The Great Gatsby - Bubble gum bourgeoisie fiction

[MJM]

Just finished this book. It's the only book I've read wnere I didn't like a single character. It was a lite read and easy to digest but so I did manage to finish it.
I found myself wanting to kill off everyone about halfway through.

I suppose Jordan was ok, but if she said and did much more than she did I'd probably hate her too.

I'm reading some real lame ducks lately :)

[Marxman]

I have to read this book for some tests. Tell me, is it really burgeois? I need a marxist description of it.

[MJM]

It's about the american capitalist class in the 1920s.
All the characters are rich bastards who're so self involved they made me sick. They're nice to people who they think they get status from being around and care only about their own interests. There's also racist remarks in it from Tom which adds to the distatefulness of the whole book.

It's easy to read you can probably read it in a few hours if you skip through it.

[Menshevik]

Quote: from MJM on 4:46 am on Sep. 30, 2002
It's about the american capitalist class in the 1920s.
All the characters are rich bastards who're so self involved they made me sick. They're nice to people who they think they get status from being around and care only about their own interests. There's also racist remarks in it from Tom which adds to the distatefulness of the whole book.

That's the entire point, MJM. Fitzgerald is commenting on the status of the American Dream in the twenties. Fitzgerald doesn't try to make the characters sympathetic, in fact he doest he opposite. This book is a sheer masterpiece. If you didn't enjoy it, that's one thing, but you can't deny The Great Gatsby's unequivocal brilliance--quite possibly one of the greatest American novels.

[MJM]

Perhaps my lame duck comment was too harsh :)
I definately don't think it's the greatest american novel of all time, although it is highly readable in the sense that it's easily digested and the style and language is relaxing.(can't think of what else could describe it)
Perhaps it's the first genuine paper back, or the the father/mother of modern romantic novels.

[j]

I don't really remember much about it from high school (almost 10 years ago.....=(

But I do remember really liking it. That, the Color Purple, and Catcher in the Rye are the only books I remember liking that I HAD to read in high school.

j

[deadpool 52]

Ditto, Menshevik.

[doolally]

>>Perhaps it's the first genuine paper back, or the the father/mother of modern romantic novels.<<

-i find 'parent' is a good gender-neutral term

;P