I said 'The Great Gatsby' is shallow at my book club

We were arguing about the book and I called Gatsby's obsession pointless. Others see a tragic love story, but I think it's just about rich people being sad. What do you all think about books that everyone loves but you don't?

3 comments

3 Comments

bennett.jana3d ago

Wait, but isn't Gatsby's whole dream about getting back to a past that's already gone? It's not a better future, it's him trying to freeze a single moment from years ago. That's what makes it so sad and empty.

amy9743d ago

Have you ever caught yourself trying to relive a moment that's long gone? Gatsby's mistake was pouring everything into a memory, not a real future. I learned to check if I'm chasing a feeling or a fact, which helps avoid that empty trap. It saves you from building your life around a ghost.

adamk954d ago

In the scene where Gatsby stares at the green light across the bay, Fitzgerald is pointing at more than lost love. That light stands for his dream of a better life, which he thinks Daisy represents. The book shows how chasing empty dreams can ruin people, not just rich sadness. I felt similar about 'Catcher in the Rye'. Many call it deep, but Holden's angst seemed whiny to me. Sometimes popular books miss the mark for individual readers, and that's okay.