5 ms·

I love reading. I didn't read it until my early 30s, other than the last lines, there's nothing memorable at all about it, and honestly they're so out of charac

by soperj 6y ago

I love reading. I didn't read it until my early 30s, other than the last lines, there's nothing memorable at all about it, and honestly they're so out of character of the rest of the book, they feel like they were taken from something else. I kept waiting for it to get good. I'm still waiting.

klodolph 6y ago
The book can’t possibly live up to its reputation. I still think it’s a good book.
- pen2l 6y ago
  To each his own, but I’ll add that my experiences are much like grandparent post’s. I “read” it in high school (I.e. usually just read cliffnotes on the internet) and it was just another boring book. I read it again in my mid 20s and it hit me like nothing else, particularly the last chapter. I still remember smiling at the beauty and eloquence of that end, it resonated especially to me for its description of a person’s aspirations and authenticity in the dimension of our human relationships and our professional goals, as that was something I was myself struggling with at that time. I recommend giving it a read. And if you can’t, I guess watch the movie: https://youtu.be/rARN6agiW7o https://youtu.be/rARN6agiW7o of course the movie gets a lot of it wrong, with its choice of music and all, but at least it’s got interesting Baz Luhrmann choreography.
- Ma8ee 6y ago
  As someone else who read it for the first time as an adult, it’s a perfectly fine book. But it certainly doesn’t deserve the iconic status it seems to have in the US.
hnhg 6y ago
I had the same experience with it, around the same age. I also read "On the road" far too late in life, and it just didn't work for me.
- enobrev 6y ago
  I couldn't stand "on the road". Not sure when "too late" would be but I read it in my mind twenties. For a good amount of it, I gave it the benefit of the doubt telling myself it's simply from another time, but I quit half way through, unmoved, unchanged, and completely disinterested.
  - UShouldBWorking 6y ago
    On the Road is not a good book, my take is it was popular in the way Jackson Pollock was, it was so radically different that people had to take notice. However, keruack is a great writer and Darma Bums is one of my favorite.
matsemann 6y ago
Yes! I read it and other classics when I was ~20. Maybe it was my age/where I was in my life at the moment, or that I didnt "read into it correctly", but it was one of the most boring things I've ever read. Nothing ever happened. I'm on of those the article mentions that would call it "a dud". At the same period of time I also read Catcher in the Rye and loved it. Not sure if I would feel the same about it today. And maybe Gatsby would have grown on me now. But I'm not gonna try again, so much other good stuff to read.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
wk_end 6y ago
De gustibus etc, but when you describe it like that I almost feel like you’re reading a different book. I can go to my bookshelf, pick up my copy of Gatsby, and almost any page I flip to I’m bound to find at least one striking sentence, vivid image, moment of sublime beauty.
- silicon2401 6y ago
  That's just how taste works. I read Gatsby multiple times and found it a classic example of something that's popular but not universal. It was overall just bland and forgettable, because I just don't care for that kind of literature or story.
headmelted 6y ago
To each their own. I wouldn’t tell you you’re wrong - there are so many books (and films for that matter) over the years that people adored and just didn’t resonate with me at all. Art is subjective, and in the same vein that the parent is saying your perception can be stained by your own negative memories of the time, I’d say it would also depend on how much of your own life you can relate to the story. I liked Gatsby, not as much as others, but I enjoyed the read. As an anecdote - one of my favourite films is Contact. I can watch it and know it’s far from being objectively the greatest film ever made. It’s clearly not Oscar-worthy. Even so, the subject matter is something I’m so fascinated by that I watch that film at least once a year and I’m still enthralled by it.
mercer 6y ago
From what I remember when I read it, the book (intentionally?) felt kind of 'jazzy'. No matter how hard I try, I can't really like jazz beyond the 'smooth jazz' muzak I might occasionally have on in the background. A friend of mine studied jazz and is a great musician, and so I've come to appreciate it a bit more, but only conceptually. I still can't listen to it, for some reason.

by soperj 6y ago

klodolph 6y ago

The book can’t possibly live up to its reputation. I still think it’s a good book.

pen2l 6y ago
To each his own, but I’ll add that my experiences are much like grandparent post’s. I “read” it in high school (I.e. usually just read cliffnotes on the internet) and it was just another boring book. I read it again in my mid 20s and it hit me like nothing else, particularly the last chapter. I still remember smiling at the beauty and eloquence of that end, it resonated especially to me for its description of a person’s aspirations and authenticity in the dimension of our human relationships and our professional goals, as that was something I was myself struggling with at that time. I recommend giving it a read. And if you can’t, I guess watch the movie: https://youtu.be/rARN6agiW7o https://youtu.be/rARN6agiW7o of course the movie gets a lot of it wrong, with its choice of music and all, but at least it’s got interesting Baz Luhrmann choreography.
Ma8ee 6y ago
As someone else who read it for the first time as an adult, it’s a perfectly fine book. But it certainly doesn’t deserve the iconic status it seems to have in the US.

hnhg 6y ago

I had the same experience with it, around the same age. I also read "On the road" far too late in life, and it just didn't work for me.

enobrev 6y ago
I couldn't stand "on the road". Not sure when "too late" would be but I read it in my mind twenties. For a good amount of it, I gave it the benefit of the doubt telling myself it's simply from another time, but I quit half way through, unmoved, unchanged, and completely disinterested.
- UShouldBWorking 6y ago
  On the Road is not a good book, my take is it was popular in the way Jackson Pollock was, it was so radically different that people had to take notice. However, keruack is a great writer and Darma Bums is one of my favorite.

matsemann 6y ago

Yes! I read it and other classics when I was ~20. Maybe it was my age/where I was in my life at the moment, or that I didnt "read into it correctly", but it was one of the most boring things I've ever read. Nothing ever happened. I'm on of those the article mentions that would call it "a dud". At the same period of time I also read Catcher in the Rye and loved it. Not sure if I would feel the same about it today. And maybe Gatsby would have grown on me now. But I'm not gonna try again, so much other good stuff to read.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

wk_end 6y ago

De gustibus etc, but when you describe it like that I almost feel like you’re reading a different book. I can go to my bookshelf, pick up my copy of Gatsby, and almost any page I flip to I’m bound to find at least one striking sentence, vivid image, moment of sublime beauty.

silicon2401 6y ago
That's just how taste works. I read Gatsby multiple times and found it a classic example of something that's popular but not universal. It was overall just bland and forgettable, because I just don't care for that kind of literature or story.

headmelted 6y ago

To each their own. I wouldn’t tell you you’re wrong - there are so many books (and films for that matter) over the years that people adored and just didn’t resonate with me at all. Art is subjective, and in the same vein that the parent is saying your perception can be stained by your own negative memories of the time, I’d say it would also depend on how much of your own life you can relate to the story. I liked Gatsby, not as much as others, but I enjoyed the read. As an anecdote - one of my favourite films is Contact. I can watch it and know it’s far from being objectively the greatest film ever made. It’s clearly not Oscar-worthy. Even so, the subject matter is something I’m so fascinated by that I watch that film at least once a year and I’m still enthralled by it.

mercer 6y ago

From what I remember when I read it, the book (intentionally?) felt kind of 'jazzy'. No matter how hard I try, I can't really like jazz beyond the 'smooth jazz' muzak I might occasionally have on in the background. A friend of mine studied jazz and is a great musician, and so I've come to appreciate it a bit more, but only conceptually. I still can't listen to it, for some reason.