The first time I read Gatsby, I was a sixteen year old high school sophomore, and I'm sure I wouldn't have enjoyed Gatsby the way I did if it weren't for my absolutely amazing honors English teacher. But the second time around, it was just me and my badly scribbled notes in the margins.
I love rereading books. So much has changed in the last three years since I read Gatsby the first time, that even though I know the story, the words still felt fresh and new, all while remaining singularly familiar and comforting. Isn't that something magical in a good book? The right book can feel like home every time you open it, but still offer something new with each reading.
For my part, there was some marvelous foreshadowing that I didn't catch the first time (see the car accident in Gatsby's driveway after the first party that Nick attends, and Nick and Jordan discussing her bad driving a bit later on). Not only does the ability to catch such things stem from my knowledge of the book's ending, it also comes from the maturity I've gained as a reader in the past few years and my ability to look beyond merely the surface of the words.
I was likewise able to see the triangle between Daisy, Gatsby, and Tom in different light, since my ideas and beliefs about love have changed since my first reading.
I think our experiences with re-reading books really just further emphasizes the exchange between reader and writing. So much of what we bring to the table affects our reading of a work, and therefore the right books can serve as benchmarks for our own progress and changes. Gatsby is one of those benchmarks for me.
Do you guys have any experiences with re-reading old favorites, or maybe something you didn't like the first time around? And of course, who's excited for the Gatsby movie?!!
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ReplyDeleteI read the Great Gatsby in high school too and by golly, you've inspired me to reread it before I see the movie. I loved it then and I'm sure my perspective on life has changed enough to help me find new and interesting things in it.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite books to reread is Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. In fact my copy is so worn that the cover has been torn off. I've also shared my copy with one of my best friends and we both took notes in the margins. It's so fun to reread the book and what I thought about it then and my friend's thoughts and add new notes. It's as if there is a whole book discussion happening along the sides of the pages.
I am very excited to see the movie! The previews look awesome. Your mention of reader/writer relationships brought to my mind the words of Glenn Gould (a famous concert pianist). He was very concerned about his relationship with the audience. It troubled him that he sacrificed so much while they gave him back very little aside from applause. He yearned for a deeper relationship with his spectators. Similarly, I wonder what I can give back to Fitzgerald as I read his novel. Is simply not repeating the mistakes of his characters enough?
ReplyDeleteOkay, let's be honest...I love this book! I think I'm going to reread "Gatsby" for my personal reading. It just seems appropriate. I have always loved it because it was one of the first books that got me into English. It's been a while so I think it's time I cracked it open again.
ReplyDeleteWith the new movie coming out, this does seem like a great choice for reading or re-reading right now.
ReplyDeleteBriggs, your comments about the ethical relationship between audience and creator are very interesting. Wayne Booth, a literary critic, brings this up at length in his book The Company We Keep: An Ethics of Fiction. (By the way, have you ever heard any of Glenn Gould's recordings, where you can hear him humming/growling as he plays Bach at top speed?)
Saw the movie yesterday! It was somehow both a very self-consciously "literary" movie (in fact, the framing device has Nick Carraway writing TGG in a sanatorium ... which is a fantastic word), as well as a complete visual bacchanalian spectacle. Ultimately, it reminded me of the tone of some of Fitzgerald's early work (This Side of Paradise) more than Gatsby itself.
ReplyDeleteThe part where DiCaprio holds up his glass of champagne to the crescendo of "Rhapsody in Blue" is literally the. best. thing. I can even forgive the fact that it's ever-so-slightly anachronistic. The non-diegetic music can be anachronistic (I liked some selections better than others), but heck, I can forgive Luhrmann, because of the perfection of that moment. Gershwin really encapsulates the spirit of the Jazz Age that Gatsby is all about.
I want to read Modernist plays for drama week soooo bad. I saw Holiday at BYU last November. Amazing. Anyone else?