Just got told my book club pick was 'too obvious' and it got me thinking

One lady said choosing *The Great Gatsby* for a discussion on the American Dream was a cop-out, like bringing a knife to a gun fight. Has anyone else had their club shut down a classic for being overdone?

2 comments

2 Comments

wren21712d agoMost Upvoted

Too obvious" just means people are afraid to admit the classics still hit harder than the new stuff.

jason95811d ago

@wren217 has a point but I think the real issue is how we read classics now versus when they came out. People act like The Great Gatsby is just about rich people being sad when it's actually a brutal takedown of class and meritocracy. The problem is most book clubs don't dig past the surface so they treat it like a tired take instead of a still-relevant punch to the gut. Your lady sounds like she's more concerned with sounding original than actually wrestling with Fitzgerald's anger about the American Dream being a scam.