| Wildlife and Nature Books Online in Association with Amazon.com |    |
|
|
|
| The Great Gatsby (Penguin Modern Classics) | 
| Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Creator: Tony Tanner
Publisher: Penguin Books
Category: Book
List Price: $12.40
Buy New: $8.51
You Save: $3.89 (31%)
New (13) from $8.51
Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 1078926
Media: Paperback
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.7
ISBN: 0141182636
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780141182636
ASIN: 0141182636
Publication Date: February 24, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New. Delivery is usually 5 - 8 working days from order, International is by Royal Mail Airmail
|
| Customer Reviews:
The finest American novel February 15, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Like most, I first read the Great Gatsby in my high school English class. Although I have read much since then, I've not found another novel that surpasses to Fitzgerald's masterpiece. Between the solid story, symbolism and pleasant prose, the Great Gatsby touches on something everyone experiences in one degree or another: that of unrealized dreams. There are many Gatsbys in the world - each scheming some last-ditch effort to snatch victory from a certain defeat. He is a timeless character.
Now, this is Fitzgerald, and that means he can lapse into sentimentality. I think what makes this book his best work technically is that he keeps tight rein over the sap. It is far more mature than This Side of Paradise and less amorphous than Tender is the Night. Saul Bellow considered Fitzgerald's writing 'weak', but at its best it strikes a young, idealistic chord that makes all the sap worthwhile. I've always felt that comes from Fitzgerald's successful courtship of Zelda.
I recommend this book, but it is one of those stories you know whether you read it or not - like Romeo and Juliet or King Author. If you like Fitzgerald, there are several newer writers that he has influenced. Hunter S. Thompson comes to mind, and I once heard Thomas Wolfe mentioned as a 'devotee'. John Keats was a big inspiration in Fitzgerald's writing, and that old humbug Bernard Shaw as well. Ultimately, I think the Great Gatsby is the best American novel to date, which bridges admirably the old English poets and the modern workaday world.
|
|
|
Wildlife, nature and the Environment
Sponsored Links
Learn how to get your own Amazon Book shop | |
|
