The Great Gatsby
Date Posted: Sunday, August 05, 2007Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
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A portrait of the Jazz Age and a cautionary tale about the American Dream, The Great Gatsby captured the hedonistic spirit of the 1920s.
The novel is set in Long Island where Jay Gatsby, a mysterious self-made man, has become famous for his fabulous parties.
With his huge house and vast wealth, Gatsby seems to have it all but underneath the decadent exterior he is pining for his former love, Daisy, now married to the rich but bullying Tom Buchanan.
As the novel unfolds, we learn that Gatsby has made his money from bootlegging, driven by the hope that his new riches will help him win back Daisy.
The pair rekindle their affair but tragedy ensues when Tom finds out.
The Great Gatsby is narrated by Nick Carraway, Gatsby's new neighbour who acts as a Greek chorus.
At the end of the novel Nick returns to his home in the Midwest, reflecting on the corrupting influence of money, the moral decadence of the wealthy Long Island set. Disgusted and disillusioned by what he has witnessed, he observes that the American Dream is over.
Beautiful prose and a story that resonates in today's materialistic society as much as it did in the 20s make the Great Gatsby an American classic.
Site Visitor Reviews
I have read this book more than half a dozen times and I still find something new every time I read it.
Beautiful writing and incredible perception make it Fitzgerald’s masterpiece.
This is a book about America. It’s about money and snobbery and the hold our past maintains over us even as we try to create a future of ourselves.
A classic, if not THE classic, American novel.