freakclub99 commented on…
The Radcliffe Publishing Course's "100 Best Novels of the 20th Century"
Why? — 3 years ago
I always find it irritating to see “The Great Gatsby” being included in the lists of great novels. I regard F. Scott Fitzgerald highly, and have heard great witticisms from him, but this book is simply immature. It has no brilliant plot, nor brilliant ideas, not even an engaging meditation on life. When I hear people say that it is The Great American Novel, I just go like, “Are Americans that silly?” To just compare it to Melville’s masterpiece, Moby Dick, makes you shudder. People please remove it from your list.
Comments
so odd you say that
I cannot disagree more about how lovely The Great Gatsby is, though I will say that it’s definitely suited for someone who is about to admit that he or she was captivated by word choice, lyrical tendencies, etc. How it sounds, how it feels as you ingest it, is very different from what can possibly be taken away from the book, as I consider its value. It’s all about what ou expect when you jump into it. Can’t literature serve more than one purpose, even more than one purpose simultaneously??
Regardless
Despite whether or not you want to read this book, don’t remove it from the list – this is a definitive list, regardless of your opinion. If you don’t want to read the book, then choose not to or make your own list… don’t screw up this one!
freakclub99