Gatsby isn’t trying to be exciting or even entertaining. It’s about explaining some truths about human nature that are hard to articulate in a straightforward way, but are apparent when demonstrated. If you see reading as primarily a form of entertainment, there’s not much in Gatsby for you. But reading-for-entertainment wouldn’t justify having English class.
I love this description - and if you feel that way, you may like the book The Hustler(link to thread I posted about it) for similar reasons.
Gatsby rocks for all the reasons folks mention here. Fwiw, Fitz worked out his ideas for storylines and for characters in the short stories he published to make money. Those short stories were then collected and released the year after the novel came out. In the case of Gatsby, the “Gatbsy cluster” of story were released in All the Sad Young Men, which, after Gatsby, had the coolest 1920’s dust jacketever.
In that collection, ***Winter Dreams ***stands out as a wonderful exploration of Gatsby-related ideas and character types. I highly recommend it.
Another vote for I think high school students may be too young to appreciate it. At least, I had to read it as a sophomore in high school, and again as a sophomore in college, and I remember getting a lot more out of it the second time.
I read it several years and it’s one of the best American novels. A marvelously written book.
I disagree that Gatsby isn’t meant to be entertaining. Parts of it are quite funny, and the overall story is engrossing.