might have attained. But, Nick realizes that none of these things made the man “great.”

The Great Gatsby as a Historical Document

Finally, I find myself considering what the novel can tell us about the United States post-World War I and during the financial boom of the roaring twenties. Without didactically detailing historical information, the novel does provide readers with an interesting insight into what the world was like then.

The characters, particularly those who attend Gatsby’s parties, appear to have nothing to lose. They’ve made it through the war, are financially better off than they were before, and are more than willing to throw caution to the wind. Fitzgerald taps into a particular culture, fueled by a new love for jazz music, financial stability, prohibition and speakeasies, and new freedoms for women. The novel evokes this culture throughout each page, transporting readers into a very different time and place.

The novel conveys a feeling of change to me, a realization that the American dream may not be all it’s cut out to be and that the world was never going to be the same again after World War I. It appears that this is part of what was fueling Fitzgerald’s characters in The Great Gatsby and his plot choices.

What did early reviewers think of The Great Gatsby ?

Early reviews of The Great Gatsby were not positive. Reviewers generally dismissed the novel, suggesting that it was not as good as Fitzgerald’s prior novels. It was not until after this death that it was elevated to the status it holds today.

What is the message of The Great Gatsby ?

The message is that the American dream is not real and that wealth does not equal happiness. Plus, optimism might feel and seem noble but when it’s misplaced it can be destructive.

Is Jay Gatsby a good or bad character?

Gatsby is generally considered to be a good character. He did illegal things to gain his fortune but it was with the best intentions–regaining the love of Daisy, the woman he loved in his youth.

Did Daisy actually love Gatsy?

It’s unclear whether or not she loved Gatsby. But, considering her actions, it seems unlikely she loved him during the novel.

What does Nick learn from Gatsby?

Nick learns that the wealth of East and West Egg are a cover for emptiness and moral bankruptcy. The men and women he met are devoid of empathy or love for one another.

The Great Gatsby: Fitzgerald's Enduring Classic of the Jazz Age

• Writing Style
• Lasting Effect on Reader

The Great Gatsby Review

The Great Gatsby is a novel of the Jazz Age. It follows Nick Carraway as he uncovers the truth behind his mysterious neighbor’s wealth and dreams. The novel explores the consequences of wealth and suggests that the American dream is an unrealistic expectation.

• Realistic setting. 
• Interesting and provoking dialogue.
• Memorable characters.
• Limited action and emotions. 
• Several unlikeable characters. 
• Leaves readers with questions.

About Emma Baldwin

Emma Baldwin, a graduate of East Carolina University, has a deep-rooted passion for literature. She serves as a key contributor to the Book Analysis team with years of experience.

Cite This Page

Baldwin, Emma " The Great Gatsby Review ⭐ " Book Analysis , https://bookanalysis.com/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-great-gatsby/review/ . Accessed 12 April 2024.

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The great gatsby, common sense media reviewers.

American classic captures romance, debauchery of Jazz Age.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

The Great Gatsby is a book very much of its time.

Many of the characters behave irresponsibly at bes

There are a lot more negative role models in The G

In one scene, a man punches his lover in the face

Adults in the book flirt and kiss. Reference is al

Curse words are not used, but other offensive lang

There are many examples of excessive material weal

The adults consume a great deal of alcohol, which

Parents need to know that THE GREAT GATSBY is at once a romantic and cynical novel about the wealth and habits of a group of New Yorkers during the Jazz Age. Fitzgerald's writing is unassailably magnificent, as he paints a grim portrait of shallow characters who maneuver themselves into complex situations. This…

Educational Value

The Great Gatsby is a book very much of its time. Readers will learn about life in New York during the Jazz Age (1920s), and about drinking behavior during Prohibition. Also, the character Tom Buchanan converses about books he likes that represent bigoted views held by many whites at that time. These beliefs are often offensive, but they do inform the reader about the time Fitzgerald portrays.

Positive Messages

Many of the characters behave irresponsibly at best, and the most romantic character in the novel, Gatsby himself, is probably involved in criminal business dealings. The most positive message in the book is probably that readers should learn from the characters' mistakes. However, there's something beautiful in Gatsby's undying devotion to Daisy. Though Fitzgerald deeply questions the wisdom of trying to recapture the past, Gatsby believes in his dream of restoring lost love in a way that's childlike and touching.

Positive Role Models

There are a lot more negative role models in The Great Gatsby than positive ones. The narrator, Nick, is largely a foil for the lovers' bad behavior, but his intention of being a real friend to Gatsby, especially in the end, is admirable.

Violence & Scariness

In one scene, a man punches his lover in the face during an argument. At another point, a woman is fatally hit by a car, and the condition of her body is described briefly but graphically.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Adults in the book flirt and kiss. Reference is also made to extramarital affairs, and Fitzgerald describes the past relationship of two characters, saying that the man "took her," though sex is never actually described.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Curse words are not used, but other offensive language is. The book includes the word "kike," and characters are prejudiced toward Jewish and African-American people.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

There are many examples of excessive material wealth in The Great Gatsby . In fact, the majority of the culture during this time was defined by consumerism and flashy lifestyles. Gatsby's way of life in particular is very much dictated by his devotion to Daisy, which explains the lavish mansion and extravagant parties to impress the object of his affection.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

The adults consume a great deal of alcohol, which fuels some bad behavior. As the novel was written and takes place in the United States before the Surgeon General's warning, cigarette smoking is also ubiquitous.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that THE GREAT GATSBY is at once a romantic and cynical novel about the wealth and habits of a group of New Yorkers during the Jazz Age. Fitzgerald's writing is unassailably magnificent, as he paints a grim portrait of shallow characters who maneuver themselves into complex situations. This classic American novel is required reading for a lot of high school students, and it can definitely be appreciated and understood on some levels by teenagers. However, Fitzgerald's use of language and symbolism is best appreciated by mature readers able to analyze literature and think critically. Parents also need to know that some characters express racial and religious prejudice.

Where to Read

Community reviews.

• Parents say (12)
• Kids say (72)

Based on 12 parent reviews

Little people living lives too larger for them

Themes of female sexuality,, what's the story.

Nick Carraway spends a summer living in a cheap rental house surrounded by lavish mansions on Long Island in the 1920s. Among his neighbors are his beautiful cousin Daisy, her loutish husband Tom, and her former lover, Jay Gatsby, whose history and epic parties are fodder for gossip. Nick becomes caught up in the machinery of more than one romantic triangle as the summer begins to fade and Gatsby's orchestra stops playing.

Is It Any Good?

THE GREAT GATSBY is a magnificent novel on every level. Fitzgerald writes about the Jazz Age in language that beautifully evokes music. He writes about a hot day in a way that almost makes you sweat. His characters are well-drawn, and the plot is engaging and fast-paced. Though this novel is possibly best appreciated by college-level readers, advanced high school students will find a lot to enjoy and discuss.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Gatsby's five-year quest to regain Daisy's heart. Is his dream realistic? What is Fitzgerald saying about trying to recapture the past?

What kind of person is Nick? Do you feel he is a well-formed character? Why was he so devoted to Gatsby at the end of the book?

What is Gatsby really like? How is he different from the widely held ideas about him in the book?

Why do you think this book is considered a classic?

Book Details

• Author : F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Genre : Literary Fiction
• Book type : Fiction
• Publisher : Scribner
• Publication date : April 10, 1925
• Number of pages : 192
• Last updated : September 30, 2015

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The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald - review

There are many novels which claim that they are the greatest love story of all time. It is only in the case of this novel that that statement can be applied and be true.

The novel is set during the roaring 20s in America, narrated by Nick Carraway, a man from a well-to-do family just out of fighting the war and looking to sell bonds. He moves to East Egg, the slightly less grand area in comparison to West Egg, right opposite Gatsby's mansion. Gatsby is rich, mega-rich, and throws magnificent parties every weekend which the whole town attend. However the host is never seen during these parties, and is never completely known by any one person. Gatsby holds a dark secret about his past and how he became so great, a deep lust that will eventually lead to his demise.

The Great Gatsby is in many ways similar to Romeo and Juliet, yet I believe that it is so much more than just a love story. It is also a reflection on the hollowness of a life of leisure. Both stories are obsessed with controlling time: Juliet wants to extend her present, as her future prospects with Romeo are bleak and Gatsby wants to create a beautiful future by restoring the past. This is what leads Gatsby to say his most famous line "Can't change the past? Why, of course you can." I could very much relate to this - there have been many moments where I've wished that I could go back to the past and just remain there, for it was a better place.

Similarly to Romeo and Juliet, Fitzgerald's writing is almost like a work of poetry, with waves of literary brilliance creating a rich and lush rhythm which you can almost tap your foot to. The descriptions are jarringly, magnificently beautiful so that it almost made my heart ache.

However, unlike in Romeo and Juliet, the characters in The Great Gatsby are in themselves very flawed and very hard to sympathise with. But that is the beauty of the book. Of course you hate Daisy Buchanan! Of course you hate Tom! You even begin to slightly dislike Gatsby, to whom it is not enough for Daisy to say that she loved him, but requires her to state that she never in her five year marriage loved her husband Tom. But Gatsby, to me, remains Great right until the end of this book.

It is ironic that only the idle rich survive this novel, and Fitzgerald through this further enrages the reader about the cruelty and the injustice of the world. The rich are allowed to continue to be careless, for that is the dream, is it not? To live a carefree life? Yet Fitzgerald highlights the horrors of being a careless person: "They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money and vast carelessness." What's amazing in this line is that Tom and Daisy aren't careless to be malicious - that is just their nature. And that in itself is a very sad thing. They do not care for their daughter, for Myrtle, for Gatsby nor even each other. Their inability to care is what makes The Great Gatsby the stark opposite to Romeo and Juliet where the lovers are sacrificed and Verona is healed. In Fitzgerald's masterpiece nothing is made whole by this tragedy. Many consider The Great Gatsby to be depressing because, in the end, those who dream do not achieve their aspirations. However, the main message that Fitzgerald sends to us isn't that dreaming will lead to despair, but that chasing an unworthy dream will lead to tragedy.

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Critical Overview of "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Discussing the plot, main character, and theme of an American classic

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The Great Gatsby is F. Scott Fitzgerald's greatest novel—a book that offers damning and insightful views of the American nouveau riche in the 1920s. The Great Gatsby is an American classic and a wonderfully evocative work.

Like much of Fitzgerald's prose, it is neat and well-crafted. Fitzgerald has a brilliant understanding of lives that are corrupted by greed and turn out incredibly sad and unfulfilled. He was able to translate this understanding into one of the finest pieces of literature of the 1920s . The novel is a product of its generation—with one of American literature's most powerful characters in the figure of Jay Gatsby, who is urbane and world-weary. Gatsby is really nothing more than a man desperate for love.

The Great Gatsby Overview

The novel's events are filtered through the consciousness of its narrator, Nick Carraway, a young Yale graduate, who is both a part of and separate from the world he describes. Upon moving to New York, he rents a house next door to the mansion of an eccentric millionaire (Jay Gatsby). Every Saturday, Gatsby throws a party at his mansion and all the great and the good of the young fashionable world come to marvel at his extravagance (as well as swap gossipy stories about their host who—it is suggested—has a murky past).

Despite his high-living, Gatsby is dissatisfied and Nick finds out why. Long ago, Gatsby fell in love with a young girl, Daisy. Although she has always loved Gatsby, she is currently married to Tom Buchanan. Gatsby asks Nick to help him meet Daisy once more, and Nick finally agrees—arranging tea for Daisy at his house.

The two ex-lovers meet and soon rekindle their affair. Soon, Tom begins to suspect and challenges the two of them—also revealing something that the reader had already begun to suspect: that Gatsby's fortune was made through illegal gambling and bootlegging. Gatsby and Daisy drive back to New York. In the wake of the emotional confrontation, Daisy hits and kills a woman. Gatsby feels that his life would be nothing without Daisy, so he takes the blame.

George Wilson—who discovers that the car that killed his wife belongs to Gatsby—comes to Gatsby's house and shoots him. Nick arranges a funeral for his friend and then decides to leave New York—saddened by the fatal events and disgusted by the way lived their lives.

Gatsby's Character and Societal Values

The power of Gatsby as a character is inextricably linked to his wealth. From the very beginning of The Great Gatsby , Fitzgerald sets up his eponymous hero as an enigma: the playboy millionaire with the shady past who can enjoy the frivolity and ephemera that he creates around him. However, the reality of the situation is that Gatsby is a man in love. Nothing more. He concentrated all of his life on winning Daisy back.

It is the way that he attempts to do this, however, that is central to Fitzgerald's world-view. Gatsby creates himself—both his mystique and his personality—around rotten values. They are the values of the American dream—that money, wealth, and popularity are all there is to achieve in this world. He gives everything he has—emotionally and physically—to win, and it is this unrestrained desire that contributes to his eventual downfall.

Social Commentary About Decadence

In the closing pages of The Great Gatsby , Nick considers Gatsby in a wider context. Nick links Gatsby with the class of people with whom he has become so inextricably associated. They are the society persons so prominent during the 1920s and 1930s. Like his novel The Beautiful and the Damned , Fitzgerald attacks the shallow social climbing and emotional manipulation—which only causes pain. With a decadent cynicism, the party-goers in The Great Gatsby cannot see anything beyond their own enjoyment. Gatsby's love is frustrated by the social situation and his death symbolizes the dangers of his chosen path.

F. Scott Fitzgerald paints a picture of a lifestyle and a decade that is both fascinating and horrific. In so doing, he captures a society and a set of young people; and he writes them into legend. Fitzgerald was a part of that high-living lifestyle, but he was also a victim of it. He was one of the beautiful but he was also forever damned. In all its excitement—pulsating with life and tragedy— The Great Gatsby brilliantly captures the American dream in a time when it had descended into decadence.

• 'The Great Gatsby' Overview
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• What is the role of women in 'The Great Gatsby'?
• 'The Great Gatsby' Themes
• 'The Great Gatsby' Plot Summary
• 'The Great Gatsby' Characters: Descriptions and Significance
• 'The Great Gatsby' Study Questions
• 'The Great Gatsby' Quotes Explained
• Biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Writer of the Jazz Age
• Why Was "The Great Gatsby" Banned?
• The Lost Generation and the Writers Who Described Their World
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– Entertainment Analysis and Reviews

Exploring “The Great Gatsby” book: Review, Themes, Characters

“The Great Gatsby” is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and first published in 1925. It is widely considered a masterpiece of American literature and a quintessential representation of the Jazz Age, a term coined by Fitzgerald himself to describe the cultural and social atmosphere of the 1920s. The book tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a mysterious and wealthy young man who throws lavish parties in his mansion on Long Island, and his pursuit of his former love interest, Daisy Buchanan, who is now married to Tom Buchanan, a wealthy and arrogant man. The novel deals with themes of love, wealth, social status, and the corruption of the American Dream.

Since its publication, “The Great Gatsby” has become a classic and a staple of high school and college curricula. It has also been adapted into several films, stage plays, and musicals, cementing its place in popular culture. The book’s enduring appeal lies in its vivid portrayal of the Roaring Twenties and its insightful commentary on human nature and society. In this article, we will delve into the plot, themes, symbolism, and cultural context of “The Great Gatsby,” as well as its critical reception and legacy.

The Great Gatsby book Summary

The great gatsby book characters, the great gatsby book review: literary analysis, historical and cultural context, the great gatsby movie vs book, critical reception.

“The Great Gatsby” is a complex and multilayered novel that weaves together different narrative threads and characters. The story is narrated by Nick Carraway, a young man from the Midwest who moves to New York City to work in the bond business. Nick rents a small house in West Egg, a wealthy suburb of Long Island, next to the extravagant mansion of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby.

As Nick becomes acquainted with the social circle of his cousin Daisy Buchanan and her husband Tom, he discovers the secret past of Gatsby, who turns out to be a self-made millionaire with a shady reputation. Gatsby’s obsession with Daisy, his former lover, drives him to throw lavish parties and to pursue her at all costs, even though she is already married to Tom, who is having an affair with a woman named Myrtle Wilson.

As tensions rise and secrets are revealed, the novel reaches a tragic climax that exposes the corruption and emptiness of the high society of the 1920s. Here are some key events and characters in the plot of “The Great Gatsby”:

• Jay Gatsby: the enigmatic and mysterious protagonist who is driven by his desire to win back Daisy’s love and to achieve the American Dream.
• Daisy Buchanan: the object of Gatsby’s affection, a beautiful and shallow woman who is torn between her feelings for Gatsby and her loyalty to her husband Tom.
• Tom Buchanan: Daisy’s husband, a wealthy and arrogant man who embodies the social and moral decay of the upper class.
• Nick Carraway: the narrator and a peripheral character who becomes involved in the lives of the other characters and serves as a moral compass for the reader.
• Myrtle Wilson: Tom’s mistress, a working-class woman who dreams of a better life and is ultimately killed in a tragic accident.
• The Valley of Ashes: a symbolic location between West Egg and New York City, where the industrial and social waste of the modern world is dumped.
• The green light: a recurring symbol of Gatsby’s hopes and dreams, representing his longing for a better future and his nostalgia for the past.
• The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg: a haunting and ominous billboard in the Valley of Ashes that symbolizes the loss of spiritual values and the rise of materialism in American society.

Here are the main characters of “The Great Gatsby,” along with their characterizations and motivations:

• Jay Gatsby – A mysterious and enigmatic millionaire who throws extravagant parties at his mansion in West Egg. Gatsby is motivated by his love for Daisy Buchanan, his former flame, and his desire to win her back.
• Daisy Buchanan – A beautiful and wealthy socialite who is married to Tom Buchanan. Daisy is portrayed as shallow and self-absorbed, but she also has a sensitive side and is torn between her feelings for Gatsby and her loyalty to her husband and her social status.
• Nick Carraway – The narrator of the story, who rents a small cottage in West Egg and becomes friends with Gatsby. Nick is portrayed as an honest and observant character, who is often caught in the middle of the other characters’ conflicts.
• Tom Buchanan – Daisy’s husband and a wealthy former football player who is arrogant and domineering. Tom is motivated by his desire for power and control, and he becomes increasingly suspicious of Gatsby’s intentions towards his wife.
• Jordan Baker – A professional golfer and friend of Daisy’s who becomes romantically involved with Nick. Jordan is portrayed as cold and cynical, and she often serves as a foil to Daisy’s more vulnerable and emotional character.

Overall, the characters in “The Great Gatsby” are complex and multi-dimensional, with their own motivations, flaws, and desires. The novel explores themes of love, wealth, power, and the illusion of the American Dream through the actions and interactions of these characters.

“The Great Gatsby” is a rich and layered work of literature that employs various literary devices and techniques to convey its themes and messages. In this section, we will explore some of the most prominent aspects of the book’s style and structure.

• Themes and Motifs One of the central themes of “The Great Gatsby” is the pursuit of the American Dream, the belief that anyone can achieve success and happiness through hard work and determination. However, the novel also exposes the dark side of this ideal, showing how it can lead to greed, corruption, and moral decay. Other themes in the book include the power of love and obsession, the illusion of wealth and status, and the consequences of societal and class divisions.

The book also makes use of several recurring motifs, such as the green light, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, and the valley of ashes. These symbols reinforce the themes of the novel and create a sense of unity and coherence.

• Symbolism Fitzgerald’s use of symbolism is one of the most striking and effective aspects of his writing. The green light, for instance, represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams, as well as the elusive and unattainable nature of the American Dream. The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, on the other hand, symbolize the loss of spiritual values and the rise of materialism in American society.

Other symbols in the book include the white dresses that Daisy and Jordan wear, which suggest their purity and innocence, but also their superficiality and emptiness. The valley of ashes, meanwhile, represents the desolation and decay that lurk beneath the glittering surface of the Jazz Age.

• Writing Style and Techniques Fitzgerald’s writing style is characterized by its elegance, lyricism, and attention to detail. He uses vivid and evocative descriptions to bring his characters and settings to life, and his prose is imbued with a sense of nostalgia and melancholy. The novel also employs various narrative techniques, such as flashbacks, foreshadowing, and symbolism, to create a sense of depth and complexity.

“The Great Gatsby” is set in the 1920s, a period of great social and cultural change in America. In this section, we will explore some of the historical and cultural factors that shaped the novel and its themes.

• The Roaring Twenties The 1920s, also known as the Roaring Twenties, was a time of great economic growth and cultural experimentation in America. The end of World War I brought about a sense of optimism and confidence, and the nation experienced a boom in consumerism, entertainment, and new technologies.

This era also saw the rise of the Jazz Age, a cultural movement that celebrated youth, freedom, and rebellion against traditional values. “The Great Gatsby” captures the spirit of this era through its depiction of lavish parties, fast cars, and flapper fashion.

• Society and Class in the 1920s The 1920s was also a time of great social and economic inequality. While the wealthy elite enjoyed unprecedented prosperity and freedom, many Americans struggled to make ends meet and faced discrimination and prejudice.

“The Great Gatsby” reflects this divide through its portrayal of characters from different social classes. The working-class characters, such as George Wilson and Myrtle Wilson, live in poverty and are marginalized by the rich and powerful. The upper-class characters, such as Tom Buchanan and Daisy Buchanan, are insulated from the harsh realities of life and pursue their own selfish desires.

• Relevance to Contemporary Society Although “The Great Gatsby” is set almost a century ago, many of its themes and messages still resonate with contemporary society. The novel’s critique of the corrupting influence of wealth and power, for instance, remains relevant in a world where income inequality and political corruption are major issues.

The debate between whether the book or the movie adaptation is better has been ongoing for years, and “The Great Gatsby” is no exception. Here are some points to consider when comparing the book and the movie:

• Plot and Characterization One of the main differences between the book and the movie is the amount of detail and depth in the plot and characters. The book, being a novel, has much more room for character development, backstory, and subplots, while the movie must condense these elements to fit within a two-hour runtime. This can result in some characters and plot points being left out or simplified in the movie adaptation.
• Visual and Cinematic Elements The movie adaptation of “The Great Gatsby” has the advantage of being able to use visual and cinematic elements to convey the story and atmosphere of the book. The movie’s stunning visuals, elaborate costumes, and elaborate sets help to bring the opulence and decadence of the Jazz Age to life in a way that the book cannot.
• Adherence to the Source Material When comparing a book and its movie adaptation, it’s important to consider how faithful the movie is to the source material. While “The Great Gatsby” movie follows the basic plot of the book, it also takes some liberties with the story and characters. For instance, the movie adds some scenes and subplots that are not present in the book, and it changes some aspects of the characters’ personalities and motivations.
• Personal Preferences Ultimately, whether the book or the movie adaptation of “The Great Gatsby” is better is a matter of personal preference. Some readers may prefer the depth and complexity of the book, while others may enjoy the visual spectacle and soundtrack of the movie. Similarly, some viewers may prefer the movie’s changes and additions to the story, while others may prefer the more faithful adaptation of the book.

“The Great Gatsby” has been widely acclaimed as a masterpiece of American literature, but it has also generated a range of opinions and critiques over the years. In this section, we will explore the critical reception of the novel from its initial publication to the present day.

• Initial Reviews and Reactions When “The Great Gatsby” was first published in 1925, it received mixed reviews from critics. Some praised Fitzgerald’s lyrical prose and his evocative portrayal of the Jazz Age, while others criticized the book’s morality and shallow characters. Despite this mixed reception, the novel was a commercial success and has since become a classic of American literature.
• Modern-Day Opinions and Critiques In the decades since its publication, “The Great Gatsby” has been the subject of continued analysis and critique by scholars and readers alike. Some have praised the book for its exploration of the American Dream, its vivid characters, and its timeless themes of love, loss, and disillusionment. Others, however, have criticized the novel for its elitism, misogyny, and failure to fully engage with issues of race and class. Some readers have also found fault with the book’s ambiguous ending and its portrayal of the morally bankrupt wealthy elite.

“The Great Gatsby” remains a timeless classic that continues to captivate readers and viewers to this day. Through its vivid depictions of the Jazz Age and its cast of complex and multi-dimensional characters, the novel offers a powerful commentary on the themes of love, wealth, power, and the illusion of the American Dream.

The first section of the article discussed the plot of the book, highlighting its themes of love, wealth, and the corruption of the American Dream. The second section focused on the style and literary techniques used in the novel, such as symbolism and foreshadowing. The third section explored the characters of the book, providing insight into their motivations and personalities. The fourth section delved into the historical and cultural context of the 1920s, and the relevance of the novel to contemporary society. Finally, the fifth section explored the critical reception of “The Great Gatsby,” highlighting the initial reviews and modern-day opinions, as well as its impact on literature and popular culture.

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• Read TIME’s Original Review of <i>The Great Gatsby</i>

Read TIME’s Original Review of The Great Gatsby

T he main book review in the May 11, 1925, issue of TIME earned several columns of text, with an in-depth analysis of the book’s significance and the author’s background.

But, nearly a century later, you’ve probably never heard of Mr. Tasker’s Gods , by T.F. Powys, much less read it.

Meanwhile, another book reviewed in the issue, earning a single paragraph relegated to the second page of the section, has gone down in history as one of the most important works in American literature — and, to many, the great American novel. It was F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby , published exactly 90 years ago, on April 10, 1925.

TIME’s original review, though noting Fitzgerald’s talent, gave little hint of the fame waiting for the book:

THE GREAT GATSBY—F. Scott Fitzgerald—Scribner—($2.00). Still the brightest boy in the class, Scott Fitzgerald holds up his hand. It is noticed that his literary trousers are longer, less bell-bottomed, but still precious. His recitation concerns Daisy Fay who, drunk as a monkey the night before she married Tom Buchanan, muttered: “Tell ’em all Daisy’s chang’ her mind.” A certain penniless Navy lieutenant was believed to be swimming out of her emotional past. They gave her a cold bath, she married Buchanan, settled expensively at West Egg, L. I., where soon appeared one lonely, sinister Gatsby, with mounds of mysterious gold, ginny habits and a marked influence on Daisy. He was the lieutenant, of course, still swimming. That he never landed was due to Daisy’s baffled withdrawal to the fleshly, marital mainland. Due also to Buchanan’s disclosure that the mounds of gold were ill-got. Nonetheless, Yegg Gatsby remained Daisy’s incorruptible dream, unpleasantly removed in person toward the close of the book by an accessory in oil-smeared dungarees.

But not everyone had trouble seeing the future: in a 1933 cover story about Gertrude Stein, the intellectual icon offered her prognostications on the literature of her time. F. Scott Fitzgerald, she told TIME, “will be read when many of his well known contemporaries are forgotten.”

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‘The Great Gatsby’ review (the book, that is, circa 1925)

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Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby” opens wide this Friday. Eighty-eight years before -- to the day -- the Los Angeles Times ran this review of the original “The Great Gatsby,” the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Today, perception of the book’s reception in 1925 varies -- some say it was successful , others that it was a dismal failure -- but our review, by Lillian C. Ford, is purely positive. And she captures something of what has made the book a classic.

“The Seamy Side of Society,” read the headline, with this below: “In ‘The Great Gatsby,’ F. Scott Fitzgerald Creates a New Kind of Underworld Character and Throws the Spotlight on the Jaded Lives of the Idle Rich.” The full book review follows:

F. Scott Fitzgerald, who won premature fame in 1920 as the author of “This Side of Paradise,” a book that first turned into literary material the flapper of wealthy parents and of social position, whose principal lack was inhibitions, has in “The Great Gatsby” written a remarkable study of today. It is a novel not to be neglected by those who follow the trend of fiction.

Wisely, Mr. Fitzgerald tells his story through the medium of Nick Carroway [sic], who, after graduation from Yale in 1915 had “participated in the delayed Teutonic migration known as the great war.” When the story opens, Carroway had left his western home and had gone east to learn the bond business. He was living in a tiny house at West Egg, Long Island, near an emblazoned mansion owned by the great Gatsby, an almost mythical person who lived sumptuously, knew no one, but entertained everyone at his great parties given Saturday nights.

Very gradually this Gatsby is revealed as a restless, yearning, baffled nobody, whose connection with bootleggers and bond thieves is suggested, but never mapped out, an odd mixture of vanity and humility, of overgrown ego and of wistful seeker after life.

Across the bay from Gatsby’s mansion, in one of the white palaces of fashionable East Egg, lived Tom and Daisy Buchanan, transplanted from Chicago, but wealthy enough to flourish anywhere. Polo, jazz, cocktails were their earmarks. He, who had been a famous football end a few years before, was now “a sturdy straw-haired man of 30 year of age, with a hard mouth and supercilious manner.” Of his wife, Daisy, Mr. Fitzgerald tells us: “Her face was sad and lovely, with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright, passionate mouth, but there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget; a singing compulsion, a whispered ‘Listen,’ a promise that she had done gay, exciting things just a while since and that there were gay, exciting thing hovering in the next hour.”

Daisy soon confided to Nick that Buchanan had “a girl” and Buchanan verified this by asking Nick to a New York party, in which the blowsy wife of a village garage-keeper appeared as the mistress of a week-end flat supported by Buchanan.

That Daisy was humiliated, discomfited, wearied, was her not-too-zealously guarded secret. So when she met Gatsby and discovered in him an old lover, to whom she had been engaged when he was a lieutenant in a training camp, it was not strange that she should dally with him once more.

But it is for no such ordinary denouement that Mr. Fitzgerald tells his tale. Instead, he builds up a tense situation in which Daisy has the chance to choose Gatsby, with his doubtful antecedents and mysterious present connections, or to be as false as it has ever fallen to the lot of woman to be. She took the meaner way, the safe way, and plotted with her husband to save herself from smirch while letting Gatsby in for the worst that could befall him.

Character could not be more skillfully revealed than it is here. Buchanan and his wife, secure, but beneath contempt, standing shoulder to shoulder in the crisis, is a sad picture. “It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy -- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back to 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.”

The story is powerful as much for what is suggested as for what is told. It leaves the reader in a mood of chastened wonder, in which fact after fact, implication after implication is pondered over, weighed and measured. And when all are linked together, the weight of the story as a revelation of life and as a work of art becomes apparent. And it is very great. Mr. Fitzgerald has certainly arrived.

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Carolyn Kellogg is a prize-winning writer who served as Books editor of the Los Angeles Times for three years. She joined the L.A. Times in 2010 as staff writer in Books and left in 2018. In 2019, she was a judge of the National Book Award in Nonfiction. Prior to coming to The Times, Kellogg was editor of LAist.com and the web editor of the public radio show Marketplace. She has an MFA in creative writing from the University of Pittsburgh and a BA in English from the University of Southern California.

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The great gatsby: book review.

As a story outline, The Great Gatsby  is simple. There’s nothing that fancy or elaborate going on. It’s a writer’s book in a way, since it’s so simple and in many way obvious, yet works so wonderfully well. It’s constructed as a series of slow burning time bombs that make you simultaneously want them to both go off to relieve the pressure, but not go off, so you can enjoy the way things are slowly unraveling for as long as possible. It’s irresistible as a writer to want to take it apart and see how it works.

What makes the book sing is the first person narration, and how easy Fitzgerald makes it seem to blend internal thoughts with plotting, dialog and observation. He jumps though time and perspective but always makes you, as the reader, feel well cared for by the soft cushion of his narrative powers.

But there are moments that don’t age well: scenes of racism, which, on afterthought, were probably appropriate for 1920s America (and perhaps part of the commentary he was making about society. It’s hard to tell at times what he is criticizing and what he’s simply observing). Some manners of speech feel staged, but not having been born until 50 years after it was written it’s hard to argue whether he got it right or wrong. But none of those complaints stand in the way of what has always been a deeply worthwhile, and easy read.

Some choice non-spoiler quotes from the book:

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 as 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. Precisely at that point it vanished Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope. I am still a little afraid of missing something if I forget that, as my father snobbishly suggested, and I snobbishly repeat, a sense of the fundamental decencies is parceled out unequally at birth. No — Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and shortwinded elations of men. Something in his leisurely movements and the secure position of his feet upon the lawn suggested that it was Mr. Gatsby himself, come out to determine what share was his of our local heavens. The little dog was sitting on the table looking with blind eyes through the smoke, and from time to time groaning faintly. People disappeared, reappeared, made plans to go somewhere, and then lost each other, searched for each other, found each other a few feet away. Some time toward midnight Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood face to face, discussing in impassioned voices…

When I saw the  latest film version of The Great Gatsby (directed by Baz Luhrmann, of Moulin Rouge  fame), I was disappointed and delighted. Baz’s style fits his name, and the movie is grand, dramatic, over the top and nearly absurd, but also beautiful, shocking and intense. It seemed Baz didn’t see the film as a tragic commentary on the misguided capitalistic dream, or at least not enough to prevent the dance numbers and special effects to often take center stage. The revival of Gatsby parties seemed to have missed the point of who Gatsby was.

I’d always thought of the story as more smoldering than explosive, and more lyrical than confrontational. I still prefer the 1974 Redford version of the film , which was more stayed and placed a bigger bet on the strength of the story than on visual storytelling itself. Gatsby is meant to be a sad enigma, and it’s Carraway (played best by Sam Waterston) who has the burden of framing him for us. In the end, the most successful, best looking person in the story is the opposite of what he seems, yet it’s so easy to get lost along the way that this is what the story is truly about. Perhaps Fitzgerald was too soft in his telling of the story, as far too many people take other things away from it.

[updated 4-10-2016]

7 Responses to “The Great Gatsby: Book Review”

One of my favorite books of all-time. Funny enough, through each read over the years, my visual mind has always had DiCaprio playing the role.

I’d never imagined a specific actor for it, but when I saw the preview he instantly seemed like a great choice.

Thanks for the book review, Scott! I’m embarrassed to admit that I have yet to read THE GREAT GATSBY. However, my husband’s enthusiasm for it as one of the best books he’s ever read coupled with the fact that Baz Luhrmann made a movie (ROMEO + JULIET is a longtime favorite of mine) is enough to get me to read it.

Time to squeeze it into the book pile!

Hey, speaking of books for writers – have you read Stephen King’s ON WRITING? What do you think? I’m borrowing it from Jon Colman soon and will give it a read. Hope it will hone my approach to writing.

Thanks for the reminder of this book, Scott. I’ll have to read it again. Your description of “slow burning time bombs” is so great. I enjoyed the 1974 version of the film ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071577/ ), but cannot stomach the thought of watching DiCaprio play Jay Gatsby in the new one.

” What makes the book sing is first person narration” One of the reasons media fiction (hollywood/comics/radio) will never fully replace prose is that media can’t do first person narration very well. Moving pictures can’t do justice to Huckleberry Finn, Holden Caulfield or where readers learn about the world as the hero does, such as the detective in The Puppetmasters or the teens in Harry Turtledove’s Cross-time Traders series. As most computer nerds know, the gap in quality is especially wide between sci-fi (media) and sf. Strange how the public doesn’t get it.

I think you hit the nail on the head when you write about this being a fairly simple story which is nevertheless fun to pick apart. The beauty for me has always been in Fitzgerald’s ability to spin a sentence. Gorgeous.

My review: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Review: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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1/ Now go read Trimalchio ! 2/ I believe The Great Gatsby was inspired by Great Expectations . 3/ You may find this interesting: http://dgmyers.blogspot.no/2013/08/baz-luhrmanns-final-paper.html

Great review. The last ten pages of the novel are just exquisitely wrought. The automobile at the time was for the rich only, transforming America. The African Amerucans in the expensive motor vehicle are an important symbol of a changing America.

Thanks, I'll take a look at Trimalchio when I get a chance. I can certainly see the comparison with Great Expectations . Interesting post - properly puts the boot into Luhrmann's adaptation. Good discussion in the comments too. Clearly, quality people frequent the place. ;)

Thanks, Mel - thousands of words could probably be written about the Automobile in Gatsby . There are some great passages - I imagine a re-read would only throw up more for me to enjoy.

Great review and I knew the green light meant more but I did not tie it into jeaulously until I read this. Very good point.

Thanks, the green light is a brilliant metaphor - visually moving and deeply layered. Such a simple idea but one that works so well.

I always welcome comments...

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Book Review: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

You’ve likely heard of The Great Gatsby – either from the classic novel itself or the famous Leonardo Di Caprio film. The classic novel is quite clearly the more famous of the two among book lovers. Why this was piqued my interest and is the reason I picked it up.

Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any of the products via these links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you to support the blog. I do not let any of the affiliate links affect my opinion of the products.

With classic novels that you’ve heard of but aren’t sure why there’s a certain element of “why is this so famous?” Reading (well mostly listening) The Great Gatsby , at first I struggled with the why a lot. However, as I continued to immerse myself in the writing and the tale, I began to realise why this book is loved so much. The way it’s written and the tragic tale it tells.

The Great Gatsby follows not Jay Gatsby himself but his lowly neighbour Nick Carroway. Mr Carroway has heard of Gatsby through rumours around town. He hosts a lot of parties and everyone seems to have been to one. One night, Nick Carroway is invited to one of Gatsby’s parties and gets to know the man himself and what ensues will change Nick Carroway’s life significantly.

Throughout the next 100+ pages (yes it’s a short book) F Scott Fitzgerald tells the tale of a man whose legend far outweighs his manner. Gatsby has fought in a war, he’s studied at Oxford and has quite the many stories to tell. However, this tale tells of how none of this means anything when it all comes down to it. The Great Gatsby is a man like everyone, he’s flawed, he’s chasing a woman and he’s deeply lonely despite having a large house, lots of money, and large parties.

The plot itself is slow. This novel was written in 1925, a time before authors cared more plot and cared more about how their book was written. However, Fitzgerald tells a sad tale and one that does keep you interested throughout.

Characters – 4/5

Despite being “Great”, Gatsby himself is quite the dull character. In all, most of the characters in the novel are quite dull. Again, I would argue this is a sign of the times the book was written. These days there’s so much more emphasis on building deeper characters and twisting plots. However, their personalities were all succinct and defined.

The supporting cast threw in some humour and some drama with Tom Buchanan being one of the bigger personalities with his confrontation towards Gatsby and his constant questions. This is a book that’s a mix of plot and characters, however, I feel the telling of the stories of the characters is the main role this book serves and it does an OK job at this.

Summary – 4/5

The Great Gatsby has been studied in American schools for decades, it’s been performed in stage plays and been made into movies, and is still widely considered one of the greatest forms of American literature. There’s no doubt I can see why. However, for the type of book I like to read, it just didn’t press all my buttons.

Don’t get me wrong, this book is wonderfully written, in fact, it’s an absolute joy to read and listen to simply for its prose. However, I love a good plot and I love a good set of deep characters with real personalities and unfortunately, I didn’t get that here. SO just a four from me. Feel free to disagree or agree in the comments below!

• Why not pick up a copy of The Great Gatsby here?

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One thought on “ Book Review: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald ”

I’m doing an EPQ focusing around The Great Gatsby and was curious on what your thoughts are on a few questions I have. -Who does Daisy truly love? -If it was true love for Daisy why did money matter so much for her? -Was Gatsby’s love genuine or is it only a reflection of the past and how it made him feel? You said “.. .characters with real personalities and unfortunately, I didn’t get that here” could this be to the fact that the characters were so obsessed with money it prevented any true emotion? If you could please get back to me on my questions I’d really appreciate it, many thanks.

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Book Review: The Great Gatsby

Director of programs and education, martha williams, recommends the great gatsby by f. scott fitzgerald..

It’s been at least ten years since I last read The Great Gatsby . Like many, I first read the novel in high school, where some of my peers adored the story while others adamantly hated it. I remember being mesmerized by Fitzgerald’s language, impressed by narrator Nick Carraway’s observations of humanity, and appalled by the rich and “careless” Buchanans and the wreckage left in their wake. I honestly didn’t know what to think of Jay “The Great” Gatsby himself—the self-created man who yearns for Daisy Buchanan and a revival of their young love.

Upon re-reading the book in my 20s, I saw new complexities and felt a fresh tenderness for Jay Gatsby, who risks everything for a dream. On this most recent reading, now in my late 30s, I saw anew the “infinite hope” for possibility that Gatsby stands for, even as we know he is doomed from the novel’s opening pages. I felt drawn to Gatsby’s belief – “Can’t repeat the past? … Why of course you can!” – even as I am now (somewhat) wise enough to know better. Despite the darkness hanging over Nick’s telling of what happened that dangerous and thrilling summer in 1922, when he met his neighbor Gatsby and attended his extravagant Long Island parties…

…I soak up the story every time of this dreamer chasing what is already behind him.

If I had to say what The Great Gatsby is about, I’d say it’s about hope, about longing and nostalgia; but it’s also about class and disillusionment, memory, and performance. Do you see how I’m avoiding summarizing the plot for you? I find it nearly impossible to summarize in a few sentences all that Fitzgerald captures with this slim masterpiece. He captures a period 100 years distant from our own—the wild Jazz Age of 1920s New York—but alive with the same concerns of today: class mobility, race and immigration, the realities of the “American dream,” and the dangers of seeking a past that has already slipped away. And even through this weight…

…I am born aloft with each reading, courtesy of Fitzgerald’s myriad layers and the beautiful language that unfolds with each visit.

Join us this winter as we read The Great Gatsby together as our 2024 community-wide Winter Read . Our programs January 31 to March 15 delve into the novel’s history, examine why it still resonates (or doesn’t!), how it was reborn and became standard classroom fare decades after being published, and how contemporary writers are reimagining the story today and connecting new readers to this timeless tale. Through these programs and discussion groups throughout the valley, I hope you’ll embark on this story for the first time or revisit it with us, engage in conversation with your neighbors, families, and friends, and…

…experience how stories bring us together and give us ways to talk about America and our place in it.

Find The Great Gatsby in print, ebook, eaudiobook, and CD here.

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The Great Gatsby: A Classic Book Review

“The Great Gatsby” is a classic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald that has captured the hearts of readers for nearly a century. Set in the 1920s, the story takes us into the world of Jay Gatsby, a wealthy and mysterious man who is obsessed with winning back his lost love, Daisy Buchanan.

As a book that is widely considered a masterpiece of American literature, “The Great Gatsby” has been adapted into films, plays, and even video games.

It has become a cultural touchstone and a symbol of the American Dream. In this review, we’ll explore what makes “The Great Gatsby” such a timeless masterpiece and why it’s still worth reading today.

Currently, the paperback of this absolute classic is available on Amazon for less than USD 6.

Scott Fitzgerald’s Plot

“The Great Gatsby” tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire who has risen from humble beginnings to become one of the wealthiest men in America. Gatsby is known for his lavish parties, which are attended by the rich and famous of the era.

However, there is more to Gatsby than meets the eye. He is obsessed with Daisy Buchanan, a woman he fell in love with years ago but lost to another man. Gatsby spends his time and money throwing parties in the hopes that Daisy will attend one of them and fall in love with him again.

The story is told from the perspective of Nick Carraway, a young man, yet a World War I veteran, who has just moved to New York City to work in the bond business. Nick lives in a small house next door to Gatsby’s mansion in Long Island and is quickly drawn into Gatsby’s world of excess, extravagant parties, and intrigue. As Nick gets to know Gatsby, he learns about Gatsby’s past and his obsession with Daisy. The story climaxes with a tragic ending that leaves the characters and the reader questioning the meaning of the American Dream and social status.

Themes and Motifs

One of the central themes of “The Great Gatsby” is the American Dream. Gatsby embodies the idea that anyone can achieve success and wealth in America if they work hard enough. However, the story also explores the corrupting influence of money and the dangers of pursuing material wealth at the expense of love and happiness. Fitzgerald shows us that the Dream is not always what it seems and that the pursuit of wealth can lead to destruction and tragedy.

Another important theme in the novel is the concept of illusion versus reality. Throughout the story, we see how the characters create illusions for themselves and for others. Gatsby creates an illusion of himself as a wealthy and powerful man in order to win back Daisy’s love. Check out my review of Murakami’s Norwegian Wood which also explores the theme of illusion versus reality.

Daisy creates an illusion of herself as a naive and innocent woman when in reality, she is just as corrupt as the rest of the characters. The Valley of Ashes, a desolate area between New York City and West Egg, symbolizes the stark contrast between illusion and reality.

The motif of time is also prominent in “The Great Gatsby.” The story takes place during the 1920s, a time of great social change and upheaval. The characters are all trying to hold onto the past, whether it’s Gatsby’s obsession with his lost love or Daisy’s longing for the innocence of her youth. The novel suggests that the past is something that cannot be recaptured and that the characters’ attempts to do so only lead to pain and suffering.

Writing Style

Fitzgerald’s writing style is often described as poetic and lyrical. He uses vivid imagery and symbolism to create a rich and immersive world that draws the reader in. His prose is full of metaphors and similes that paint a picture of the characters and their surroundings.

Fitzgerald’s use of color symbolism is also notable in “The Great Gatsby.” The color green represents Gatsby’s hope for the future and his obsession with Daisy. The color yellow symbolizes corruption and decay, as seen in the Valley of Ashes and the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg. The color white represents innocence and purity, which is ironic given the corrupt nature of the characters in the story.

Fitzgerald’s writing also captures the spirit of the Jazz Age, with its fast-paced, high-energy style. He uses dialogue and slang to create a sense of the time period and the culture of the era. His descriptions of the parties and social gatherings are so vivid that the reader can almost hear the music and feel the excitement of the crowd.

The characters in “The Great Gatsby” are complex and multifaceted, each with their own motivations and flaws. Jay Gatsby is the most enigmatic of the characters, a man who is both admired and despised by those around him. He is driven by his love for Daisy, but his obsession with her leads to his downfall.

Daisy Buchanan is a tragic character who is caught between her love for Gatsby and her loyalty to her husband, Tom. She is selfish and shallow, but also vulnerable and sympathetic. Tom Buchanan is a wealthy and powerful man who represents the corruption and decay of the era. He is a bully and a philanderer who is willing to use violence to get what he wants.

World War Veteran Nick Carraway is the narrator and the moral center of the story. He is an outsider who is drawn into the world of the wealthy and the powerful. He is a sympathetic character who is both fascinated and repelled by the excess and the corruption around him.

Personal Opinion; My Gatsby Book Review

As a 35-year-old woman, I first read “The Great Gatsby” in high school and have revisited it several times since then. Each time I read it, I discover something new and relevant to my life. What makes “The Great Gatsby” such a timeless masterpiece is its ability to capture the spirit of an era while also addressing universal themes that are still relevant today.

The story of Jay Gatsby’s rise and fall is both tragic and romantic, and Fitzgerald’s writing style is both beautiful and haunting. The characters are flawed and complex, and their struggles with love, ambition, and morality are relatable to readers of all ages and backgrounds.

The themes of illusion versus reality, and the passage of time are as relevant today as they were in the 1920s. The novel’s critique of materialism and the corruption of wealth is especially relevant in today’s society, where the pursuit of wealth and power often leads to moral decay and social inequality.

Great Gatsby Movie 2013

This classic novel was filmed in 2013, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the titular character. The film captures the excess and glamour of the roaring 1920s in all its glory. The plot follows the young and enigmatic millionaire Gatsby as he tries to win back the heart of his former love, Daisy Buchanan (played by Carey Mulligan), who is now married to the wealthy and brutish Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). Set against the backdrop of the opulent Long Island society, the film explores themes of love, obsession, and the illusion of the American Dream.

What sets Luhrmann’s version of The Great Gatsby apart from other adaptations is his unique visual style, which is both grandiose and extravagant. The film is shot in 3D, and Luhrmann uses an array of visual effects, such as slow-motion, fast cuts, and a vivid color palette to create a surreal and dreamlike atmosphere.

The film’s soundtrack also features modern music, with artists such as Jay-Z, Lana Del Rey, and Florence and the Machine contributing to the score. This blending of contemporary and period elements creates an electrifying and immersive experience for the audience.

Despite mixed reviews upon its initial release, The Great Gatsby has become a beloved and iconic film, with many praising its stunning visuals and strong performances. DiCaprio’s portrayal of Gatsby is particularly noteworthy, capturing both the character’s charisma and vulnerability. Mulligan and Edgerton also give standout performances, bringing depth to their characters’ complex relationships.

In conclusion, Luhrmann’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby is a dazzling and extravagant film that captures the essence of Fitzgerald’s novel while also adding its own unique flair. The film is a feast for the eyes and ears, with stunning visuals and a memorable soundtrack. It remains a must-watch for fans of the novel and anyone looking for a visually stunning and emotionally resonant cinematic experience.

In conclusion, “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a timeless masterpiece that continues to captivate readers nearly a century after its publication. The novel’s exploration of illusion versus reality, and the passage of time make it a relevant and poignant commentary on modern society.

Fitzgerald’s beautiful and haunting writing style, coupled with his vivid imagery and complex characters, make “The Great Gatsby” a must-read for anyone who loves literature and wants to understand the human condition. I think it is fair to say everyone should read this jazz age, Fitzgerald’s masterpiece.

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THE GREAT GATSBY

A graphic novel adaptation.

by F. Scott Fitzgerald & K. Woodman-Maynard ; illustrated by K. Woodman-Maynard ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 5, 2021

A disappointing stand-in for the original.

Nearly a century after its first publication, the English class mainstay is presented in graphic form, presenting the story of Nick, a young man who rents a mansion in Long Island for the summer, and an enigmatic party host named Gatsby.

Fitzgerald’s dialogue appears in speech bubbles while Nick’s signature nonjudgmental judgments are woven into the art itself, appearing in the beam of a lightbulb, the shadow of the self-important Tom Buchanan’s imposing frame, or the chaise that Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker seemingly ceaselessly lounge on. Woodman-Maynard’s adaptation of the text is understandably quite abridged, but it does the book no favors. The great revelation that Gatsby is (spoiler alert) not a trust fund kid but an imposter is afforded a single page, and the fact of his past affair with Daisy is so murkily depicted that it feels less tragic romance and more moony boy and Manic Pixie Dream Girl. The class issues that make the original novel so compelling are thus less than adequately examined. Where the book truly shines is in a few striking images, some metaphorical and some text based, rendered in cool, languid watercolor and digital art. As Woodman-Maynard indicates in the author’s note, those who are not familiar with the novel should begin there; those more familiar with the story will be able to fill in the gaps as they read this condensed version.

Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-5362-1301-0

Page Count: 240

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2020

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT LITERARY FICTION | GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS | GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS

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More by F. Scott Fitzgerald

BOOK REVIEW

by F. Scott Fitzgerald edited by Dave Page

by F. Scott Fitzgerald edited by James L.W. West III

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN

by Gene Luen Yang ; illustrated by Gurihiru ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 12, 2020

A clever and timely conversation on reclaiming identity and acknowledging one’s full worth.

Superman confronts racism and learns to accept himself with the help of new friends.

In this graphic-novel adaptation of the 1940s storyline entitled “The Clan of the Fiery Cross” from The Adventures of Superman radio show, readers are reintroduced to the hero who regularly saves the day but is unsure of himself and his origins. The story also focuses on Roberta Lee, a young Chinese girl. She and her family have just moved from Chinatown to Metropolis proper, and mixed feelings abound. Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane’s colleague from the Daily Planet , takes a larger role here, befriending his new neighbors, the Lees. An altercation following racial slurs directed at Roberta’s brother after he joins the local baseball team escalates into an act of terrorism by the Klan of the Fiery Kross. What starts off as a run-of-the-mill superhero story then becomes a nuanced and personal exploration of the immigrant experience and blatant and internalized racism. Other main characters are White, but Black police inspector William Henderson fights his own battles against prejudice. Clean lines, less-saturated coloring, and character designs reminiscent of vintage comics help set the tone of this period piece while the varied panel cuts and action scenes give it a more modern sensibility. Cantonese dialogue is indicated through red speech bubbles; alien speech is in green.

Pub Date: May 12, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-77950-421-0

Publisher: DC

Review Posted Online: Feb. 29, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020

SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES | GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS

More by Gene Luen Yang

by Gene Luen Yang ; illustrated by LeUyen Pham

by Gene Luen Yang ; illustrated by Les McClaine & Alison Acton

by Gene Luen Yang ; illustrated by Les McClaine & Alison Acton ; color by Karina Edwards & Alex Campbell

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Awards & Accolades

Our Verdict

Kirkus Reviews' Best Books Of 2017

New York Times Bestseller

by Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand Hess ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2017

A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told.

The 17-year-old son of a troubled rock star is determined to find his own way in life and love.

On the verge of adulthood, Blade Morrison wants to leave his father’s bad-boy reputation for drug-and-alcohol–induced antics and his sister’s edgy lifestyle behind. The death of his mother 10 years ago left them all without an anchor. Named for the black superhero, Blade shares his family’s connection to music but resents the paparazzi that prevent him from having an open relationship with the girl that he loves. However, there is one secret even Blade is unaware of, and when his sister reveals the truth of his heritage during a bitter fight, Blade is stunned. When he finally gains some measure of equilibrium, he decides to investigate, embarking on a search that will lead him to a small, remote village in Ghana. Along the way, he meets people with a sense of purpose, especially Joy, a young Ghanaian who helps him despite her suspicions of Americans. This rich novel in verse is full of the music that forms its core. In addition to Alexander and co-author Hess’ skilled use of language, references to classic rock songs abound. Secondary characters add texture to the story: does his girlfriend have real feelings for Blade? Is there more to his father than his inability to stay clean and sober? At the center is Blade, fully realized and achingly real in his pain and confusion.

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-310-76183-9

Page Count: 464

Publisher: Blink

Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT LITERARY FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES

More by Kwame Alexander

by Kwame Alexander

by Kwame Alexander & Deanna Nikaido ; illustrated by Melissa Sweet

by Kwame Alexander ; illustrated by Dare Coulter

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Book Review

The great gatsby.

• F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Contemporary

Readability Age Range

• High school and up
• Scribner Classics, a division of the MacMillan Reference Library (but is licensed to other publishers and is in the public domain, but only in countries outside of the United States)

Year Published

This modernist novel of manners by F. Scott Fitzgerald is published by Scribner Classics, a division of the MacMillan Reference Library (but is licensed to other publishers and is in the public domain, but only in countries outside of the United States). This book is written for adults, yet it is often studied in high school during 11th grade.

Plot Summary

After graduating from college and serving in the first World War, Nick Caraway, the narrator of this story, gets a job as a bonds broker in New York City. He rents a bungalow outside of the city, on the less fashionable side of Long Island Sound called West Egg. His second cousin Daisy who lives with her husband, Tom, in East Egg is unhappy in her marriage, but she enjoys being rich. Daisy introduces Nick to Jordan Baker, a famous golf star, but Jordan has a problem with lying.

Nick travels to work by train. One day Tom introduces Nick to his mistress, Myrtle Wilson, who is married to a mechanic in the area. They go to the city on the train and end up at an apartment Tom owns. Nick meets the neighbors, and they all get drunk.

Nick is eventually invited to one of the many parties thrown by his neighbor Jay Gatsby. Nick finds Jordan at the party and decides that he doesn’t mind her dishonesty, even though he is a very honest person. Before he becomes involved with her, Nick decides he must first break off his relationship with a girl back home.

Gatsby, as everyone calls his neighbor, changed his name from James Gatz when he was 17. He is extremely wealthy, and there are rumors about his background, but no one knows exactly where he’s from or how he got his money. Nick later learns that Gatsby worked for Dan Cody, who made millions, and he was promised $25,000 at the man’s death. Gatsby never received a penny, though, because Cody’s wife finagled the situation. The story hints that Gatsby is a bootlegger.

Gatsby throws extravagant parties most nights during the summer. Rich and famous people come from all over the state to attend. Gatsby’s parties are so well known that one day a reporter appears on his porch and asks for a comment. The man doesn’t know exactly who Gatsby is or what he does but, because his name is bandied about by all the right people, the reporter believes he’s on the edge of something newsworthy — though he has no idea what that might be.

Gatsby and Nick slowly get to know each other. Jordan tells Nick how Gatsby used to know Daisy before she married Tom. Gatsby is still in love with Daisy, and he asks Nick to invite Daisy over to Nick’s house for tea. When Nick does, Gatsby and Daisy slowly become reacquainted, first at Nick’s house and then at Gatsby’s. Gatsby has waited five years to see Daisy again; he has to adjust his thoughts to the reality of her presence.

Daisy and Tom are invited to one of Gatsby’s parties. Daisy is fascinated by it, but she doesn’t seem to have a good time. Soon after, Gatsby no longer throws parties and lets his staff go. He hires a tougher, smaller crowd to take care of his house so Daisy can visit in the afternoons.

Nick and Gatsby are invited to Tom’s house one afternoon. When Tom leaves the room, Daisy kisses Gatsby and says she loves him. Jordan says that Tom is talking to his mistress, Myrtle. In the midst of this, Daisy and Tom’s daughter is introduced to the guests.

Later, Nick, Gatsby, Tom, Jordan and Daisy go for a drive to the city. When they fill up with gas, Nick learns that Mr. Wilson (Myrtle’s husband) is upset with his wife. He thinks she has been having an affair, but he doesn’t know with whom. At the same time, Tom realizes that Daisy has a life beyond her life with him. He doesn’t like this idea.

Once in the city, Nick, Jordan, Tom, Gatsby and Daisy rent a parlor at The Plaza and make mint juleps. Gatsby tells Tom that Daisy has never loved him. Tom responds that Daisy loves him (Tom) — only sometimes she is foolish, so he goes off with a mistress. But whenever his time with other women comes to an end, he always comes back to her and tells her he loves her. Tom talks about Gatsby as a commoner because of how he made his money, and Daisy wavers in her conviction that she has only loved Gatsby. Tom orders Daisy and Gatsby to drive home together. As they do, Daisy, who is driving, drives so fast that she hits Myrtle, when Myrtle runs into the road to stop the car. Daisy does not stop to see what happened to Myrtle, but continues driving.

No one knows who hit and killed Myrtle, except for Gatsby, Daisy and Nick. Tom and Jordan suspect that Gatsby is the culprit. Tom tells Mr. Wilson that the car that hit Mrs. Wilson belongs to Gatsby. Because of this, Mr. Wilson believes that Gatsby has been having an affair with his wife and has killed her. He goes to Gatsby’s house and shoots him. Gatsby falls into his pool and drowns. Then Mr. Wilson kills himself.

In the end, only Gatsby’s father, Henry C. Gatz, Nick and one business “friend” attend the funeral. Tom and Daisy leave town quietly. Nick is disgusted with those he thought were his friends. He breaks off his relationship with Jordan and wants nothing to do with the rich.

Christian Beliefs

One Sunday morning, the church bells play in the background while Gatsby holds another party. After Wilson says he doesn’t belong to a church, a neighbor tells him that he should go to church, and they will help him get through the pain caused by his wife’s death.

Other Belief Systems

Gatsby believes that money can buy everything, even love.

Authority Roles

Nick’s parents initially play a role in his decision to become a bond broker. Once he moves to New York City, he is not under anyone’s authority, and the people he lives around seem to feel that money is the only authority. In the end, Nick realizes that Tom and Daisy are careless people who wreck the lives of others and then hide behind their money and power.

Profanity & Violence

Words such as d–n, son of a b—ch and h— are used, and God’s name is taken in vain a number of times. When Tom and Myrtle are drunk, she insists on speaking about his wife, Daisy. To stop her, Tom hits Myrtle and breaks her nose. When both are drunk at one of Gatsby’s parties, Mrs. Ulysses Sweat’s car runs over Mr. Ripley Schnell’s hand. Mention is made of G. Earl Muldoon, a man at Gatsby’s party who would eventually kill his wife.

Henry L. Palmetto is mentioned as jumping in front of a subway train to kill himself. Brewer, another guest, was shot in the nose during the war. When Gatsby’s car hits Myrtle, who lunges at it, a description is given regarding how her breast is partially ripped from her body and hanging loosely.

Sexual Content

Women are sometimes described with words such as “small-breasted.” Tom has a mistress, Myrtle, and he doesn’t hide her from New York society, only from his wife. When he is out eating with Myrtle in the city, he often leaves her at the table and goes to talk to other acquaintances in the restaurant. They have an apartment in the city where they go to be together. During the summer, Nick has a brief affair with a girl at work, but no more information is given about her or the affair. Nick pulls Jordan to him and kisses her. Gatsby is described as someone who has “known” women early, which causes him to despise virgins for their lack of knowledge and hysterics about things that he thinks are not important. Tom accuses Gatsby of making trouble in his house, and Tom says that next Gatsby will want to make love to his wife. Later, Gatsby tells Nick how he first slept with Daisy on an October night.

Discussion Topics

If your children have read this book or someone has read it to them, consider these discussion topics:

• Why was Nick lonely?
• What makes you feel lonely?
• What caused him to feel as if he finally belonged in his community?
• How do small acts of kindness help both the giver and the receiver?
• How does Nick’s kind act help him?

What kind thing have you done for others?

What does Nick expect from the rich?

• How does he end up feeling about them?
• What makes the crimes of the rich disgusting to Nick?

Do you think money can hide all the things that you do wrong?

Why does Nick forgive Jordan of her lying?

• How does Jordan’s lying hurt her and others?
• Is Nick really an honest person if he chooses to have a relationship with someone who is an obsessive liar?

Who is he lying to?

Who do you think Daisy really loves?

• When you only love yourself, how do your actions hurt others?

How does Daisy’s love for herself hurt others?

Who is Gatsby enamored with?

• What does he do wrong?
• What might have happened if he wasn’t killed?

How do you think Gatsby would have reacted to Daisy leaving him?

What are Tom’s ideas about races and people?

• Why are his ideas wrong?
• What does he gain by believing the way he does?

Additional Comments

Prejudice: Tom rails about how white people are losing control of things, and those who are not Nordic are not the dominant race. He reads a book about how black people have built their empires. The implication is that he doesn’t want them doing the same thing in his country.

Gambling: Nick meets Meyer Wolfshiem, who Gatsby says fixed the World Series in 1919.

Movie tie-in: Producers often use a book as a springboard for a movie idea or to earn a specific rating. Because of this, a movie may differ from the novel. To better understand how this book and the movie differ, compare the book review with Plugged In’s movie review for The Great Gatsby .

Book reviews cover the content, themes and world-views of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. A book’s inclusion does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.

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The ‘Great Gatsby’ Glut

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel about America and aspiration is now in the public domain, so new editions, as well as a graphic novel and a zombie adaptation, have gotten the green light.

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By John Williams

If you’ve been planning to read (or reread) “ The Great Gatsby, ” your biggest challenge now might be deciding on which edition.

Every Jan. 1, books, songs, movies and other copyrighted works more than 95 years old enter the public domain . This year, that includes F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic, first published in 1925, as well as the Virginia Woolf novel “Mrs. Dalloway.”

Scribner, which had held the rights to “Gatsby” since it first appeared, reissued the novel in 2018 with a new introduction by the two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward . Now, in addition, readers can choose versions with introductions by John Grisham (Vintage Classics), Min Jin Lee (Penguin Classics), Malcolm Bradbury (Everyman’s Library) and Wesley Morris, a critic at large for The Times (Modern Library). In March, Norton Critical Editions will publish the novel with an introduction and annotations by the Harvard scholar David J. Alworth.

Four of those editions are issued by imprints at one publisher, Penguin Random House. Tom Perry, the publisher of Modern Library, said that some decisions about what to bring under his division’s umbrella, like “The Great Gatsby,” are easier than others.

“Deciding to publish ‘Gatsby’ or ‘A Passage to India’ didn’t require a lot of mulling over,” he said. “While we are spending more time trying to expand the current classics canon by finding more overlooked books and under-published voices, like the poetry of Chika Sagawa or ‘There Is Confusion,’ by Jessie Redmon Fauset, to not publish these 20th-century classics when they become available would be like not putting ‘Moby-Dick’ on the 19th-century shelf.”

If you prefer reinvention to reinterpretation, the lapse of copyright protection also means that writers and artists can mine the characters and plots of a work for their own purposes without having to ask permission or pay a fee. K. Woodman-Maynard, for example, has adapted “Gatsby” into a graphic novel (Candlewick Press). The illustrator Adam Simpson has created extensive art for a new edition (Black Dog & Leventhal). Independently published variations on the novel include “The Gay Gatsby,” by B.A. Baker, and, in the tradition of “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” “The Great Gatsby Undead,” by Kristen Briggs. (From the promotional copy: “Gatsby doesn’t seem to eat anything, and has an aversion to silver, garlic and the sun, but good friends are hard to come by.”)

The most ambitious early entry in the reimagining game might be “Nick” (Little, Brown) , a novel by Michael Farris Smith that tells the life of Nick Carraway, Fitzgerald’s narrator, before he arrived on Long Island and became caught in Gatsby’s orbit. The book follows his harrowing experiences in World War I and time later spent in New Orleans.

Smith first read “Gatsby” when it was assigned to him as a teenager (“I truly didn’t get it,” he said) and again in his 20s (“I started to feel it”), a period in which he was often living abroad, including in Paris. But it wasn’t until 2014, after Smith had published his first novel, that Fitzgerald’s work fully grabbed him.

Smith related to Carraway’s detachment and disillusionment. “The moment that really spoke to me,” he said, “was when he was about to turn 30, and he was expecting a ‘decade of loneliness.’ That struck me right in the heart, because I was that age when I came home and I had decided I wanted to write. My friends had found jobs, gotten married, had children. I felt like an alien.”

Struck by just how little the reader comes to know about Carraway, Smith remembers thinking, “It would be really interesting if someone were to write his story.” He immediately set out to do that, writing the novel five years ago, not telling his editor or agent.

“I didn’t want to hear it was impossible,” Smith said. “I just knew I was emotionally invested in it and I wanted to do it. I didn’t even think about the copyright issue, to be honest. I just assumed it was expired.”

It wasn’t. And while it was set to expire this year, Smith knew it was potentially subject to further changes in the law. “I’ve sat here every year thinking, ‘Is the copyright going to change?’ I didn’t know if it would be five years, 10 years, 20 years, whatever,” he said.

Often cited as a — if not the — great American novel, the new editions of “Gatsby” allow for fresh analysis, nearly a century later, of what our ideas of “American” now entail. Morris, who received the Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 2012, parses the book’s themes using references to blackface, industrialization, “capitalism as an emotion,” silent films, reality television and, uniting these strands, what it means to “perform versions of oneself.” (Morris writes, “Fitzgerald had captured that change in the American character: Merely being oneself wouldn’t suffice.”)

Lee, a National Book Award finalist who moved to the United States from South Korea when she was 7, described herself as someone who’s “always approached books as a way to learn more about America.” Because of her formative experiences, “I always identify with the marginal people,” she said. “That’s the way I can immediately understand where I would be. When I read about Myrtle, I can totally see her.”

To her mind, the book’s cleareyed view of money and class is still a rarity. “We can talk about race all day and night in the 21st century,” Lee said, “but not money.”

As a young reader relatively new to the United States, she did read the book as a cautionary tale, but mostly about trusting and falling in love with the wrong people. “I didn’t think of it as ‘The American dream isn’t true,’” she said. “I just thought, ‘Don’t be like Gatsby.’”

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10 Movies That Are Better If You Read the Book First

C inema is an integral part of storytelling, simultaneously allowing experimentation with narratives and visuals. Although it stands at a significant position on its own, film as a medium evolves in great proximity to film as a medium evolves in great proximity to literature . The stories expressed through prose eventually find a way to make it on the big screen, whether they be direct adaptations or sources of sole inspiration.

Consuming films may be a relatively more straightforward activity than reading a book. Due to a lack of time or attention span, it does not matter—it is a commonly known fact that books require more effort and time to be both acknowledged and appreciated. This is why film adaptations often capture the audience's intrigue and steal the spotlight, but some stories still require their original prose to be subjected to genuine recognition. Their cinematic siblings are praiseworthy, of course, but here are 10 films that insistently want you to read the book first—if you want the authentic experience.

Related: The Greatest Book-To-Movie Adaptations of the 2000s

The Lovely Bones

Alice Sebold’s drama thriller novel The Lovely Bones , about the brutal murder of a 14-year-old girl (played by Saoirse Ronan), was adapted to film by Peter Jackson in 2009. Saoirse’s character Susie falls victim to the cruel intentions of her neighbor George Harvey in the 1970s. However, stuck in a limbo-esque state, Susie continues to observe and even lead her family throughout the investigation of her disappearance and death. Combining a coming-of-age structure with crime, the afterlife, and the pursuit of justice, The Lovely Bones proposes a complex portrayal of death and heartbreak.

Expectantly, the story's emotional depth is presented much more clearly in the book, emphasizing grief, loss , forgiveness, and resilience. The character developments are relatively more prosperous, and the prose also gives its readers a chance to truly form a bond with Susie and be morally and emotionally invested in her murder. By engaging with the book first, the audience can witness additional character arcs, backstories, and subplots while also understanding its true emotional complexity.

The Girl on the Train

A psychological thriller by Paula Hawkins, The Girl on the Train tells the story about Rachel Watson, an alcoholic woman with psychological troubles that only further her entanglement with an ongoing missing person investigation. The book was adapted into film in 2016 by Tate Taylor and features Emily Blunt as Watson. Tackling deception, perception, memory, and secrets too dark to express overtly, The Girl on the Train studies the underlying mysteries of seemingly ordinary lives.

The psychological depth of Rachel’s addiction, guilt, and unreliable memories are traced in the book with utmost characterization. The bleak suburban landscape is described with great detail, and the tension is built through extreme immersion in the story and its setting. Also, the structure of its non-linear storytelling becomes firmly established with the novel, and the film’s similar experiments of time become the cherry on top.

Love, Rosie

A romantic comedy novel by Cecelia Ahern, Love, Rosie was adapted to film with the same name in 2014 by Christian Ditter. Following the lives of Rosie Dunne (Lily Collins) and Alex Stewart (Sam Claflin), the story is about two childhood best friends that try to navigate through life and love with various obstacles and missed opportunities. The story looks at the emotional counterparts of long-distance relationships, separation, and the harsh discipline of timing. Since it is essentially a contemporary love story that features the love of both friendships and romantic relationships, the epistolary formatting of Love, Rosie ’s book is quite significant.

Adding depth and increasing levels of empathy, the letters written between the characters help trace the expanded span of time the story takes place in and gives a deeper characterization of the two protagonists than the film is able to. However, one massive perk of the book is the alternate endings and resolutions it proposes for the story’s ending. Allowing the audience to engage with different possible outcomes, the novel actually strengthens the emotional impact of the story and situates its reader in a more active and immersed position.

The Remains of the Day

Written by Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day was adapted to film in 1993 by James Ivory. Revolving around a butler, Steven, residing in the English countryside, in a house called the Darlington Hall, the story is set in the years leading up to World War ll . Steven’s thoughts on his career, the relationship he shares with Miss Kenton, the housekeeper, and his dedicated loyalty to his Employer, Lord Darlington comprise the general sense of the plot.

Though the film captures the book's essence and atmosphere, there are still several reasons why the book remains relevant and significant. First and foremost, Ishiguro’s prose style is quite distinctive and evocative, and contributes characterization to the delicate subtlety of the story. His nuanced storytelling and its effect on Steven's narrative perspective as a character and his path of self-realization and transformation are pivotal to comprehending the subtext and intricate symbolism.

The GodFather

The highly acclaimed film of Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather , was a crime novel of the same name written by Mario Puzo. Following the Corleone family, headed by Vito Corleone, the narrative represents the Italian-American mafia scene . Throughout the trilogy, the story explores themes of power, loyalty, family, and organized crime by diving into the inner family dynamics and rivalries of the Corleones.

The filmic trilogy is a renowned masterpiece at this point, but the impression created by the books is crucial for one to grasp the reality of its story. Puzo’s writing style directly reflects the gritty and compelling nature of the mafia world. Aided by characteristic narrative style, the story in the book thus offers broader perspectives on the relationships and criminal network operations of the Corleone family. Themes of morality, honor, loyalty, and blurring of the difference between good and evil are collectively embedded into the narration structure and tone of the book. While the films’ success and quality are immeasurable, the book’s code of loyalty and display of power dynamics are expressed in greater detail.

Related: Recently Banned Books That Deserve a Film Adaptation

Trainspotting

Irvine Welsh’s 1993 black comedy-drama novel Trainspotting was adapted into a film by Danny Boyle in 1996. A group of heroin addicts in 1980s Edinburgh struggle with the challenges of drug addiction and try to break free from its viciously destructive cycle. The friend group is not only entrenched in the Edinburgh drug scene but also engages in various other illegal activities that support their habits. Explicating each character’s physical, emotional, and psychological process of heroin addiction and its devastating effects is an intricate task in the films.

The book, however, delves into the recovery attempts, relapses, themes of identity, and escape in a manner that immerses its reader through the Scottish dialect and linguistic style, the inner monologue of the characters expanded subplots, and the raw and gritty realism of desperation. It is additionally a study of the relevant sociocultural status of the characters. It discusses the socioeconomic factors, the Thatcher-era policies and their impacts, and, evidently, the drug culture prevalent in Edinburgh.

The Great Gatsby

Yet another story adapted to multiple screen iterations is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Greatest Gatsby with the 1974 version by Jack Clayton and the 2013 release directed by Baz Luhrmann. Narrated by Nick Carraway, a young man who settles into the fictitious town of West Egg, New York, the story follows the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is infatuated with the married Daisy Buchanan because of their romantic relationship years ago and is insistent on impressing Daisy and making her leave her husband, Tom.

The lavish scenery present in the films satisfies the audience’s visions, but the prose is what really studies the historical and societal value of the narrative. Set in the 1920s , The Great Gatsby requires cultural context to understand the characters and its setting accurately, and the narrative perspective of Nick Carraway is a primary source of that. Capturing the nuances and Nick’s moral dilemmas, the book functions as the core text to grasp what the story traces as the ‘American Dream.’

The highly controversial Lolita novel of Vladimir Nabokov has two notable film adaptations: one directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1962, and Adrian Lyne’s version released in 1997. Narrated by the character Humbert Humbert, Lolita is a story about a brilliant and articulate scholar’s infatuation and sexual obsession with Dolores Haze, a 17-year-old young girl he nicknames Lolita. It intensely portrays desire, morality, forbidden relationships, and age-centric manipulation.

Because of its radical nature and controversial topic, the story is one that requires utmost concentration and immersion to be able to construe and interpret it in the way it is intended. Nabokov’s linguistic intricacies, wordplays, and complex descriptions play crucial roles in depicting the plot's moral ambiguity and psychological layers. To engage in broader discussions and relevant debates about the book’s subject matter, one must first be introduced to it through its original prose.

2001: A Space Odyssey

The Stanley Kubrick-directed classic 2001: A Space Odyssey is an adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s 1968 novel of the same title. A science fiction story about humanity’s evolution, nature of consciousness, and the existence of advanced extraterrestrial life, it unfolds in four parts: The Dawn of Man , Discovery of the Moon , Journey to Jupiter , and The Infinite and Beyond .

Initially written based on Clarke’s short story called “The Sentinel,” the screenplay and the novel’s plot were developed simultaneously by both Clarke and Kubrick. Because of the exchange of ideas and concepts between the two creators, the book possesses immense value in truly understanding the impact and grandeur of the film. Delving deeper into the expanded universe, fleshing out the themes and symbolisms in greater detail, and offering a more extensive character development than its screen counterpart, the book comprises practically the core of 2001: A Space Odyssey , and even though the film is considered a masterpiece and admirable adaptation on its own accord, the value of the book is still impossible to gloss over.

Pride and Prejudice

Subjected to several film adaptations over the years, Jane Austen’s timeless classic Pride and Prejudice takes place in early 19th-century England. Following the lives of the Bennet family, the story focuses mainly on Elizabeth Bennet, the second-eldest daughter of the house. As Elizabeth navigates her town's social interactions and courtships, she becomes acquainted with Mr. Darcy , the close friend of the wealthy and amiable Mr. Bingley. The story titularly explores the themes of pride, prejudice, self-reflection, and personal growth that transcends surface-level judgments. It also depicts societal norms and expectations of marriage in 19th-century England, featuring class differences, pressure on women, and the pursuit of advantageous matches.

The screen adaptations capture the visionary and atmospheric feel of the old English countryside, but Austen’s wit and language are incomparable. Not only does the novel give a more well-rounded and complex character portrayal, but it is also filled with social commentary, observations, and critique that can easily get overshadowed in the films.