Book Spine Breaker

I just finished The Great Gatsby as it is on my study list for English Literature and I have to say I didn’t like it.

The book is written from the point of view of Caraway, a character with little back bone an infuriatingly hypocritical nature and is an unreliable narrator that spends the entire novel in confusion. The other character’s follow the same hypocrisy and all come across as unpleasant. 

Fitzgerald overemphasises the lavish nature of society to point out the hedonism of the times. But this is done without subtly and comes across as forced. The book is also too long and often goes off on what appears to be pointless tangents. 

I will however credit the book for (it’s not so hidden) messaging and metaphors that really highlight the philosophy’s of the rich in America at the time. 

Genre-Fiction, Drama

I recently read The Birds by Daphne Du Maurier.

If you are someone who wants to broaden your horizons and take a break from the teen fiction then this is the book for you. Also it’s a novella so takes next to no time to read.

The book is set in a small seaside town and follows a farmhand Nat Hocken as he tries to save his family and neighbours from a set of peculiar attacks. The birds across the country have turned with the tide and are savagely attacking people. 

The story sets up believable and likeable characters that you can’t help but root for as they fight what appears to be a hopeless battle. 

The tension the book creates is truly gripping and the description allows you to really enter this fictional scene.

The book, as it always seems to be, is ten times better than the movie. Although, Hitchcock gives it a good go! 

Genre- Horror, Thriller, Novelette