The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the story of a man from Minnesota who moves to New York City and gets tangled up in Long Island High Society through his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom. Nick looks up to his neighbor, a grand mysterious man who is somehow in love with Daisy, and the possibility of her reciprocating these feelings is high, especially when struggling with Tom's own infidelity. This story tells a touching tale of how a materialistic society can affect people's perspectives of the world around them. It gives insight into how humans can chase their dreams and desires and how it ultimately affects them. The themes of wealth, love, prosperity, and chasing one's dreams are prevalent throughout this book.
I rate this novel 5 stars, which isn't something I typically do. One of the many reasons I did this was through the use of Fitzgerald's literacy painting. The words he uses help to bring the reader into the world of Gatsby are so complex and intricate, you can tell how much work he put into choosing the right words. The use of colorful and expressive words helps to emphasize the lavish life the majority of the characters lived in. Even when we met Tom’s mistress, the poor dirty atmosphere was clearly shown through the paragraphs of wording and I could imagine clearly what was happening. I enjoyed this book due to this. I usually don't care for descriptions but the way Fitzgerald writes makes it so fun to read. The literacy comprehension isn't very high either so it feels like a relaxing easy read I enjoy that as well.
The story was easy to follow, and it was so interesting. The characters were complex, and the narrator, Nick, wasn't biased and it felt like the reader got the full view of all the characters. I prefer it from Nicks's perspective due to how he was inadvertently interacting with all the characters. There were at most 7 important recurring characters at max, and the use of this was that the majority were somehow connected and it was so satisfying watching all of them not understand how well they truly knew each other.
The ending of this book was one of the most crushing endings, but it made sense. It solidified the themes of chasing your dreams, and how it can affect you. Without giving away too much of the ending, the irony and bittersweetness of it helped to show inside the hearts of the people around them. The book is also pretty short, being around 180 pages so it definitely could be a quick read. Overall I enjoyed reading this book very much, it is paced very nicely and there wasn't a portion of it where I was bored. I loved Nicks's insight and his accurate evaluation of the characters, not to even mention how complex they all were.