[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rARN6agiW7o&rel=0]
To avoid exposing yourself as one of the five or six hundred people who were not forced to read The Great Gatsby at school when they were too young to understand it, read the book before you watch the film. Then you can join in on the discussion about whether the film did justice to the book. (Hint: it never does)
About the Contributor
John Purcell
While still in his twenties, John Purcell opened a second-hand bookshop in Mosman, Sydney, in which he sat for ten years reading, ranting and writing. Since then he has written, under a pseudonym, a series of very successful novels, interviewed hundreds of writers about their work, appeared at writers’ festivals, on TV (most bizarrely in comedian Luke McGregor’s documentary Luke Warm Sex) and has been featured in prominent newspapers and magazines. Now, as the Director of Books at booktopia.com.au, Australia’s largest online bookseller, he supports Australian writing in all its forms. He lives in Sydney with his wife, two children, three dogs, five cats, unnumbered gold fish and his overlarge book collection. His novel, The Girl on the Page, was published by HarperCollins Australia in October, 2018.
Comments
May 23, 2012 at 1:27 pm
I was one of those forced to read it at school (16) and, no, I didn’t enjoy it at all. I’ve often thought I should revisit it as an adult but haven’t been able to bring myself to do it…The film looks stunning though, so maybe now’s the time…
May 23, 2012 at 6:15 pm
I don’t know if any actress can beat Karen Black’s crossed-eyes or Mia Farrow’s otherworldliness in the previous film. The book always seemed so much bleaker and dirtier than the film idea, a sort of doomed Waste Land. This one looks like great entertainment, not exactly Fitzgerald’s objective.