The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (English, 1922). The decline of the American dream, the spirit of the 1920s, the difference between social classes, the role of symbols in the human conception of meaning, the role of the past in dreams of the future. Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in its overarching cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure. As Fitzgerald saw it (and as Nick explains in Chapter 9), the American dream was originally about discovery, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness. In the 1920s depicted in the novel, however, easy money and relaxed social values have corrupted this dream, especially on the East Coast.

Presenter: Bolor
Commenter: Sean

Date: 9 November 2011
Time: 19:15 sharp

Format:
1. Members introduction (5 minutes)
2. Club demography (2 minutes)
3. Introducing interesting books (5 minutes)
4. Brief introduction of next book (2 minutes)
5. Book presentation (20-30 minutes)
– A brief history of author’s life
– A short summary of the book
– Main/new ideas that the book brought to the society at the time that it was written
– What were the major implications/reactions at the time that it was written?
– What are the major implications on our daily lives (if any)?
6. Group discussion led by the commentator (45-60 minutes), member’s personal view about the book, opposing ideas.

At the end of the meeting, a group of us goes to a bar nearby for a drink, everyone is welcome to join.

Venue: Librairie-café Les Recyclables: 53, rue de Carouge, Genève
Tram 12/13 arrêt Pont d'Arve ou Augustin,
Bus 1/4/44 arrêt Pont d'Arve ou Plainpalais,
Parking vélo devant l'arcade,
Parking voiture sous le centre commercial Plainpalais-centre

Note: reading the book is not a "must" to attend the meeting!

Look forward to see you all!

Download the book from: http://www.planetebook.com/ebooks/The-Great-Gatsby.pdf

To purchase the hard copy, you can send an email to Grégory in Librairie-café Les Recyclables: [email protected]

To join the club: http://www.glocals.com/#/groups/geneva/geneva-book-club-group.htm

To see the upcoming events:http://sites.google.com/site/genevabookclubgbc/event/eevents-2011

To sign up as presenter and/or commenter (please check the above web address first and only register for the books that are marked with “volunteer needed”:
https://spreadsheets0.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dDlMbUVtTnRXdW5KUVpDZ3pLUWNVX2c6MQ#gid=0