It was ok-- overall though, I think the characters were too annoying and the writing was too simple for what this book is hailed as

There is so much you just did not pick up on then.

That's very true, I think you have to read it more than once to pick up the little details. I think it evokes a certain melancholy mood in the way that nick sees these people who have everything but at the same time have nothing. I think its fabulous.

Thank you! This book is so bland and overrated to me. Although it is better than Death of a Salesman which seemed to strike up a similarity in the "american dream" subject, I thought that the point if makes is vague, and relatively pointless.

Okay, I understand how one could get annoyed with the characters-- most of them are superficial and greedy. But if you think the writing of it is "too simple," you definitely didn't give Fitzgerald's syntax and diction enough attention. It's gorgeous. It's poetry.

This is The Great American Novel. No contest. Please, if you love literature, read it again.

This is one of my favorite books of all time. I've read and re-read it many times over the years and one of the things I love so much about it is the incredible depth that his writing has. If you don't get it, read the cliff notes' explanation for it or something because there are so many amazing details Fitzgerald uses relating to themes and symbolism. Like his use of colors- Fitzgerald makes a point to use colors in descriptions throughout the book. However, they are not simply colors, they are all complex symbols for different feelings in the book. Not to mention all the crazy love triangles! such a heart-wrenching story with all the crazy love triangles.

it's so good...
i have to admit i read it years ago and had the same uninspired thoughts, but after reading it again I was just blown away by how great Fitzgerald's writing is.
give it time and another try, you won't be disappointed!!!

F. Scott Fitzgerald is an amazing writer. Period.

With Great Literature, I think the simpler writing is always toughest to appreciate and interpret. Ironically, it's often the most complex in that sense. Halfway intelligent people have the annoying habit of labelling everything that is written simply, "bad writing," or certainly not great writing. I call those who fall under this little heading ignorant of the subtler and much more important distinctions of the art of writing. They're all critics in some sense, and I would cringe if ever I saw one become a professional critic...

Anyway, this is a great novel, a marvelous work of literature. Its lasting popularity and its use in our education system can attest to that, if you can't see its beauty yourself...