Review: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Summary: The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted "gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession," it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920's.

Kim's Review: Ah, another book that I'm one of the last people to read! I really liked this book, although it took a while to get used to the writing style since I rarely read classics. However, the plot was interesting and there were quite a few twists, which I enjoyed, but I did have to refer to Wikipedia a few times to clear things up. I also liked how there weren't a lot of characters in the book, maybe twenty at most (including minor ones). I could have gotten super confused very quickly because of the old-fashioned writing, but the fact that there weren't too many names to keep straight made it a bit easier.

I'm giving it four stars only because, while the plot and characters are great (no pun intended), it didn't have that "wow" factor that really made it stand out. It sort of reminded me of the novel Fahrenheit 451 in that there's not a lot of action and the plot-moving is really subtle. The best scenes aren't until the last thirty pages or so, but all in all it's a really good read (and a fast one as well)!

I'm seeing the movie tomorrow and I'm so excited. I'm glad I was able to read the book first; I just hope it can live up to my expectations!