That "must read" classic I hated and everyone loves

My book club picked The Great Gatsby last month (everyone kept saying how it's a masterpiece, right?). I was skeptical going in because I tried reading it in high school and fell asleep by page 30. Figured I'd give it another shot as an adult with more life experience or whatever. Nope. Still couldn't stand it. The characters are all awful people doing nothing important and I just don't get the hype. I told my group I thought it was boring and one lady literally gasped like I kicked her dog. Am I the only one who thinks this book is overrated or did I just read it wrong? Has anyone else had a book club pick that made them feel like a total outsider for not liking it?

2 comments

2 Comments

abbyl491mo ago

Had a friend who went through this with her book club and Moby Dick. She was the only one who couldn't get through it. They met at someone's house and she showed up having only read like 50 pages. The hostess spent twenty minutes explaining why the whale stuff was actually super symbolic and my friend just sat there nodding. She finally blurted out "but it's still boring" and the whole room got quiet. She left that book club and started her own with just people who agreed to read books under 300 pages.

the_nancy1mo ago

Totally disagree with your friend on this one @abbyl49. Moby Dick is one of those books where the slow parts are the whole point, like that whale stuff is actually what makes it great if you just sit with it for a second. Her starting a short book club sounds like she just wanted validation for not liking anything that takes more than a weekend.