A classic masterpiece
595740
I fell in love with F. Scott Fitzgerald's brilliant novel, The Great Gatsby, when I was in high school.  I was captivated by the lush, lyrical prose that was such a distinctive characteristic of the novel.  I think that Fitzgerald has given us a searing, powerful take on the rich dilettantes of the 1920's.  He slowly and skillfully reveals the shallowness and callousness of these people, as they manipulate and deceive everyone.  It seems that Fitzgerald's heroines were always reincarnations of his real wife, Zelda.  It is clear that Gatsby has hopelessly romanticized the superficial and hollow Daisy Buchanan.  He has elevated her to a pedestal that she does not in any way deserve.  Yet he is determined to pursue her and his dreams, at all costs.

Fitzgerald is unmatched when it comes to character studies.  He has used his own real life experience among the elite, to peel away the beautiful artifice and show us the truly ugly, heartless soul inside these people.  Daisy and Tom are unhappy and unfulfilled people.  Tom uses Myrtle to escape from the boredom and inanity of Daisy.  He could care less if it all turns out badly.  Consequences, morality and decency are not qualities that one finds in the likes of Tom and Daisy.  They take what they want and try to steal moments of happiness at the expense of the humanity of those who are manipulated and played like chess pieces.  Life is a game to them, a game to be played out in grand style and if someone gets crushed in the process, so be it.

Fitzgerald finds his own voice in his narrator, the conscientious and astute Nick Carraway.  He is the observer, watching the carnage and emotional wreckage unfold before his eyes.  Through him, we see the horror of what Tom and Daisy do to those who have the misfortune to those who cross their path.  Initially, Nick is enchanted to be in their company, but by the end as he surveys the tragedy and destruction that has been wrought, he is repelled and wants only to put as much distance as he can between himself and these monsters.  Fitzgerald's own ideas and thoughts are expressed through Nick.  It's a masterful way of illuminating the reader.  Nick is the moral compass in this novel.  He sees the truth, the ugly reality of what makes up the rich and famous, their lack of character, their emptiness, their need to lose themselves.  In the end we feel the way he does.  The beauty and lavishness of the lives of these people are just a brittle exterior, covering up the hideousness that lies underneath.

As I read this novel again, years later and much older, it has taken on a whole other dimension.  I have enough life experience now to truly appreciate the dark and sinister reality that can lie behind beauty and wealth.  It is now a richer experience, because Fitzgerald's novel is timeless.  He provided a stinging, harsh critique of the kind of people he knew all too well, of an era, a time in which people satisfied their greediness at the expense of others.  The book can never become outdated, because what it says about people who have too much money and time on their hands with too little humanity, applies to generations through the years.

This is a seminal work, a beautifully crafted tale about a time that was captured forever in these richly drawn characters.  Fitzgerald had the most distinctive style of writing I have ever experienced.  No one else has ever even come close to his genius.  He can dissect and carve out the essence of his characters using the most lovely prose. His descriptive phrases still leave me breathless.  I am only sorry that he died prematurely in 1940 at the too young age of 44, thereby depriving us of the privilege of reading more of his magnificent writing.  We must make do with what he was able to give us in the brief time he was on this earth.
3227662
Orwell displays brilliance at every turn in this acclaimed work.  The depth of social commentary, non-stop plot, rich characters and fluid sytle make this a classic in every sense.  The aventures of Winston Smith, the main character, provide incisive, memorable insights into the nautre of human affairs.  This book deserves all the praise it has received over the years.  Highly recommended.
3003309
This book has the various qualities that make a book a classic. (1) It provides much to think about while thoroughly entertaining the reader.  (2) Characters are complex and therefore oddly endearing... likable and unlikable in the same package. (3) Its messages are timeless but not pedantic or condescending. (4) It is readily accessible to the young reader but contains a richness that can be appreciated by an older one.

In short, I loved it!
3020034
In our modern world, Man does not survive by bread alone; he also feels compelled to "survive" by meeting self-imposed expectations within a personal construct. ("I Am a Fisherman".) With age, Santiago feels his grip slipping, and begins to question the merit of his own worth. So he squeezes every ounce of determination from his aching body to wrest one last triumph that affirms the meaning of his life before he withdraws with Honor.
A classic story of Man versus Nature and Man at One with Nature, Hemingway's words demand to be read aloud to appreciate their astounding beauty. For its prose alone, this is a five-star classic truly worthy of The Pulitzer.
"The Old Man and the Sea" is also one of those works that translates extremely well to the screen: view the original film with Spencer Tracy and revel in that late, great actor's flawless soliloquy, set against gorgeous whitecaps at evening in riveting black and white.
This is a must-read, and a must-view.
138260
This book is a classic. I read it in high school and now, some forty years later, have read it again. I should have read it many times in between. The story is more than just a story. It is a tragedy, a drama, a mystery and poetry all in one binding. I intend to reread this book annually.
308283
A classic that is timeless. Up there with Wurthering Heights. The beauty and the knowledge is to be gained from the re reading  of this immortal work....  about every five to ten years! The more one lives the more  one is able to understand the complexities of issues which are revealed so palpably through a deceptively easy story.
2396730
Quite apart from, some might say in spite of Moby Dick's label as "a classic," it has become one of my favorite novels. It breathes with a life that the rest of Melville's work (with the possible exceptions of "Bartelby" and the "Lightening Rod Salesman") lacks.
The reason I'm writing a review of the book (my voice has little to add to what others have already written about the text) is to encourage readers to pick up the modern library version. The illustrations add so much texture to the story. They are not imagination robbing images, their semi-surreality expands rather than narrows mental freedom. Get it. You won't be disappointed.
749162
A classic story in a beautiful setting. The cinematography is striking.
4800948
One of the best novels of the past fifty years. It astounds me to see so many negative reviews of this classic. It's such a shame -- people seem to only want to read "literary fiction" if the style is plain and simple enough for middle schoolers to comprehend. Imagine if Faulkner had lived in the age of Amazon reviews! Norman Rush is one of our finest living writers and this book is a masterpiece.
2777131
This is a timeless classic.
Despite it's age, it reads very well. It is very engaging and well worth while
3621717
Truly, a Masterpiece. A little girl's journey in the world where reality and magic are fused together. I do not recommend this film for little children, it has some graphic violence scenes difficult even for an adult to watch. The cast, storyline, camera work - everything to the highest standard. I've watched this film multiple times throughout the years, it is fantastic.
86398
Don Quixote is one of those big, classic books that I just never got around to reading. So I can't really compare this edition to any others, and I don't really want to, either. Nor do I want to really "review" the book properly. It's Don Quixote! It's a classic! It has endured for five centuries, and everything that can be said about it has already been said--twenty times over.

What I will say about Don Quixote is that Edith Grossman's translation is absolutely phenomenal. I've read a LOT of old, even ancient literature. And styles... change. Generally speaking, the older a given text is, the less accessible it will be to a modern audience. Grossman's translation, however, is brilliant. I'm not sure whether its quality is inherent to Cervantes' original draft or to her translation, but the final product is imminently readable. For a novel written so long ago, it's (frankly) astonishing that Don Quixote reads so well--it feels very much more like a modern novel than anything else of its era, or most of the eras that followed. The characters are eccentric, the plot wildly imaginative, the pacing fast, the dialog witty.

In short, Grossman's translation makes it profoundly clear just why Cervantes' classic deserves its place in history. I heartily recommend this edition to anyone else who is looking to read Don Quixote for the first time--it will draw you in and take you for one hell of a ride just as deftly--perhaps even moreso--than the most successful "page-turners" of today.
2099541
This is not just another album , this is one of those that stays with you for a long long time,as a classic work of art, you have to listen it many times to understand the message. A extraordinary work of a extrordinary artist.  Robert Z.
657523
A wonderful book.  I had forgotten just how moving and how beautiful this classic truly is.  I recommend it to any serious reader.  I makes much contemporary writing seem very thin indeed.
4757103
A wonderful classic - never tire of this, revisiting every few years.
2482124
Everyone should read this book at least once in their lives. It is an absolute and timeless classic, a truly deep and touching book, deeply spiritual, deeply simple and it will move you beyond words as it did me.  A Christian mystical masterpiece. Buy it!
915886
This  classic novel is definitely Tolstoy's masterpiece.  Once, you read "Anna Karenina" ,you will begin to figure out that Tolstoy is  one of the greatest men the world has ever seen. The story of the ruin of a young and charming woman called Anna, will  definitely set you thinking about the meaning of holy matrimony. Unhappy with her marriage, Anna  seeks  a way out of her loveless life. She finds the love she yearned for with Count Vronsky. However, that illegal love takes away her son, her  status in society  ,and in the end , her life.