In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.
‘Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.’
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
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In my younger and more vulnerable years I went alone to see Robert Redford in The Great Gatsby. It was slow and misty but dramatic enough. I’ve never heard the song ‘What’ll I do?’ without returning in my mind to that movie theatre.
I read it when I was young, but I didn’t really understand it. Maybe it’s time to read it again.
Guess pretty soon we’ll see if Leonardo DiCaprio does any better.
I have to confess that though it’s on my bookshelf I’ve never read more than a few pages. Not compelling enough. But the very title reminds me of ‘What’ll I do’. And I really like the opening line.
I watched the trailer when I was doing this blog post, and was quite put off. It was fast and aggressive, though I know these are only snippets.
Some books do start out so slow you wonder how they ever got published, but I figure if someone thought they were worthy enough to publish, I can read it unless it’s way to dull.
*too