This was a re-read. I first read this book in my first year
of university and I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either. It was a meh
book for me then. However what I am finding is that many books that I read
before my third year of university I read with a filter and after re-reading
them I see them in a whole new light. Because of this I am probably going to
re-read a number of books that I once read and didn’t understand why people
liked it.
The back of the book calls this novel a supreme American
novel. When I first read it I seemed to have trouble following the entwined
lives of the characters, this time around I had no trouble with it at all. I read this book over March Break (I know,
I’m late getting the blog up!) and I really enjoyed it. I did not remember a
whole lot about what happened in the novel and found I had a few false memories
(Spoiler: I thought Daisy died, but it turns out she ran someone over with a
car.).
While reading this book I found myself reflecting on what
society is like today and comparing Gatsby’s world with my own. Although there
are many telling differences (I am far from rich, I live in the Maritimes of
Canada while he lived in New York, I live in the 21st century, he
lived in the early 20th century), there were many similarities. Around me I can see many people dissatisfied
with their life, but living it anyways because it is the life that society
tells them they desire. Like Gatsby I can see many people having idols that
they try for so long to attain only to realize that they are no longer what
they once imagined. Their fantasy of the idol had long surpassed the reality
and their long pursuit ends in melancholy.
I would rate this book a 3.5/5. It’s not quite a four but I
really enjoyed it and would recommend it others. It’s a book I think you need
to have a bit of life experience to be able to properly understand it, so it is
not surprising to me that I didn’t quite get it the first time around.
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