Hi ladies,
I hope you all are having a good weekend. I'm sure many of us are regrouping after the hail storm. I thought I would take some time out from yard work to send out the recap of our meeting yesterday.
We had a great meeting and sat outside on the patio at the Pinery. It was great except for the baby robin that flew into my hair right at the moment I was telling a story about trying to save a mother robin and her eggs during the hail
storm. Now that's not something that happens every day. It did make us laugh, and me scream! We missed those of you who couldn't make it.
We gave The Great Gatsby an average rating of 3.75. The consensus was that the book was very well written and once again we discussed how it seems many authors todaydo not have the way with words that authors such as Fitzgerald had back in the day. Many of us had read the book in high school and agreed that it was better read as an adult. There were various subtle themes throughout the book that were easy to miss, such as the color yellow and the importance of the weather and it's connection to events in the book.
Most of the characters, except for Nick, were not seen as very likable and it was hard to connect emotionally with them. We were intrigued by the time-frame of the 1920's and the depiction of "new money" vs. "old money." We discussed how society really hasn't changed much since that time: greed and self indulgence are still pervasive as is chasing the mighty dollar. The book shined a light into the rich and their society in the 1920's although we agreed that even back then, money could not
buy class. The book was relatively short but packed a lot of things for us to think about.
Reading about F. Scott Fitzgerald helped add to our perspective of the book. He and his wife Zelda lived an extravagant lifestyle and moved to France, then Rome to better continue that kind of life. Fitzgerald had been an alcoholic since his college days and Zelda was a schizophrenic. She was hospitalized in 1930 for the first of many breakdowns and Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood where he died of a heart attack at the age of 44. He had wanted to name his book "Trimalchio" or "The Gold-Hatted Gatsby" but his publisher insisted on The Great Gatsby. He never did like the title. Also, we discussed the cover art and weren't sure what it really depicted. I did some research and found some interesting information. I had no idea the the jacket art is considered to be among the most famous in American literature. Fitzgerald had it commissioned while he was still writing the book and loved it so much that he told his publisher that he was going to write it into his novel. He talked about the blue and gigantic eyes, which are probably supposed to be those of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg from the billboard at the Ash Heaps. Some also say that the eyes could be those of Daisy, the "girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark cornices and blinding signs." Interesting to ponder!
We will be meeting next month to discuss our next book "A Billionaire's Vinegar." We will have our annual happy hour on Friday, July 13th, at my house at 5:00. Please bring something to share, appetizer, salad, dessert, etc. and let everyone what you plan to bring so we won't have duplicates. My address is 8397 Windhaven Dr.
Looking forward to seeing you all then! Jonnie, we will miss you!
Valerie
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