Dona's Reviews > The Great Gatsby

How do you tell the country you hate its favorite book? Like this, I guess. On goodreads lol. I'll keep it short, I swear.

Yes, it's brilliant. I see all the symbolism. He clearly agonized over his diction and syntax, but holy crow would it have killed the guy to use a comma?

Look, I couldn't stand the characters. The women in this book are insufferable. Pitiable, at least. Fitzgerald gives not one of them any more sense than a spare tire, with the obvious exception of Jordan, whom he narratively assassinates. I mean, I posit that Fitzgerald invents ghosting with that little maneuver.

I hate every single character except Daisy, and her I just want to hug.

So, yeah, it's a specimen of American fiction. It's also one of the most depressing stories I've ever read. Reading this in my late thirties after reading it in high school opened my eyes; I missed so much then. Read this if you want to think about Capitalism and Americanism and what all that stuff means; judge after your reading your definitions of a "good" book versus a "brilliant" book like I did.

Because this one didn't make me feel good, and you might be looking for that right now.