Bookworms: The Great Gatsby (1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Jay Gatsby is handsome, young, and rich. Everyone wants to be seen at the magnificent parties the mysterious millionaire holds at his mansion. It seems like he has it all, but there is one thing he still desires. Jay wants the woman he fell in love with years before, Daisy Buchanan, and has devoted his life to winning her affections. This obsession begins to destroy the world he has created.

Being aware that a lot of people will first encounter The Great Gatsby through the forthcoming Baz Luhrmann film, I am being careful of spoilers which sounds like an unusual thing to say about a book released in 1925. Set in 1922, The Great Gatsby is told through the eyes of Nick Carraway. Nick has the strongest morals of all the characters and F. Scott Fitzgerald mostly keeps him separate from the decadent behavior despite being in the middle of the action – Nick is related to the beautiful but shallow Daisy and also rents the modest house next to Jay’s mansion. It is soon clear that the parties are held to impress society and prove that Jay, who is from a poor background, is finally worthy of Daisy, who is now married to the arrogant but wealthy Tom Buchanan. That is probably enough to tell you that things are not going to go smoothly…

The Great Gatsby is often named as one of the best books of all time. On the surface it is a story about love, but underneath there is a strong assessment of materialism, self-indulgence, and shallow moral values. There are many themes and symbols ripe for academic study. Jay Gatsby (new money) lives in a showy mansion, drives an extravagant car and lives in West Egg. The Buchanans (old money) live in a much more tasteful house in East Egg. The weather is used in a symbolic way and can be compared to Shakespeare. The fact these details are so often discussed could be a reason why some people dislike it. The release of the film will no doubt create another wave of academic study at schools and leave another generation annoyed by trying to assess which Shakespearean character is most like Daisy Buchannan.

Some people think The Great Gatsby is overrated but I think they are being too unforgiving. It is an old and often copied book which can water down the experience. If someone watched 1974’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre now they may wonder why it was banned and considered so shocking. That statement may be the first time, but hopefully not the last, that The Great Gatsby was compared with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I enjoyed reading The Great Gatsby again for this review and it is sometimes said that it gets better as you get older. It is short, easy to follow and feels like a modern book. It manages to draw you into the debauched world of rich 1920’s society but leaves you free to judge their behavior. If it is something you have read before it might be time to visit it again. If you have not read it before you should try to experience it before the film.