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The Great Gatsby

(Oxford World's Classics)

By Francis Scott Fitzgerald, Ruth Prigozy (Editor)

(1236)

| Paperback | 9780199536405

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46 Reviews

2 people find this helpful

Ah, The Great Gatsby. Tackling a book usually considered one of the finest English language novels of the 20th century was one I looked foward to, since I had first read the novel about 10 years ago at the tender age of 16. I don't remember the novel hitting quite as hard or as significantly as Fit ... (continue)

Ah, The Great Gatsby. Tackling a book usually considered one of the finest English language novels of the 20th century was one I looked foward to, since I had first read the novel about 10 years ago at the tender age of 16. I don't remember the novel hitting quite as hard or as significantly as Fitzgerald's other works (This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and the Damned & Tender is the Night, which I also read around the same time), so I was eager for a re-read. And so..........the beauty and elegance of the style of Fitzgerald found in Gatsby is striking and memorable--especially after just finishing a novel by someone as terse and unromantic as Charles Bukowski. What's more, the characters and atmosphere Fiztgerald creates, while being from a era, social ladder and culture far removed from my own, are, nevertheless, still interesting and pertinent because the author imbues them with an sense of frailty and humanity that is timeless. Looking at it now 10+ years later, I can see why this short novel eluded my teenage grasp and didn't quite register. It's style was too refined, its subject matter one I could only really understand after years of coming to terms with my own manhood and life experiences only faintly realized at 16.

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Noirwino said on Sep 8, 2009 | Add your feedback

2 people find this helpful

Poetry in Prose

My first encounter with Fitzgerald has knocked my socks off. Really, I can't believe how wonderful the Great Gatsby is. Even for those who have read it before, I deeply recommend re-re-reading it in the newest edition. In this edition, they restored the text, with reference to the original manusc ... (continue)

My first encounter with Fitzgerald has knocked my socks off. Really, I can't believe how wonderful the Great Gatsby is. Even for those who have read it before, I deeply recommend re-re-reading it in the newest edition. In this edition, they restored the text, with reference to the original manuscripts and proofs, correcting printing and typesetting errors that had been perpetuated from the start. The corrected text, new foreword, preface, notes, afterword, and biography all make the 75th anniversary edition a literary and academic treasure.

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Leah said on Nov 8, 2008 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

2 people find this helpful

Absolutely fascinating. I haven’t read a book which is so touching like this for a long time. Fitzgerald has portrayed the Jazz Age which is seemingly attractive but actually devastating. A really deep reflection on the spirit of that time. Sometimes I couldn’t help comparing that golden age with th ... (continue)

Absolutely fascinating. I haven’t read a book which is so touching like this for a long time. Fitzgerald has portrayed the Jazz Age which is seemingly attractive but actually devastating. A really deep reflection on the spirit of that time. Sometimes I couldn’t help comparing that golden age with the world we are living now. It’s sad that people are still floating aimlessly with a dream that may never justify the pursuit. (Just like the case in Gatsby). Maybe human beings are all the same. We always have the insecure feeling so we try hard to grasp anything we could get at hands. But we may end up in gaining nothing at all.

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Maggie said on Oct 18, 2007 | 1 feedback

«So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.»

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Floating Cloud said on Jan 23, 2012 | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

A story about love, death, expectations and New York. Stunning.

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zeroschiuma said on Jan 15, 2012 about the Audio Cassette edition | Add your feedback

Less than I expected

I know this book is considered a master piece from the XXth century literature but I was a little disappointed with it. Reading the critics I think that non-american readers don't feel as much identification with this book as foreigners.
The vocabulary is amazingly rich and you find beautiful image ... (continue)

I know this book is considered a master piece from the XXth century literature but I was a little disappointed with it. Reading the critics I think that non-american readers don't feel as much identification with this book as foreigners.
The vocabulary is amazingly rich and you find beautiful images from the happy period between wars, but the story and the characters, though obviously well told and described, was too simple for me, I expected more from the plot

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ppucedac said on Jan 14, 2012 | Add your feedback