The Great Gatsby by Review

>It's also a love story, of sorts, the narrative of Gatsby's quixotic passion for Daisy Buchanan. The pair meet five years before the novel begins, when Daisy is a legendary young Louisville beauty and Gatsby an impoverished officer. They fall in love, but while Gatsby serves overseas, Daisy marries the brutal, bullying, but extremely rich Tom Buchanan. After the war, Gatsby devotes himself blindly to the pursuit of wealth by whatever means--and to the pursuit of Daisy, which amounts to the same thing. "Her voice is full of money," Gatsby says admiringly, in one of the novel's more famous descriptions. His millions made, Gatsby buys a mansion across Long Island Sound from Daisy's patrician East Egg address, throws lavish parties, and waits for her to appear. When she does, events unfold with all the tragic inevitability of a Greek drama, with detached, cynical neighbor Nick Carraway acting as chorus throughout. -Goodreads

Although Gatsby was assigned reading for my English class, but I found that it wasn't like most school reading; I truly enjoyed the story. Fitzgerald wrote in a simple style that was easy to follow, one that I found difficult to put down. The characters intrigued me the most. Nick was relatable, I appreciated having a companion in this strage and hedonistic world. Though Daisy frustrated me, she was probably the character I most enjoyed reading about. Every time I could have sworn her head was filled with fluff, she would say something that was on the fine line of intelligence or depth. I think most of the characters surprised me in one way or another; I enjoyed peeling back their layers one by one.

I stayed up late in the night on several occasions not only to finish the number of chapters we were required to read, but to read it for my own enjoyment. I must say, I was a little saddened by the ending, but I thought it fit the story well. I will no doubt buy a copy for myself soon, so I can reread it, and discover pieces that I missed or can find new meaning in. If The Great Gatsby is not on your bookshelf, don't hesitate to add it.

Rating: 9/10