Novel Research
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Scribner. New York City, USA, (2004)
Review 1. pmPilgrim, BLOGCRITICS.ORG. (August 13, 2013). Book Reivew: ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Retrieved February 26, 2015, from http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogcritics/article/Book-Review-The-Great-Gatsby-by-F-Scott-4733032.php
The critic reviews The Great Gatsby as a “well-told story” filled with ambitions and dreams of the characters’ lives that has been intertwined with disaster. “We know it’s going to happen though we may not know how.” The writer claims that the book is predictable yet mysterious at the same time. I interpret this statement as saying this book follows many clichés as other stories yet it has a twist to distinguish this book from all the other classics out there. The book is told by a man named Nick, who is the narrator throughout the whole book. This review does not say much about other characters or the plot of this book, however the critic states that the book was made for the reader to care more about the story than the actual characters in the book. Claiming that the characters are empty and hard to like, the critic believes that this book represents the reality of human nature. Overall, the review states that this was a great book “that might be a decent idea to think about”.
Review 2. ThePinkElephant. (September 12, 2013). The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – review. Retrieved February 26, 2015, from http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2013/sep/12/review-great-gatsby-f-scott-fitzgerald In contrast to the vague synopsis from the first review, this critic adds more detail into his review. The reviewer states that The Great Gatsby is similar to Shakespeare’s famous work, Romeo and Juliet, in many ways but it is “more than just a love story.” However, the difference between Romeo and Juliet and The Great Gatsby, that the reviewer states, is that it is hard to sympathize with the characters in The Great Gatsby; as mentioned in the previous reviews. You come to hate many characters and even start to dislike the main protagonists. That being said, the reviewer considers the fact that the characters are hard grow attached to, is what makes the book worth reading. Many life lessons are incorporated in this book and is appropriately realistic. Overall, the critic thought this book was great nonetheless. Ending his review with the message of this book, “Fitzgerald sends to us isn’t that dreaming will lead to despair, but that chasing an unworthy dream will lead to tragedy.”
Personal Response – Rejection The biggest reason on why I chose to reject this novel was because I have tried to read it before when I was younger. Of course, the reason was as what the reviewers said as well. The character progression was very slow and I never found myself attached to the story. Yes, the story had an interesting plot but whatever happened to the characters, I never really felt sad with them or happy with them. In an opinion where I have not read the book and only the reviews, I would still reject this book. The book seems slow with no character development. The realism of this story makes this book seem more like a documentary but unlike any other documentary, I wouldn’t watch any documentary where I don’t character about the people it is about.
Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
Riverhead Hardcover. New York City, USA (2008)
Review 1. Bob Corbett. (December 2012). The Cellist of Sarajevo
Retrieved March 1, 2015, from http://www2.webster.edu/~corbetre/personal/reading/galloway-cellist.html The modern day Sarajevo is in the midst of war. But the protagonists in this story wants to believe in the “real” beautiful city that used to stand there in the past. The main protagonist, is a cellist who wants to play a song to end the war and bring back the peace to the war-torn Sarajevo. The plot thickens when the cellist’s “statement” threatens the enemy snipers. However, the snipers are
