All Time Favourite American Novel

This has to be The Great Gatsby, because it sums up a part of American history for me; that era between WW1 and the Great Depression where fashion, frivolity and fun were the rules of the day. It is both the most  beautiful and sad novel I have read. Jay Gatsby, played beautifully by Leonardo De Caprio in the most recent film, is the last of the great romantics in an era where money and power have more weight than love. He first meets Daisy during WW1 when he is a soldier and she is a southern belle and the world is still romantic. The sepia toned and magnolia scented past no longer exist when we meet the novel and we are in the brash, roaring twenties and our unsuspecting narrator Nick Carroway wants to join this world by becoming a trader and he moves into a tiny bungalow on Long Island. He becomes fascinated with his elusive neighbour Gatsby and the incredible parties he holds, without knowing that Gatsby has long been in love with Nick’s cousin Daisy who lives across the bay. Gatsby stands at the end of his pier and watches the light at the end of Daisy’s dock and feels close to her.

Daisy now lives on the more fashionable side of the bay with her husband Tom Buchanan. Tom is a college jock, old money and successful, and they live in a beautiful home with every luxury. When Nick goes for lunch he is amazed by the beauty of their home but also sees the tension when Tom’s mistress keeps telephoning during the meal. Not long after this Nick also finally meets the elusive Gatsby and the splendour of his parties where everyone from Manhattan drives in to enjoy drinks, dancing and the height of entertainment. Gatsby’s generosity seems boundless and the rumours about what he does range from him being a bootlegger to a spy. The simple fact is the only reason he makes money and the only reason he holds such dazzling parties is that he has been waiting for Daisy to walk through the door. Previously he knew he was unworthy of her rich family background and breeding, so he has spent his entire life trying to be what he thinks Daisy wants but in the meantime she has married someone else.

The rest of the novel becomes a tragedy as we see Gatsby and Daisy embark upon an affair, despite the wrath of her husband Tom who is carrying on his own affair with Myrtle. Nick is caught between them all because he is embroiled in Nick’s Manhattan high life in his city flat with Myrtle and then he reintroduces Daisy to Gatsby and becomes their confidante and enabler. Whereas Gatsby is still a romantic, Tom Buchanan is a cynic and is careless with the hearts of others. There is no other way for this to end than tragedy for all involved. I love this book because of all the period detail from the 1920s. It conjures a picture very well portrayed for me in Baz Lurhman’s recent film where the sadness is balanced with the joy of love, and the beauty is balanced with decadence and decay. This is a beautiful novel about the origins of one of my favourite places and it never ceases to move me.