Got into it with a member over 'The Great Gatsby' being overrated

Last Tuesday at our local library book club, I said I think Gatsby is just okay and this one lady, Susan, got super defensive. She started listing all these reasons why it's a classic and I pushed back saying the characters are shallow. It got awkward fast and we ended up splitting the group into two camps. Has anyone else had a debate like this where people got weirdly emotional about a book?

3 comments

3 Comments

felix1471mo ago

Does Susan actually read much outside the classics, or is she one of those people who just gets offended when you disagree with her? Because if someone told me they thought a book I liked was overrated, I'd ask why, not launch into a lecture. What did she say when you pointed out Daisy and Tom are basically glammed up rich jerks with no real depth?

uma_johnson1mo ago

Did I read somewhere that Fitzgerald wrote Daisy and Tom as flat on purpose to show how empty rich people are?

taylor_young1mo ago

Totally agree @uma_johnson, that is exactly the point.