On the Shelf: The Great Gatsby

THE GREAT GATSBY | F. SCOTT FITZGERALD | SCRIBNER | 1925

The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted "gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession," it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.

I first read The Great Gatsby when I was a senior in high school. That was quite a few years ago. I don't think I had read enough well-written literature at the time to truly appreciate the novel, but it did have some type of spark that stuck with me. I remember loving the book, I just couldn't explain why.

I had to do a mini "passage analysis"on any chosen part of the book. I decided to focus on a section that explains the quiet surroundings, the stars in the sky, an emphasis on light. To this day, all of those summarize Gatsby for me. Even though the novel is supposed to be about lavish parties, an extreme lifestyle, exaggerated love, it's the simple descriptions that give the book its charm. I don't think anyone  can give colours such profound importance as F. Scott Fitzgerald. The green light. The white curtains.  The yellow everything. The descriptions have a purpose.

There's a lot of hype around this book right now, thanks to Baz Luhrman's film being released next year. I'm glad it's receiving attention. Fitzgerald's portrayal of the Jazz Age has been untouched. His characters give a sense of what life is like - not only in the 1920's, but also how humans are linked to one another throughout time.

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“Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth, but there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget: a singing compulsion, a whispered “Listen,” a promise that she had done gay, exciting things just a while since and that there were gay, exciting things hovering in the next hour.”