Review: The Great Gatsby | F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby | F. Scott Fitzgerald

Page count: (Paperback) 180 pages

Publication date: April 10, 1925

Genres: Classic, romance

Synopsis

“The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. First published in 1925, this quintessential novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the mysteriously 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.”

Review

The Great Gatsby was absolutely unlike any book I have ever read. There is a reason this is considered one of the best works of twentieth-century literature. The Great Gatsby is a tragic tale of old love and heartbreak, filled with the glamor and scandal of the 1920s high society.

The Great Gatsby is narrated by Nick Carraway, but our protagonist is James Gatz, aka Jay Gatsby, a prime example of the American Dream. We fall in love with Gatsby in all his passion and devotion as he falls in love with Daisy. We watch Daisy marry someone else and Gatsby get there barely too late. He never loves again and transfixes on only her for the next five years, grasping for any tiny piece of hope that she would come running to him to tell him that she loves him and everything will be perfect.

But of course, that’s not how life works. Jay Gatsby wastes his life hopelessly longing after after a girl with an almost childish obsession. His blind, almost feverish, infatuation with Daisy made him oblivious to how doomed his hunt was from the start. He pines after her like a lovesick puppy as she creates a family of her own away from him and never gets the memo.

One of the best parts of this book is the writing. I’ve heard it called flowery, but I love its depth and intricacy. I felt transported to the glitz and glamor of the Jazz Age, absolutely sucked into West Egg. F. Scott Fitzgerald manages to push so much emotion on the page that I could practically feel Gatsby’s hopeless yearning for a girl who isn’t even worthy of him.

This book came out almost one hundred years ago, and it’s astounding how much things have changed since then! There was rampant sexism and racism, and it’s just commonplace. A man locked his wife in a room and no one thought that was any kind of wrong? Tom laughed once over how crazy a family with a white and a “negro” would be. Even though today’s society isn’t any kind of perfect, at least both women and non-whites have rights. Can you imagine having to obey your husband’s every command? Be their property? Or being looked down upon for your ethnicity or color of your skin? It’s atrocious.

All in all, I’m so happy I finally read this. It’s my favorite classic so far (though my pool of options only contains Pride and Prejudice, Alice in Wonderland, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) and I know it’s going to stick with me awhile.

My rating: ★★★★½