michelelef4390

Re-read in 2013, initial read in 1996. My mother told me to expect my reaction to this book as an adult to differ from my high school experience. Well that's an understatement. Context: this was my favorite read in high school. It's hard to remember exactly why I loved it as much as I did. I was lucky to have a great teacher that year, and I remember some particularly creative assignments attached to this book. I remember the party scenes, I remember the romance, I remember the glamour. But I was particularly moved by the imagery of the oculist's sign, and the green light. And I was most affected by the message this book sent about the American dream, who it was for, what it meant, and what happened when you got there. Upon re-read: none of that interested me at all. The party scenes were cool and well constructed, but familiar. All those unhappy rich people? Not quite a revelation. Even the romance was uninteresting - Daisy loves Gatsby, Gatsby loves Daisy, but we haven't the first idea why. They're both pretty unlovable, actually. They're in love because Fitzgerald says they are. Ok then. So why 5 stars? Because maybe, all that stuff is a red herring. Maybe this book isn't about Gatsby at all, but about Nick. When you take this as a starting point, it becomes a new novel. After all, Nick is the narrator, and everything we know about Gatsby is what Nick believes to be true about Gatsby. Which frankly tells us more about Nick. Reading this book as an adult, I am convinced that Nick is a homosexual in love with Gatsby. All the evidence is there, and while you could make a counter-argument, it wouldn't convince me. And suddenly, this is a whole new book. Certainly a great American novel, but for a whole set of new reasons. Deeply psychological, subtle in every facet - a conclusion whose irony I just love, given this novel's reputation. I can't wait to read it a third time and see what appears for me. p.s. Don't bother with that crappy movie.

2023-01-26 04:10