by Happy writer

Created on: May 28, 2008

Comparing The Great Gatsby to a food that sums it up

I know that I'll be put on a ship and sent to Guantanamo bay for saying this, but I do not quite understand why thousands of American school kids have to study "The Great Gatsby" as part of their curriculum. I understand it's social relevance; the summarization of a generation, the demise of the American dream and the end of an era but to be frank, the story was as void as all of Fitzgerald's characters. Dickens is all I can say to that!. Having read "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by Azar Nafisi, I had this dying urge to read one of her favorite novels; The Great Gatsby. I went into it, all hyped up, just like you do when you've heard about a movie so much you just have to go and see for yourself. Under this exaggerated condition, it is not unusual to leave the theater disappointed and I regret to say, that this is exactly how I felt when I turned the last page of The Great Gatsby.

Set in the 1920's, Fitzgerald paints a world of empty people, doing empty things, living empty lives....I live in Los Angeles...hello! say no more. I know that Fitzgerald's intention was just that, to create hostile characters that would repel the reader, use language that would make the hairs of your arm pits stand up and be counted, shape a story that the reader would in essence not give a damn about because his characters were so unlovable, to feel for them, would be to take allegiance with them and somehow...maybe even identify with them, making the reader no different to them and their vacuous outlandish ways. However, for me, this story, lacked.... story...what can I say, it was like taking an ecstasy hoping for a great trip only to realize you've been given an aspirin and the dealer has legged it out of the back door!. The story was DULL. It plodded on and on like an out of breath horse who might just keel over and die at any moment, I got through it because, well because I had to, I had a gun to my head...Okay I lied, I got through it because I review books and always finish the book I will be reviewing no matter how I feel about it.

The Great Gatsby reminded me of gravyless meatloaf . Anxious to taste this American culinary darling, you are left with a mouthful of mush that desperately needs a glass of something to help swallow it down. And to be frank Meatloaf although good enough, is no cordon bleu and neither, in my opinion, is The Great Gatsby.

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