The Great Gatsby

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The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
1925

The Summary
Written from the perspective of Nick Carraway, a young man from Minnesota who recently moved to New York City, The Great Gatsby catalogs his experiences as he enters into the company of West Egg residents, Daisy and Tom, and slips into their glorious and careless world of glitz, glamour, and gold.  Moreover, he narrates the events that transpire as he encounters his enigmatic and charming neighbor, Jay Gatsby, who strives to realize his dream of reclaiming his long-lost love.

In short, it's a story about the American Dream - and what happens when it slips through one's fingers.

The Good
Set within the roaring twenties, among the socialites and party-goers of the day, The Great Gatsby is a novel which tears away the curtain masking the irresistibly famous and incomprehensibly rich.  Through the eyes of Nick, Fitzgerald weaves a compelling tale about the seamy underside of fame and crafts beautiful characters, who have been influenced - and, yes, one might say corrupted - by wealth and prestige.

Fitzgerald illuminates the characters of Jay Gatsby (Nick's remarkably reserved and simultaneously ostentatious neighbor), Daisy and Tom Buchanan (West Egg residents, who are bound up in riches, fame, and extramarital affairs), and Myrtle Wilson (a vibrant, beautiful woman from the "Valley of Ashes" between West Egg and New York, who has an affair with Tom) and reveals their story as their lives intertwine in a world of fraudulent happiness and carelessness.

In this novel, Fitzgerald will tear apart your preconceived notions and, essentially, rattle your cage with the awful, ugly truth that lies beneath the world of Daisy and Tom.  It's beautiful, but it's tragic just the same.

The Bad
Like many great novels, tragedy is an integral part to this story.  While you may not cry at the inevitability of Nick's story or the tragedy which he will face and, eventually, try to escape, it is still a story that will tug on the heart strings.

It is a novel, however, which will make you question the integrity of human beings and express disgust, like Nick, for a sense of moral deterioration.  It will make you doubt who you can trust, because who is compassionate enough and honest enough to tell the truth?

Perhaps, no one.

The Ugly
At the end of this book, you may just go away from the experience, like Nick Carraway, with a bad taste in your mouth.

The Grapes of Wrath

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The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck
1939

The Summary
The Grapes of Wrath, simply put, tells the story of the Joad family and their desperate journey to California.  After being forced off of their land by the owner, who sold his land to a bank, who in turn sold it to a corporation - and so on and so forth.  It's a never ending cycle - the Joad family moves west, hoping to find work (as promised in the pamphlet they discovered) and start a new life.

The Good
While the novel is primarily concerned with the Joad family and their flight across the country, several chapters - let's call them "bridge chapters," for the sake of being concise - describe the overall experience of the families forced to flee their homes.  These "bridge chapters" not only connect the Joad family to the larger, collective experience of these migrant people, but they also introduce the reader to a more intimate portrait of the suffering, terror, and desperation these people felt and experienced, during this great and terrible time.

While Steinbeck's novel isn't "delightful," it certainly has the qualities of a page turner.  It will keep you on the edge of your seat, wondering if the family will make it, if they will endure, and if they will make a home in California - if they can ever survive the journey.  On some level, this book will make you hope there is such a thing as happily-ever-after.

But, whether you find a happy ending, or not, is really up to you.

The Bad
This is a book that will break your heart, and then it will come back and stomp it into the dirt.

As Steinbeck once wrote in a letter to his publisher, "I am not writing a satisfying story.  I've done my damndest to rip a reader's nerves to rags, I don't want him satisfied.  And still one more thing - I've tried to write this book the way lives are lived not the way books are written."

The Ugly
The story of the Joad family occurs during a particularly chaotic time in American history.  It is a decade, when stock markets have crashed and banks have gone under; when dust has choked nearly half the country; when war - or an eviction notice - looms on the horizon, like the dusts of Oklahoma and Arkansas; when economic hardship has become the norm and exploitation of the poor, weak, and desperate happens regularly.

People suffer.  People die.  People are treated as less than human - and may become less than human through the fear and loathing of others, and under their own desperation.

In short, you - and the Joads - will be faced with tragedy again and again.

The Sound and the Fury

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The Sound and the Fury
William Faulkner
1929

The Summary
Divided into four parts, The Sound and the Fury catalogs the events in the gradual deterioration of a southern family.  It presents events from the perspectives of Benjy (Benjamin), Quentin, and Jason Compson, as well as Dilsey, a servant in the house.  Besides giving the reader a glimpse into their lives and minds, Faulkner confronts the meaning of time (past, present, and future), toys with shadows and death, and examines southern heritage, honor, tradition, humanity, racism and religion, and more.

The Good
William Faulkner definitely will not disappoint with this novel.  It is deep, it is rich, it is complex.  The society - the lives - Faulkner creates in this story will enchant and disgust, endear and repel.  In The Sound and the Fury, there exists a depth of consciousness which encompasses all of humanity's vices and virtues.  Reality, to a certain degree, becomes actualized by Faulkner.  And, throughout his novel, he not only entreats you to read further but makes it well worth your while.

The Bad
The Sound and the Fury is not an easy book to read.  There exist layers of complexity beneath the surface, as well as an unusual prose style.  In the first section (Benjy's chapter), punctuation and chronology become mixed up with the memories and sights, smells, sounds, and sensations Benjy experiences.  It does not follow any set path, rather it bounces between the past and the present, interweaving dialogue and memories and experiences beyond any set point of recognition.

Likewise, the second section (Quentin's chapter) will toy with punctuation, capitalization, time, emotional and physical turmoil, and suicide.  In some of the final pages of his chapter, punctuation and capitalization are completely disregarded in a torrent of memory and emotion.  There's also a mental complexity to this chapter, which, ultimately, makes very little sense, until one understands it is the story of a man contemplating suicide.

It's also important to realize there are names, which overlap.  There are two characters named Quentin (one male, and one female), two characters named Jason (a father and son), and two characters named Maury (until one has his name changed to Benjamin - i.e. Benjy).

As I said, this is not an easy novel.  A character map or timeline may prove beneficial.

The Ugly
As you read this novel, certain topics will arise which may be difficult to swallow.  Suicide, virginity, obsession, familial disputes, cruelty, racism - and, well, the list goes on.  Moreover, cruel - and just plain nasty - individuals will step into the limelight.  (I might suggest the third section, Jason's chapter, as an excellent example of cruelty, racism, voyeurism, and unhealthy obsessions, among other things.)

Rest assured, you will find at least one character (quite possibly, two or three), who will merit all your hatred and loathing.

The Fault in Our Stars

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The Fault in Our Stars
John Green
2012


The Summary
Written from the perspective of Hazel, The Fault in Our Stars tells of a very short period in her life as she recuperates and lives with thyroid cancer, along with satellite tumors in her lungs.  After meeting Augustus Waters in Support Group, she grows to understand his unusual love for metaphors - such as the pack of cigarettes he leaves perpetually unsmoked - and his desire to make an impact on the world.  They also share a love of literature, especially for a book called An Imperial Affliction by Peter Van Houten, which will play a crucial role in their growing relationship as they face facts about life, about love, and about mortality.

More than that, it is a story about living and trying to live and wanting to live, even when it seems impossible.

It's lovely.  It's tragic.  It will make you want to read it again.

The Good
Green gives his characters an extraordinary depth of emotion and range of characteristics, which make them as lovable and dear to your heart as the misfit best friend, who can always make you laugh and always make you feel a little better on a bad day.

As cliche as it might sound, you will become attached each character you meet.  Hazel, the main protagonist, who has always has a witty reply and offers an unique insight into the world on which cancer has wreaked havoc; Isaac, her Support Group wing-man, who struggles with the surgery which will make him blind and becomes one of Hazel's closest friends; Augustus, the philosophical youth, who deals with osteosarcoma and has a thing for metaphors.

You'll love 'em.

As for the rest of the novel, I can really find no fault.  John Green propels his story forward gracefully, giving Hazel the opportunity to tell her narrative and live her life.  And, more importantly, he tells a story.

As he writes in the author's note on the first page:  "This book is a work of fiction.  I made it up."  This novel is all about the story, because "made-up stories can matter" without all the hidden meanings and metaphors lurking behind every word.

It's the story that matters in this novel - and it is a story, which Green tells exceptionally well.

The Bad
You will cry - and then you may just cry some more.

The Ugly
Cancer is simply an ugly thing.

Fanatical

As you might have already guessed, Reader's Reach is about one thing and one thing alone:  books.

This blog is an attempt to share with the vast and glorious Internet the joy and excitement of reading.  Moreover, I want it to become a medium for the discussion of literature and a place for sharing thoughts on all those great and wonderful books we read every day.

For every book I read, I will write a review.  I can't guarantee it will be the best review, but I will be fair to each and every novel I read, listing as much detail as I can - without giving away the best parts, of course - and writing about the good, the bad, and the just plain ugly aspects.

Find yourself in disagreement with what I write?  Feel free to comment and leave a message.  Provide your own take on the novel and argue against my assessment.  I'll appreciate any insight - and suggestions for new books - you have to offer.

There's only one rule:  keep it clean.  No low blows, no spitting and cursing and hair pulling, and no foul language.  At Reader's Reach, there are only good books to read and new discussions to have about them - and maybe a little bit of scholarly sparring and lighthearted bantering.

So, without further ado, on with the show....

- The Scrivener