Bottom line - the time spent reading this would be better used actually rereading The Great Gatsby. Corrigan is a writer with a congenial voice who clearly has a deep affection for the novel - however, far too much of "So We Read On" is spent on Fitzgerald's biography and other contextual matters, while far too little is spent on the text of the novel itself. ( )

I came late to Gatsby. I don't remember any mention of Fitzgerald when I was in high school, and freshman college english in the late 1950s. But by the 2002 American Lit class I took after retiring it was a major text we read in detail, though without a lot of context. Thus I read Maureen Corrigan's So We Read On mainly to answer the second question in her subtitle, "why it endures."
Now I'm reading The Great Gatsby for my second time and seeing all it's lyrical language, and noticing its symmetrical structure. Can't say I like its characters any more than the first time, but I can appreciate what the novel is doing. Sometimes, learning about an artwork it is as revealing as experiencing it.
Corrigan does a great service for those of us who have wondered what is the big deal about this novel. ( )

Of course, you're already a Gatsby fan if you choose this book, but the author’s skills are a revelation to me, despite listening to her book reviews forever on Fresh Air. She's a charming combination of a fangirl and an academic, and her analysis of her 100+ reads of the book seems spot on. There's a bit of a shuck on the total whiteness of the novel (except for some blatant racism and, also, contempt for women), but seeing as it was published in 1925, that's a given. What's less palatable is her disinterest in Zelda Fitzgerald, and especially in her respectable novel Save Me the Waltz. Corrigan's tracking down of source documents and reading of Fitzgerald's letters reveals his overwhelming desire to be critically and popularly acclaimed, which did not happen until after his death at 44. The book is a brilliant balance between the real Fitzgerald and the characters Gatsby and narrator Nick, and if she seems to conflate them at times, she's forgiven. There are remarkable insights into the language, structure, and characters, and Corrigan may yet convince you that this is the Great American Novel.

Quote from a Fitzgerald letter: "The whole burden of this novel is the loss of those illusions that give such color to the world, so that you don’t care whether things are true or false as long as they partake of the magical glory.” ( )

A delightful little book that compelled me to go out and buy a used copy of TGG and highlight and tab it extensively. Just as Corrigan said I would, I found marginalia such as "green light = $."

Her visit to Manhassett was a complete bummer. It confirmed my belief that America's or at least Long Island's green breast days are behind it now and apparently were in FSF's time too, e. g., the author revisits her old parochial high school near Manhassett and finds it surrounded by a razor wire-topped cyclone fence. And I see that the homes there listed on line, rather drab and functional for the most part, list for over $1,000,000. And if you go to gawk at the home that is most likely the model for Gatsby's, you will be chased off.

The insights of the actor who has read the book aloud hundreds of times on stage likely warrant a book of their own.

In my personal pantheon Hemingway held top spot until I read his most recent biography. Now I have a suitable replacement.

So We Read On is not strictly a bio of Scott Fitzgerald and/or the time he spent writing The Great Gatsby. Author Corrigan (a big fan of The Great Gatsby) focuses on the history and meaning (also covering symbolism in this book) of this novel.

Also discussed is Fitzgerald's relationship with others, including Hemingway: "There are many reasons why Fitzgerald struggled for nine years to write a novel after Gatsby, but the seed of self-doubt that Hemingway watered certainly may have contributed to the blight."

In addition to Corrigan's thoughtful discussions on Gatsby and Fitzgerald, interesting tidbits are also included. For instance, until reading this book, I didn't know that there were naked ladies swimming the eyes on the iconic cover designed by Francis Cugat, older brother of band-leader Xavier. Not only that, Francis Cugat received a flat fee of $100, without any royalties, and never did a book cover again. Corrigan suspects it was because it was too much work for not enough money.

Next time I read The Great Gatsby, I will probably have this book by my side. ( )