Book club last Thursday made me rethink a classic I've hated for 10 years

I've always said I can't stand "The Great Gatsby" - thought it was boring and shallow since high school. But last week at our local library book club, this older lady named Carol said she reads it every 5 years and gets something completely different each time. She pointed out how the green light at the end isn't just about Daisy, it's about how we all chase things we think will fix us. That one comment made me pull my old copy off the shelf and I read the first chapter again that night. Now I'm wondering if I've been too quick to judge books based on what I thought in school. Has anyone else had a book club conversation that totally flipped your opinion on a book you thought you knew?

2 comments

2 Comments

skyler_lane831d ago

Started reading "Moby Dick" for a book club a couple years ago and was ready to hate it because everyone says it's boring. But the guy leading the discussion said to think of Ahab as a guy who lost something he loved and just couldn't let go, not some crazy captain. Then he pointed out how the whale isn't really a whale, it's whatever we can't stop fighting in our own lives. That clicked for me and I actually finished the whole book for the first time ever. It's wild how one person's take can totally change what you see on the page.

the_phoenix1d ago

Has anyone else noticed how Moby Dick actually has a lot of funny parts too? A lot of people skip over that because they're too focused on the whale stuff. I remember reading about the captain's wooden leg and how he keeps falling over and it cracked me up. It's not all deep meaning and philosophy, there's some real humor in there if you look for it.