The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece, published in 1925, initially received mixed reviews and modest sales. It wasn't until after World War II that it was recognized as perhaps the definitive novel of the American Dream and the Jazz Age, selling millions of copies annually and becoming a fixture in educational curricula worldwide.

When first published, the novel sold poorly - fewer than 20,000 copies in Fitzgerald's lifetime. The author died in 1940 believing his work had been forgotten. However, during World War II, the Council on Books in Wartime distributed free copies to American soldiers, leading to its rediscovery and eventual elevation to its current status as an American classic.

The story follows narrator Nick Carraway's encounter with the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his obsessive love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Set against the backdrop of the Roaring Twenties, it's a tale of wealthy excess, impossible love, and the corruption of the American Dream.

What makes 'The Great Gatsby' particularly remarkable is its mastery of symbolism - the green light at the end of Daisy's dock, the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, and the Valley of Ashes all contribute to its exploration of wealth, corruption, and the hollowness of materialism. The novel's prose style is often cited as among the most beautiful in English literature, with its famous closing lines about boats beating against the current particularly celebrated.

Fitzgerald's own experiences in the Jazz Age informed the novel's authentic portrayal of the era's excesses. His relationship with his wife Zelda and their time in Great Neck, Long Island, provided inspiration for many of the novel's elements. The character of Gatsby himself, with his mysterious past and self-invention, embodies a particularly American type of self-made man.

The novel's treatment of wealth and class remains startlingly relevant today. Its critique of the wealthy elite and their carelessness feels particularly pointed in our era of increasing wealth inequality. The character of Gatsby - with his dubiously acquired wealth and desperate social climbing - continues to resonate in our celebrity-obsessed culture.

View on Amazon