The Great Gatsby is told by Nick Carraway, a Midwestern bond salesman who moves to Long Island in 1922 and becomes the neighbor of Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire who throws extravagant parties. As Nick is drawn into Gatsby’s orbit, he discovers Gatsby’s obsessive love for Daisy Buchanan, Nick’s married cousin. Fitzgerald’s slim novel about the impossibility of the American Dream is widely considered one of the perfect short novels in English.
What Works
Fitzgerald's prose is some of the finest in American literature. The final pages are unforgettable.
What May Not Work
Several characters are deliberately thin, and the central romance is meant to feel hollow, which not all readers enjoy.