Today marks the 90th anniversary of the publication of one of the most prominent works in the American literary canon, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. It’s a book I first read in high school, and like many at that age, I didn’t quite get all the fuss. However, since then, I’ve read the book dozens of times, taught the book to my Novel courses several times, seen the various film versions, and written a chapter of my dissertation on the text. Gatsby is a book that improves with time, as adults can more readily understand the lingering memories of the past, the desires for social advancement, and the unexpected alienation that can come from having (almost) everything.
Fitzgerald, along with Willa Cather, has perhaps the most unique talent of all twentieth-century American authors to write beautifully flowing descriptions without being tedious, vivid but not wordy. And though Fitzgerald’s other novels are also quite good, there is just something about Gatsby that sets it apart. It delicately balances a pressing relevance with a fanciful exoticism, as if one will inevitably become some version of Nick someday—watching, waiting, wondering about the lives of others. If you are young and have never tried Fitzgerald’s book, I encourage you to give it a chance. If you are older and haven’t read it in many years, revisiting it will be worth your while. In the meantime, check out these interesting pieces in today’s L.A. Times and Washington Post commemorating the book’s birthday. Enjoy, old sport.
Fitzgerald, along with Willa Cather, has perhaps the most unique talent of all twentieth-century American authors to write beautifully flowing descriptions without being tedious, vivid but not wordy. And though Fitzgerald’s other novels are also quite good, there is just something about Gatsby that sets it apart. It delicately balances a pressing relevance with a fanciful exoticism, as if one will inevitably become some version of Nick someday—watching, waiting, wondering about the lives of others. If you are young and have never tried Fitzgerald’s book, I encourage you to give it a chance. If you are older and haven’t read it in many years, revisiting it will be worth your while. In the meantime, check out these interesting pieces in today’s L.A. Times and Washington Post commemorating the book’s birthday. Enjoy, old sport.