The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Published by Scribner
Published: September 30th 2004
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The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted “gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession,” it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.
The Great Gatsby is one of the great classics of twentieth-century literature.
I freely admit that I was a slacker when it came to reading in high school. I did the bare minimum of my summer reading, just enough to get me by. Cliff’s Notes, sorry cringing teachers everywhere, were my best friend for the books I didn’t read. But I can say with great confidence that isn’t why I never read this classic until now. The truth is, this book was never assigned to me so I never gave it a second thought until Leonardo DiCaprio was cast in the movie. And if you know me, you know one thing about me, I love me some Leo. So in honor of this movie(which I have not seen at the time of this being written) I decided I needed to read this classic piece of American literature. And I must say I’m happy that I did.
Now prior to reading this I asked a few people I know that read Gatsby what it was about and every single person said the same thing. They all told me they honestly couldn’t tell me what it was about in words. And after reading it I completely understand because it’s really hard to explain what the book is actually about. I don’t want that to sound like it is confusing, because it isn’t. There isn’t so much information that you can’t even tell someone what happens. I think it is more that you can’t really describe what happens to do it justice.
People always seem to think The Great Gatsby is a love story, but to me it was a story about obsession and that is why it has held up after so many years. A love story is easy to do, but an obsession passed off as a love story, now that tough. And once you mix in the 1920s glamor and over the top characters you really do have a remarkable book.
So like many, I can’t really tell you much about the plot other than Gatsby is very eccentric and seems to do everything just to get Daisy’s attention. Daisy is super high maintenance and Nick is stuck in the middle. Everything about all of these characters is over the top and the story will suck you in. I can’t tell you what it was about, but I can tell you it was good. Now to see the movie and my Leo who I think will be an excellent Gatsby.
Thanks for posting! My reading list in High School were different so I didn’t read The Great Gatsby like everyone else and with the buzz from the movie, I may just need to check it out.