The Great Gatsby / The Last Tycoon

I understand now why the 2013 movie got hit by the critics. The Great Gatsby is a sad book. The movie fails to capture the melancholy of Gatsby's dream, and the empathy you feel on moments of pure humanity throughout the book. Tobey Maguire isn't a proper Carraway to me, but as the character himself says:

‘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 any one,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.”'

The only part of the book that failed to interest me was Nick's description of the people that came to Gatsby's parties. I felt for a moment as if I had picked up War and Peace. It's nothing but a long, very long list of names. Perhaps the author is trying to give you a sense of how extensive was the group of people that “crashed” Gatsby's parties, yet failed to be there he most needed them.

Well, I'm not a proper critic and can't write clever reviews, so I'll state simply: The Great Gatsby is excellent.