The Great Gatsby

I'd heard a lot about this story, especially in the past few years, and with so many good reviews on the novel and the film, how could I pass on the opportunity to read it as well? 

I'm pleased to say I thoroughly enjoyed it too!

[Young, handsome and fabulously rich, Jay Gatsby is the bright
star of the Jazz Age, but as writer Nick Carraway is drawn into
the decadent orbit of his Long Island mansion, where the party
never seems to end, he finds himself faced with the mystery of
Gatsby's origins and desires. Beneath the shimmering surface of
his life, Gatsby is hiding a secret: a silent longing that can never
be fulfilled. And soon, this destructive obsession will force his
world to unravel.]

I loveeeeee the way Fitzgerald writes - all of that detailed description and the time period he often sets his novels in is just perfectttt. The plot was great, but having seen the film first, all I could do was picture Leonardo DiCaprio saying "old sport" with a martini glass in hand. Not that that was a bad thing. But I evidently saw the end coming the entire time, making it somewhat less dramatic.

It got a little confusing at times, the writing seemingly jumping ahead or trailing off and never filling in the details or picking back up from where it left off. Maybe that was the effect he was going for as the narrator himself was writing the events down as he remembered them, causing the skimming over of particular details that he himself may have had trouble remembering?

I didn't like Tom at all, especially that he could get away with having an affair and Daisy couldn't - maybe this just portrays the time the novel was set in well. But still, hypocritical much? Also, where on Earth was Daisy for the entire end of the novel?? She just disappeared, not even fazed by the events that occurred.

Even though I did know the ending because of the film, it still left me feeling a bit deflated and bad for poor old Gatsby. Did no one really care for him at all but just for his fabulous parties? It's just too sad.

Although, I guess it was actually nice to see a love story not end with the typical 'happy ever after' for a change! If you can even call it a love story with Daisy being so all over the place.

✌