Nose in a Book

Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Publisher: Scribner

Publication Date: 1925

Genre: Literary Fiction

When Nick Carraway moves from the Midwest to Long Island, he finds himself living next door to the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby, who is famous for his lavish parties. It’s the summer of 1922, and everyone wants to live a carefree life of fulfilled dreams. While Nick lives in West Egg, his second cousin Daisy Buchannan and her rich and racist husband live in the more fashionable East Egg. Gatsby comes to Nick looking for someone to help in his attempt to recreate his past with Daisy, who he had loved during the war. Gatsby’s whole life has been built around his aim of winning back Daisy, with her voice sounding of money. This classic novel is a portrait of the jazz age and a story about the American dream, and the price we pay for the pursuit of it.

With the release of the film adaptation today, I thought it was as good a time as ever to reread and review The Great Gatsby. More interesting reviews will say that this book is overrated and come up with witty ways of saying so, but I love it. Gatsby definitely stands up well to a reread. Because it’s such a complex and layered novel, you can always notice new things the second time you read it. Since everything I can say about how good this book has been said before (and more eloquently than I could ever say it) I’m going to focus less on that in this review and more on whether this book will be enjoyable for you. That being said, this book is worthy of not only being considered a classic, but also the great American novel. It’s beautifully written and full of symbols and metaphors that have earned it a place in most American high school classrooms. While the characters might not be likeable, I don’t think they have to be. Characters in books are supposed to imitate real people and real people aren’t always likable. The themes in this book are still relevant today, and will be for as long as people are status obsessed and dishonest. While rereading, I was most interested in the aspects of the story that were about letting the idea of a person get in the way of truly loving them, as it does with Gatsby.

Despite what the movie trailers for the film might lead you to believe, this isn’t really a great romance. I think if you start The Great Gatsby expecting to find a book about a legendary love, or the glamorous lives of flappers or to find characters that you’ll connect with, you’ll be disappointed. Even though it’s seen as the great American novel, you do not have to be American to enjoy it, speaking as a non-American. The American dream is relevant to everyone in Western culture, not just Americans. If you read Gatsby in high school and hated it, it’s worth giving it a second chance. Novels are always more enjoyable when you don’t have to write a term paper on them. If the movie turns out to be a flop, read the book anyways. While it’s a fairly accessible classic and I’m tempted to recommend it as someone’s first because of its length, The Great Gatsby is brilliant and thought provoking. While the Jazz Age is over and the Lost Generation are gone, in a way we’re still, like Gatsby, yearning for the green light in the distance.

 5/5

“No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart.”