The Great Gatsby

[The Mystical Man]

I didn't enjoy The Great Gatsby. It's probably the most overrated classic book I've read so far. The language is unimpressive, and the story is pointless. The appeal of this book lies in the glamor of the era, the Roaring Twenties:

My three favorite novels so far: 

1. Lolita
2. Moby-Dick
3. East of Eden

I think Moby-Dick is the true Great American Novel.

Edited August 15, 2022 by The Mystical Man

[RickyFitts]

Never read TGG, did recently read 'Tender Is The Night' by the same author though and I really liked that. Love John Steinbeck, too, I'm currently reading 'The Winter of Our Discontent'; I did start reading 'East of Eden' many moons ago but I didn't make it to the end, lost interest in the story (it's quite the doorstop, I did get a few hundred pages into it though). Might have to see if I can dig it out and give it a go now that you've brought it up, though. Though I fancy rereading 'Something Happened' by Joseph Heller first, haven't read it in years but I loved it the first time round.

American literature's the best, imo.  

[The Mystical Man]

1 hour ago, RickyFitts said:

American literature's the best, imo.  

I agree. But British literature is great, too: Shakespeare, Dickens, Orwell, and Huxley. However, the best English prose was written by a Russian: Vladimir Nabokov. He called Lolita “The story of my love affair with the English language.” 

[Raptorsin7]

I really liked the great gatsby movie. The cinematography and music were exceptional. There are a lot of scenes that really moved me.

This is one my favs.

 

[Ulax]

Based on your usernames and stated interests, I reckon you'll like, 'The Razor's edge' by Somerset Maugham 

[RickyFitts]

3 hours ago, The Mystical Man said:

I agree. But British literature is great, too: Shakespeare, Dickens, Orwell, and Huxley. However, the best English prose was written by a Russian: Vladimir Nabokov. He called Lolita “The story of my love affair with the English language.” 

Oh yeah, British literature's great too (think I did read one of Nabokov's novels years ago, too, but it didn't leave much of an impression on me). There's just something about American literature that vibes with me, maybe the fact I'm half-American on my dad's side has something to do with it (and/or maybe it's just the ubiquity of American culture that makes me feel like I'm intimately familiar with the place ).

[RickyFitts]

1 hour ago, Ulax said:

Based on your usernames and stated interests, I reckon you'll like, 'The Razor's edge' by Somerset Maugham 

Just read up about this on wikipedia, sounds very interesting!

[Ulax]

@RickyFitts Great!

[RickyFitts]

@Liebestraum Oh yeah, love Art Deco.  Though the game 'Bioshock' has left me with the unshakable feeling that there's something fundamentally creepy about it, because that creepy-ass game was chock full of Art Deco.  

[RickyFitts]

@Liebestraum Such an interesting art movement and period of history, I never appreciated the dark side of Art Deco but it's a real eye-opener all right. ?