The Great Gatsby

I've been waiting for the day when I could say that I've read The Great Gatsby. I ended up seeing the--most recent--film version of it first, but this weekend while on an island vacation in Malta I took the chance to engulf the book. It only took me a few pool-side hours to finish it, and now that I have, I can honestly say that to me this book was literary perfection. Not a word should be cut from or added to this novel, as it is one of the only books that I have read that is truly complete.

Nick Carraway, Gatsby's modest neighbour, trusted confidante and "old sport," is the model of everything that I want in life. After graduating from Yale University, he becomes a writer and moves to New York. He is trusted by many, and is not as rich as Gatsby, but has enough money to live contently. Carraway is the type of person who simply wants to help others become their best, and l want to be as honest as he is. Although I can also see the charm in being someone as mysterious as Gatsby. I guess the bottom line is that I wish Fitzgerald could have written my life as well.

As pretty much every film critique has said, apparently a good book makes a bad movie. I've also heard a lot of "it's good, but not as good as the book" Baz Luhrmann's rendition of The Great Gatsby proves this statement wrong. I'd have to agree with Gatsby in saying that "of course you can" repeat the past, because this film did not disappoint. I thought that the characters were all perfectly cast, and the soundtrack did nothing but add to the modern twist that Luhrmann put on the novel. Lana Del Rey's "Young and Beautiful" is the perfect song for Daisy and Gatsby's relationship, and as it plays upon many occasions throughout the film it puts the audience in touch with the story. Although the whole movie was extremely well produced, it was the flawless costume design and visually enchanting party scenes that kept my attention.

While reading The Great Gatsby I couldn't find a single page that wasn't perfect. You could take apart every sentence of the book and find that each one has its own deep meaning. It is the poetry and lyricism of Fitzgerald's writing that gave the novel its appeal to me. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us." I never fully understood what the green light symbolised, most likely because every time Fitzgerald brought it up I became awestruck by his beautiful use of language.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's ability to set a scene is inspiring. His descriptions are melodious and his command of word choice is unparalleled. This novel has the depth that so many others lack. While describing books I've head people say "it's no Great Gatsby," but now that I've read the novel I can honestly say that I don't think anything compares. This story is a true work of art.  The final words of the novel make up possibly the most well-written and elegant sentence I have ever read. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." I suppose as humans we are constantly trying to move on and continue with our lives. The present becomes the past, and we spend all of our energy fighting to achieve our goals for the future.