That's the downfall of classics, methinks. Sometimes you get it immediately, as I did with War and Peace, for instance. Perhaps you enjoy it but can't trust yourself; thinking perhaps you've been peer-pressured into it. Or you don't get it, and either you ascribe it to Seinfeld Is Unfunny or declare everyone else in the world to be dupes.
There's no way out, unfortunately. Excepts perhaps to trust your own taste.
Sorry, I don't know why all my perhapses turned out as "perhas."
There is an edit button. Click the pencil.
Maybe you'd be less disappointed if you stopped expecting things to be Carmen Sandiego movies.
"There is an edit button. Click the pencil."
Thanks.
Although I personally disagree with your review, and when I was younger and meaner I would have chewed you over it, it's all just a matter of personal taste. You've given good arguments in the review, so I'll just agree to disagree with this one. Thanks for sharing your opinion with us.
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I don't get it, old sport...
I recently read this book for a lit class. The characters were intriguing and the plot had an air of mystery about it. I enjoyed the time period, the descriptions of decadent parties, and I was fascinated by the motivations of the characters.
However, I don't think I really got it. My classmates and my teacher seemed to find a lot of symbolism and important themes in the book. To me it was a story about a dude was doing some shady business, a chick who was kinda ditzy, a jerkhole who was the designated villain, murder, and a self-contradictory narrator. I don't know, maybe I missed something.
Also, it felt incomplete. I felt like the nine chapters of TGG should have been part of a larger novel covering a broader period of time. I wish it had gone more in depth into Gatsby's past and resolved Nick and Jordan's relationship in a "cleaner" and more complete way.
Anyways, it's worth reading once so that you can say you have.