The Great Gatsby is one of those books I return to repeatedly. The first book that really spoke to me happens to have been an historical romance. A librarian at my middle school handed it to me and said, "Read this." The title was Mrs. Mike. I bawled, in that completely overcome way that preteen girls sometimes do. Sometimes the love stories I enjoy in contemporary novels are the unhappy ones, like Intimacy by Hanif Kureishi.
Love The Great Gatsby -- one of those books that were formative to me wanting to become a writer at all. I read it first as a freshman in high school, and I definitely wasn't as attentive of a reader then as I am now. So I think I missed out on plenty of the book's nuance. But, I did key in on how it was clearly the teacher's favorite book on the planet. Something they truly looked forward to teaching.
So in college, upon opting to try the creative writing path, I returned to Gatsby and was blown away. And I've returned several times since.
Fitzgerald's sentences in that book are magnificent, and perfect, I feel, to bring the love story you've pointed out to life.
Thank you for the fun pre-Valentines sub stack! You asked for other romances that are memorable. As time has moved on since COVID, I am more and more struck by romances found in unlikely situations. The dystopian book Handmaid’s Tale brought me to Nick and June and I can’t forget them. They were one another’s strength and mode of survival in such a bizarro environment. There relationship was never straightforward even at the very end. Although, theirs is not a classic love story, there is a truth that feels so contemporary and genuine. I have not seen the televised version. Usually, things are not as they are in the book telling and I haven’t wanted to taint my love of this story for many reasons, especially this these two characters.
The Great Gatsby is one of those books I return to repeatedly. The first book that really spoke to me happens to have been an historical romance. A librarian at my middle school handed it to me and said, "Read this." The title was Mrs. Mike. I bawled, in that completely overcome way that preteen girls sometimes do. Sometimes the love stories I enjoy in contemporary novels are the unhappy ones, like Intimacy by Hanif Kureishi.
Gotta add _Bel Canto_ by Ann Patchett. Glad to have found you, Brooke. --Mary
Love The Great Gatsby -- one of those books that were formative to me wanting to become a writer at all. I read it first as a freshman in high school, and I definitely wasn't as attentive of a reader then as I am now. So I think I missed out on plenty of the book's nuance. But, I did key in on how it was clearly the teacher's favorite book on the planet. Something they truly looked forward to teaching.
So in college, upon opting to try the creative writing path, I returned to Gatsby and was blown away. And I've returned several times since.
Fitzgerald's sentences in that book are magnificent, and perfect, I feel, to bring the love story you've pointed out to life.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for the fun pre-Valentines sub stack! You asked for other romances that are memorable. As time has moved on since COVID, I am more and more struck by romances found in unlikely situations. The dystopian book Handmaid’s Tale brought me to Nick and June and I can’t forget them. They were one another’s strength and mode of survival in such a bizarro environment. There relationship was never straightforward even at the very end. Although, theirs is not a classic love story, there is a truth that feels so contemporary and genuine. I have not seen the televised version. Usually, things are not as they are in the book telling and I haven’t wanted to taint my love of this story for many reasons, especially this these two characters.
Thanks for the shoutout! I love fluffy romances as a palette cleanser but your take on them is great... especially The Great Gatsby! Good call.