The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is one of the most classic pieces of American literature. Written in 1924, this book was in some way a reflection of Fitzgerald’s life, his love life to be specific. The setting is in the 1920’s in West and East Egg, New York. The main character, Nick Carraway, is moving to West Egg, for a new opportunity as a bond’s salesman. He moves to West Egg, which is the area for people with “new money.” This means that the people who live here have only recently become rich, while in East Egg, the people are wealthy, and their families have been rich for many generations. This causes a great divide between some of the characters. Upon moving here, Nick notices that he lives next to an extraordinary mansion of his neighbor, Gatsby. Gatsby is a mysterious man who is rarely seen out. Every weekend, he throws grand parties, where many celebrities, powerful people, and the rich come uninvited to party at. Nick one day goes to his cousin Daisy’s house with her husband Tom, who he was friends with in college, and a famous golf player named Jordan Baker. Here, he learns that there is some tension between Daisy and Tom in their marriage, due to the fact that Tom was having an affair with another woman. Later, we get to know Gatsby, and learn that he was in love with Daisy and that they used to be a thing in the past. But they were unable to get married due to the war, and Daisy ended up being married to another man. So, it is up to Nick to try to help Gatsby end up with the girl of his dreams again, even though she is married! Considering that this book was written almost a century ago, it’s not too terrible. The wording and message throughout the story highly relies on symbolism and deeper meaning, which can be annoying to some people if you don’t enjoy that and prefer reading books that are very direct with how everything is. I felt like the story went by really fast, considering that it is only 110 pages with 9 chapters, so I couldn’t really connect to the characters as closely as Fitzgerald had intended us to. Some of the chapters were also really boring and wordy, so it made it less enjoyable for me. There wasn’t enough drama as I had really wanted, it had all just come and gone really quickly in one section of the book. Some of the characters were also really frustrating to deal with. So overall, it was a very meh book.
Upon moving here, Nick notices that he lives next to an extraordinary mansion of his neighbor, Gatsby. Gatsby is a mysterious man who is rarely seen out. Every weekend, he throws grand parties, where many celebrities, powerful people, and the rich come uninvited to party at. Nick one day goes to his cousin Daisy’s house with her husband Tom, who he was friends with in college, and a famous golf player named Jordan Baker. Here, he learns that there is some tension between Daisy and Tom in their marriage, due to the fact that Tom was having an affair with another woman.
Later, we get to know Gatsby, and learn that he was in love with Daisy and that they used to be a thing in the past. But they were unable to get married due to the war, and Daisy ended up being married to another man. So, it is up to Nick to try to help Gatsby end up with the girl of his dreams again, even though she is married!
Considering that this book was written almost a century ago, it’s not too terrible. The wording and message throughout the story highly relies on symbolism and deeper meaning, which can be annoying to some people if you don’t enjoy that and prefer reading books that are very direct with how everything is. I felt like the story went by really fast, considering that it is only 110 pages with 9 chapters, so I couldn’t really connect to the characters as closely as Fitzgerald had intended us to. Some of the chapters were also really boring and wordy, so it made it less enjoyable for me. There wasn’t enough drama as I had really wanted, it had all just come and gone really quickly in one section of the book. Some of the characters were also really frustrating to deal with. So overall, it was a very meh book.
Rating: 3/5 Stars