F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby

by F Scott Fitzgerald

Matthew J. Bruccoli (Editor)

Since its publication in 1925, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald's account of the American dream gone awry, has established itself as one of the most popular and widely read novels in the English language. Until now, however, no edition has printed the novel exactly as Fitzgerald himself wrote it. From its first edition onward, the text has been subject to rigorous house-styling that has distorted the characteristic rhythms and structure of his sentences. This critical edition draws on the manuscript and surviving proofs of the novel, together with Fitzgerald's subsequent revisions to key passages, to provide the first authoritative text of The Great Gatsby. This volume also includes a detailed account of the genesis, composition, and publication of the novel; a full textual apparatus; crucial early draft material; helpful glosses on the peculiar geography and chronology of the book; and explanatory notes on topical allusions and historical references that contemporary readers might otherwise miss. Fitzgerald's great masterpiece is thus brought closer to a cross-section of readers, more accessibly and more authentically than ever before.

• ISBN13: 9780521402309
• Publish Date: 30 August 1991 (first published 14 July 1905)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Cambridge University Press
• Edition: New edition
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 280
• Language: English

Reviews

[starbell]

I was forced to read this book in 11th grade for English class. So, here I am now, at 24, and I think, "Oh, I'll give this book another shot, it must be better now that I'm older!" Nope, not at all. I hated it just as much as the first time I read it. I don't know if it just brought me back to how much I hated being forced to read books I didn't want to read for class, or if I just hated the book that much. But needless to say, I won't be trying to read this one again.

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

The Great Gatsby starts out slow, like the tortoise and the hare slow, but like the tortoise its a winner.

Nick Carraway, our narrator has just moved to the west egg of Rhode Island, in other words "new money" who happens to live next door to Jay Gatsby's party house. Gatsby first comes off as elusive but eventually opens up asking Nick for a favor, to invite Nick's married friend Daisy to tea in which Jay may just happen to pop in. It is this favor which allows events to spirals out of control. Essentially, the novel is about passion from afar.

Like I said, The Great Gatsby takes a while to easy into, until Daisy's husband Tom is seen having an open affair it was a bit like wallpaper paste. But then Tom slugs his annoying, snob of a mistress Myrtle in the face, and to be honest if he hadn't I would have found a way myself. Anyway, one run-on sentence later and we have one hell of a story!

The Great Gatsby actually reminded me of Wuthering Heights, none of the characters were likeable and both focus on wealth and class (hell both Cathy and Daisy chose dollar signs over true love). Also, there is a confrontational scene between Tom/Daisy/Gatsby that parallels that of Linton/Cathy/Heathcliff (and did you notice that both of the homewreckers go by their surnames?) Anyway, the confrontation involves a "who loves who" which climaxes like a good orgasm.

F. Scott Fitzgerald writes with such clarity that it is easy to imagine yourself in that era, sipping champagne with the glitz and glam of bootlegging and wealth. An exhilarating read!

[jeannamichel]

Another book for school. I loved this one- it was beautiful.
The beginning put me to sleep, but it was one of those books that you just have to have time to get into before actually loving it. I really felt myself connecting with Nick, the main character. I wanted to know more about him. Mr. Gatsby was very unique and original. Daisy- her character had no depth. The imagery in most of the book was purely amazing. If you ever have any time- go watch the movie. It was truly fantastic.

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Honestly may be in the minority here, but I really wasn’t the biggest fan of this story at all. Classic, eh, whatever. lol. I didn’t like any of the characters, which may have been an angle there? I don’t know. but yeah; I think I had to read each page like TEN times just to get through it!

The only thing I adored about the Great Gatsby was the glitzy (19)20’s

[mary]

I admit that I read this in-between two incredible classics that this book just didn't shine as much as I hoped it would. However, after the sheer bluntness of Brave New World and the informality of Catch-22, it was nice to read something written in a more elaborate style. "Making him nibble at the edge of stale ideas" for example. Overall it was spare and simple which is nice to come across after some reads. I believe it reflects the spirit of that time period perfectly. This is a satisfactory read that I would recommend to everyone.

[ladygrey]

If I was inclined to really long shelf names this would be on the books-i-read-in-highschool-and-didn't-really-enjoy shelf.

I don't remember much except that I didn't care for this book much.