The Great Gatsby - by F Scott Fitzgerald (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" is a masterful exploration of the American Dream during the Roaring Twenties, articulated through its rich imagery and lyrical prose. Set against the backdrop of wealth and excess in 1920s New York, the narrative follows the enigmatic Jay Gatsby as he pursues his idealized love for Daisy Buchanan. The novel is characterized by its intricate symbolism, particularly the green light at the end of Daisy's dock, representing unattainable aspirations, as well as Fitzgerald's keen social critique, exposing the moral decay lurking beneath the glittering surface of high society. Fitzgerald, often hailed as one of America's greatest writers, drew inspiration from his own tumultuous experiences with love, wealth, and societal expectations. His firsthand observations of the Jazz Age, coupled with his personal frustrations with the American social hierarchy, deeply inform the novel's themes of longing, disillusionment, and identity. Fitzgerald's lived experiences, including his own romantic entanglements and struggles with fame, resonate throughout his characters, making them profoundly human. "The Great Gatsby" is essential reading for anyone interested in American literature and culture. It offers a poignant reflection on ambition, loss, and the fragility of dreams, making it relevant to contemporary readers. Fitzgerald's timeless narrative demands attention and introspection, inviting readers to examine their own pursuits of happiness amidst the American landscape.

Review Quotes

One of the greatest works of American literature...a timeless evocation of the allure, corruption and carelessness of wealth.
-- The Times

It is a marvellously suggestive novel... a parable of modern America, and by extension of modern life.
--A. N. Wilson, Daily Telegraph

The first and greatest modern novel, it has beautiful women, lavish parties, romance, betrayal and murder woven together in an intricately structured plot. A prescient comment on the dying days of a gilded age that is brilliant entertainment with a very eloquent insight.
--Mirror

About the Author

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896 -1940) is widely considered the poet laureate of the Jazz Age. He wrote many short stories and four novels, This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and the Damned, Tender is the Night and The Great Gatsby. An unfinished novel, The Last Tycoon, was published posthumously.