A review
F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s most famous work, this book continues to be talked about today as one of the finest American novels of the 20th century. Set in the ’20’s, in New York, Fitzgerald paints a vivid picture of the high life. The protagonist here is Jay Gatsby, a man who has everything that one could dream of. A mysterious character, he is known for hosting lavish parties and inviting the swish set in New York. Everybody who is anybody is seen at his parties. Day and night his Long Island mansion buzzes with young people drinking, dancing and debating his mysterious ways. For Gatsby – young, handsome, fabulously rich – always seems alone in a crowd, watching and waiting, although nobody knows what his intent is. Beneath the shimmering surface of his life he is hiding a secret: a silent longing which can never be fulfilled. The desire to be with Daisy, the love of his life, and now a much married woman.
The novel has a first person narrative – Nick Caraway, a young man who befriends Jay Gatsby, and is Daisy’s second cousin. He ends up serving as a go between on many occasions and has a peak into their affair, and the affair that Tom, Daisy’s husband, is having on the side. Fitzgerald depicts the shallowness of the American Dream and the greed and disillusionment that comes with it. People being attracted to wealth and opulence, marriages that exist only for the sake of making appearances, and love that requires the false display of wealth and status, and is thus flawed. The story is full of symbolism and provoking questions about America’s shallow culture back then and the trappings of fame. This short masterpiece is pitch perfect in its treatment, young and vibrant, tragic and is a fast paced, gripping read. The most important bits are the ones that the author leaves unsaid, but which are nevertheless come through, which says a lot about his remarkable foresight. Although published in 1925 during the boom phase, he is skeptical about the lust for greed and power, and quite significantly not much ends up coming form this. The Great Depression after 1929 is ample proof of this.
simplyfiction 