We appreciated reading a classic, and of course discussed what a classic was and why. Spent as much time on the characters and the story as on lit crit about East V West, the Wasteland, Henry James, and symbolism. Inspired to read other Minnesota writers like Sinclair Lewis.

Much more interesting then I remember. slightly slow start, but once it grabs you it grabs you, you'll be hooked. Overall, a fast, exciting read!

A wonderful gold coast love story gone wrong.

This book was a big hit with our group; however, we may be biased being we are a MN bookclub reading a famous author born in Saint Paul. With clouded opinion or not, the book led to a great discussion concerning the times, parallels to today, class in society, character, and history of the author.
Besides lending to a good discussion, the book is a quick and entertaining read.

This 2011 Big Read selection is timeless in its themes of status-, wealth-, and love-seeking as motivators. Over a summer in the 1920's, Fitzgerald's unforgettable characters slowly move toward tragic outcomes as a result of their misplaced values, and are forever captured by his flawless prose. If you've seen either of the movies, don't imagine that you've had the full experience. This story must be read in its original form if it is to be fully understood.

I had not read The Great Gatsby for many years. I forgot how good it is! Brilliantly written with tremendous attention to detail, and without an excess word in it. Wonderful! Hard to believe that it was written in the middle of the Roaring Twenties, it's so uncannily spot on in it's description of the Jazz Age and the excess that accompanied it. If only Fitzgerald knew what a classic he had written!

This book gives a fairly accurate depiction of life in "The Roaring Twenties". It is a short read, but not necessarily a page turner. It is a classic worth reading.

Fitzgerald gives us a timeless glimpse into the jazz age to "see" what the American dream portrayed at that time, which is generally the same today. Symbolism is used throughout the book to emphasize and eternalize the story and characters for generations.

Classic. Beautifully written.

This was an interesting book. It started out slow for most members, and most of us were just lukewarm about it. However, at the book club meeting we had a lot to talk about. This is the reason I do recommend it. I never really "got it." As a club we were about 50/50 on liking this book. The major concencis was that we were mostly just confused about what was happening and why. The characters acted very strangely and I think we had a hard time connecting to them. (The exception being Nick.)

Mostly I think it is sad. I think Scott Fitzgerald brilliantly portrayed the "lost generation". This is perhaps his best known work. Daisy and Tom are completely unsympathetic characters. Gatsby is at best a semi-sympathetic character. We can't help but feel that while he did not deserve the evil served on him, he was headed disappointment. He had made his deal with the devil, Wolfsheim and will certainly have to pay in the end. He insisted on having the past rewritten and thus he could not be satisfied. Only the narrator Nick, shows any hope of redemption. He rejects the 'wickedness' of the fast moneyed set on the east and is heading back to the real values that can be relied upon, back home to the mid west.

My book club really enjoyed the book. Everyone thought that is was beautifully written, and it was a great aside from some of the more recent novels that we have been reading. If you are looking for a feel good, inspirational book...this one is not for you.

Many of us had read this in high school and it was interesting to look at it with a different perspective. It is a classic and full of symbolism and motifs.

This is a book that offers a student of literature the opportunity to investigate literary devices including symbolism and motifs. The characters and setting exemplify the opulence and amorality of the era. In addition to its literary value, the theme resonates with multiple generations.

I loved reading this book. It is a classic in every sense of the word. I have seen the movie several times and wanted to read the book since they are "usually always better". I was not disappointed.

Well written. more depressing than I thought it would be.

I think the problem was that everyone felt pretty indifferent to the characters. This book is definitely worth a read, but it is not ideal for book clubs.

Since the new Baz Luhrman film The Great Gatsby came out this month, our club was excited to re-read this book from their high school days. We all enjoyed visiting this intriguing era in our country\\\'s history and exploring the greedy, unfulfilled lives of Fitzgerald\\\'s characters.

I loved this book, a must read!

Certainly one of the most well written American novels and one of the most enduring. The themes of the corruption of the American Dream and the callousness of the indolent rich could not be more timely.

Well written classic book written in 1925 by F.Scott Fitzgerald that has modern implications. Themes of loss of innocence following the war and other events as well as a wasteful and pointless lifestyle of the era. Fascinating time in history with bigger than life characters.

I thought it was a memorable book. Even if I didn\\\'t like some of the characters, all of them interested me.

Wonderfully written, a pleasure to read.

Don't be put off by the wordy descriptions at the beginning of this book. The story takes interesting twists and turns. You will be glad you read it.

Beautifully written book with figurative language.

Classically written in F.Scott style!

Our group is composed of senior adult women, whose opinions on the book were quite interesting. All agreed that the only redeeming character in the book is Nick and although the lifestyle depicted is empty and unfulfilling, many expressed the thought that Fitzgerald was showing both sides of himself in this novel in the persons of Nick, the Midwestern idealist and Gatsby, the ambitious man willing to stop at nothing to get what he thought he wanted. All of us also agreed that the writing was almost poetic, that one could definitely see that Fitzgerald thought about every single word written. Writers just don't write this way any longer and it seems to be a lost art. Many expressed the opinion that although they didn't care for the characters in the book, they loved, loved, loved the writing.

This is of course a must read on anyone's reading list if only to savor how well written is Fitzgerald's greatest work.

It was a definitive description of the Roaring 20\\\'s.

Our club liked the book, but didn\\\'t feel like it was a masterpiece.

Now I understand why they made us read this in high school!

Have loved it since high school.

I remembered it being romantic from my reading of decades ago, but this time I found it insightful regarding human decisions and the U.S. economy of the1920s. I don\\\'t consider it romantic now but a great study of human behavior.

It is a classic story that shows how shallow some people were in the 20's. Tom and Daisy could only think of themselves and their next pleasure...Anyone who didn't have their kind of money, they weren't interested in being around.