The Great Gatsby

Fitzgerald, Francis Scott

May 2016 · Aegitas

About this eBook

The Great Gatsby is a novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald that follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long Island. The story primarily concerns the young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his quixotic passion and obsession for the beautiful former debutante Daisy Buchanan. Considered to be Fitzgerald's magnum opus, The Great Gatsby explores themes of decadence, idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval, and excess, creating a portrait of the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties that has been described as a cautionary tale regarding theAmerican Dream. Fitzgerald—inspired by the parties he had attended while visiting Long Island's north shore—began planning the novel in 1920, desiring to produce, in his words, "something new—something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately patterned." Progress was slow, with Fitzgerald completing his first draft following a move to the French Riviera after six months. His editor, Maxwell Perkins, felt the book was too vague and convinced the author to revise over the next winter. Fitzgerald was repeatedly ambivalent about the book's title and he considered a variety of alternatives, including titles that referenced the Roman character Trimalchio; the title he was last documented to have desired was Under the Red, White, and Blue.

Ratings and reviews

Faithful and heroic dedication of love story told though heart-piercing pain, a tragic one. Its depth and symbolism signifies rather one face of a story behind.Well, I got nostalgic after reading this like melancholy forever sticks in our heart and mind. One of the best classic novels I have ever read. Great Gatsby, indeed!

This is a tragic love story where the decadence of the wealthy burns the hands of the not-as-fortunate that try to stake their claim to a piece of the "happiness" that they perceive to exist on the other side.

It's an interesting story, not really my style. I had to read it for school. It constantly building up to the inevitable. That's the only thing that made this up to four stars.

About the author

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American writer, whose works illustrate the Jazz Age. While he achieved limited success in his lifetime, he is now widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost Generation" of the 1920s. He finished four novels: This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, The Great Gatsby, and Tender Is the Night. A fifth, unfinished novel, The Last Tycoon, was published posthumously. Fitzgerald also authored four collections of short stories, as well as 164 short stories in magazines during his lifetime.