The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Why read the book?

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby follows mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby through the eyes of his neighbour, Nick Carraway, during the roaring summer of 1922 on Long Island. Gatsby throws lavish parties hoping to win back his lost love, Daisy Buchanan, now married to the brutal Tom.

The novel traces the collision of old money, new money, and impossible dreams in the Jazz Age. Beneath the champagne and jazz lies a devastating portrait of the American Dream’s corruption by wealth, class, and self-deception. At under 200 pages, it is one of the most perfectly crafted tragedies in American literature.

Favourite quote

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

What I Loved

The Great Gatsby is a jewel of a book: every sentence glitters, every symbol sings. Fitzgerald captures the hollow glamour of the 1920s with dazzling prose, the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock, the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, the valley of ashes, all perfectly placed.

Gatsby himself is heartbreaking, a self-made man who believes money can buy back time and love. Nick’s measured narration gives us both admiration and judgment, making the moral decay feel intimate. The parties, the shirts scene, the Plaza Hotel confrontation, the swimming pool, ending each moment is unforgettable.

Beneath the beauty lies a merciless diagnosis of a society that worships wealth and discards people. It is short, tragic, and absolutely flawless.

Key Takeaway

The American Dream, when built on illusion and the worship of money, becomes a beautiful, destructive lie.