Yeah, I first read it when I was a teen also, just after the Redford/Jack Clayton version was released. I loved the novel, but then it's the kind of book that would appeal to a young romantic woman and not a teen-aged boy. Most young girls/women would naturally love a story about a rich, handsome mystery man who's totally devoted to one woman and is willing to pine after her for years. As an adult fiction writer, I'm fascinated with the mechanics of this short novel. It's around 40,000 words, yet there are tons of characters and scenes packed into it, which is an amazing achievement.

The Luhrman version had some fun stuff in it, but ultimately, I felt it failed to capture the book as all the other filmed versions have. He left out too very important pieces of information: Gatsby's father at his funeral and the fact that Tom confesses to Nick that he lied about Gatsby to George Wilson, which motivated Wilson to kill Gatsby. I did like Carey Mulligan as Daisy a lot better than Mia Farrow, who played her in 1974, but you know me, with my Mia-phobia, I'm prejudiced. :) A combination of the Luhrman version and the 1974 Jack Clayton version may have been just about perfect.

PS are you still interested in our fiction writing group? I didn't hear back from you about that.