Tender is the Night stole my heart, so I had high expectations for this. I didn’t end up liking Gatsby as much as I thought I would. I think I actually found it a bit boring to read about rich people who only speak about being rich and attractive with nothing better to do than gossip and start drama. Though the energy of the festivities described were palpable, it sort of fell flat for me at times. Excellent writing and story telling though.
I find it extremely annoying when people who aren’t wealthy go on and on about spending other peoples (i.e., their spouses) money that they themselves didn’t earn. I don’t know, whatever. That irked me.
I wanted more insight into Gatsby. He was clearly stunted and stuck on Daisy. Stuck in the past regarding a time that they spent together. The end did come with a twist I wasn’t quit expecting, and I found myself wondering if Daisy actually thought she knew who Myrtle was, or if it was just one more careless thing that this crowd did without worrying about the consequences. With the way my brain has been lately, though, it’s entirely possible that I missed some important detail that would illuminate all of that for me.
Some of the party descriptions I found quite gaudy, fantastic, and almost unbelievable–so much drama it was almost a bore. But maybe that’s the point. When you have so much money you have nothing better do to than muck around.
I didn’t get that sense of possibility, that Gatsby was just striving to regain the endless possibilities of youth or something that was symbolized by Daisy. I just felt like Gatsby was an immature man. All that glitters is not gold. I didn’t think Gatsby was that great (no one even came to his funeral). Don’t look behind the curtain. *Shrug* maybe I missed the magic.
Happy Thursday
Natalie
Eternal Ocean of Words 