The Great Gatsby - BoundCovers

No cover — F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby (Hardcover, 1948, The Grey Walls Press)

Hardcover

English language

Published Nov. 19, 1948 by The Grey Walls Press.

(1 review)

When F. Scott Fitzgerald died in 1941 he left unfinished what promised to be his finest work, The Last Tycoon. Until the existence of this novel was discovered, it had been generally considered by the critics that The Great Gatsby was his masterpiece, although This Side of Paradise came near to challenging it, but it had also been long assumed that as a creative writer he had ceased to exist. Connected preeminently with the 'Jazz Age', that fabulous period in American history, the effects of which spread around the world, he came to be regarded almost as their official chronicler and thus share in the end of tha chapter which came with the overwhelming slump of '29.

Through those years of the twenties, the years of the 'speakeasy', the gangster, the 'flapper' and wood alcohol, he recorded the hectic life of the participants and his books remain as a superbly …

When F. Scott Fitzgerald died in 1941 he left unfinished what promised to be his finest work, The Last Tycoon. Until the existence of this novel was discovered, it had been generally considered by the critics that The Great Gatsby was his masterpiece, although This Side of Paradise came near to challenging it, but it had also been long assumed that as a creative writer he had ceased to exist. Connected preeminently with the 'Jazz Age', that fabulous period in American history, the effects of which spread around the world, he came to be regarded almost as their official chronicler and thus share in the end of tha chapter which came with the overwhelming slump of '29.

Through those years of the twenties, the years of the 'speakeasy', the gangster, the 'flapper' and wood alcohol, he recorded the hectic life of the participants and his books remain as a superbly exact and imaginative testimony of those magificently care-free years of a nation trying to recover from the hang-over of a war which had claimed a generation. (back cover)

68 editions

Stephanie Jane reviewed The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Perfectly narrated

5 stars

I first listened to this audiobook of The Great Gatsby in April 2010, so nine years ago, and see from my Goodreads that I rated it 4 stars. Frank Muller does a wonderful job of the narration for my edition. His laconic style perfectly suits the story. This recording is no longer available through Audible though so the Amazon links in my blog post go to a Jake Gyllenhaal narrated edition instead.

Listening to the story again now I'm wavering between a four and five star rating. I absolutely love Fitzgerald's prose style which is clear and elegant, yet beautifully richly detailed. His portrayal of these essentially unlikeable selfish people is redolent with jazz age atmosphere and I am in awe of his ability to actually get me to care deeply about what happens to them and the catastrophe they create for themselves. What I didn't like however is Fitzgerald's …

I first listened to this audiobook of The Great Gatsby in April 2010, so nine years ago, and see from my Goodreads that I rated it 4 stars. Frank Muller does a wonderful job of the narration for my edition. His laconic style perfectly suits the story. This recording is no longer available through Audible though so the Amazon links in my blog post go to a Jake Gyllenhaal narrated edition instead.

Listening to the story again now I'm wavering between a four and five star rating. I absolutely love Fitzgerald's prose style which is clear and elegant, yet beautifully richly detailed. His portrayal of these essentially unlikeable selfish people is redolent with jazz age atmosphere and I am in awe of his ability to actually get me to care deeply about what happens to them and the catastrophe they create for themselves. What I didn't like however is Fitzgerald's casual racism and antisemitism. I am not sure whether readers were supposed to empathise with Tom Buchanan's racist comments, and I was quickly upset by Fitzgerald's need to repeatedly draw attention to Jewish character Meyer Wolfsheim's nose. That said, I did enjoy the storyline and wasn't prepared for all its twists and turns. I did even feel a little sorry for Gatsby by the end. And what did become of the puppy?