The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
His love for the incredibly wealthy Jay Gatsby and the beautiful Daisy Buchanan is an elegantly crafted story of America in the 1920s, about luxury parties on Long Island at a time when the New York Times stated that "the genie is a national drink and sex is a national obsession." The mysterious Gatsby uses his fabulous fortune to create a magical world fit for his former love Daisy Buchanan, who is now married to Tom. However, Daisy is a romanticized figure of her own imagination, and the unusual world she creates is equally misleading. It offers luxurious, legendary parties where guests and goalkeepers enjoy loose champagne and cocktails and carefree hospitality. For modern readers, it's easy to forget that the story took place during Prohibition (from 1920 to 1933), something that could be seen immediately when the book was first published. It provides the nature of the unreal world that Gatsby has created beyond the reach of the law and the police. But as idealized romantic figures are revealed to be human vulnerabilities and selfish motives, and the glorious world of Gatsby's creation crumbles and turns into disappointment, a more sinister reality begins to crumble. Fitzgerald's third book is the highest achievement of his career. This exemplary novel of the jazz era has been recognized by readers for generations. The film adaptation, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby and Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan, was released in 2013.
