Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Booked Books

Considered one of the best literary classics of the twentieth century, The Great Gatsby is a symbolic story that takes a bit of deep thinking to fully comprehend. One has to look past the portrayals of the shallow characters in order to appreciate the depth of the novel.


Narrated by Nick Carraway, The Great Gatsby is a cynical novel portraying the superficiality, irresponsibility, and overall flaws of humans.


After moving to West Egg, Nick befriends Jay Gatsby, his mysterious neighbor who loves to hold extravagant and huge parties weekly. Nick soon learns that Gatsby is in love with Daisy, Nick's cousin, and that she is the reason for Gatsby's ostentatious display of wealth. Gatsby had worked his way up the social classes because he believed himself to be inferior to wealthy Daisy. However, Daisy is now married to Tom, who has an affair with a woman named Myrtle. All these factors eventually lead to Gatsby's downfall.


The characters of this book were not exactly role models. Gatsby himself did not accumulate his wealth in honest ways; Tom and Daisy are narrow-minded, shallow, and selfish people who create messes only to have others clean up after them. Gatsby's dream and love for Daisy made him a victim. What makes him great is his selflessness, passion, and determination for Daisy; he'd do anything for his dream though Daisy continues to reject him. Unfortunately, Gatsby never learned to be careful of what he wish for.


Personally, I thought this was a good book; I can definitely see why it's so famous. It's beautifully written; however, I have to warn you that the plot moves slow, so if you don't pay attention to some of the descriptions, you might miss some important details. Admittedly, I did have to reread some parts to understand it. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who's easily bored, but if you're an advanced reader and you'd like to give this novel a try, I say go for it.


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