This is supposed to be Fitzgerald's masterpiece, but I found it less than overwhelming. I guess the main problem is that the central character Gatsby remains too much of an enigma for too long and then the story pulls the rug from under him unnecessarily. His behavior is unrealistic, at least by today's standards, and hence we cannot identify with him or his concerns. We couldn't care less about the vapid narrator Nick Carraway's problems and hence the book lacks a center of gravity.
The shortness of the novel contributes to this problem. There is little time to develop the characters or the relationship between them. Perhaps this was intended to show how materialistic and shallow the characters are. But even if that is the case, there is no counter-point. There are a couple of instances where the narrator tries to introduce a more meaningful point of reference, but those plot points are never pursued. The dynamics between Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan and Daisy Buchanan are not explored enough and the background stories are left very vague.
I also have concerns about how accurate in real-life some of the incidents could be. Perhaps this is an indication of how different today's society is from that of the 1920's. But many plot points are rather unbelievable and the characters do not respond or talk like normal human beings in a few conversations. Finally, I hate stories that have "convenient" death(s) that avoids the need for proper resolution of its conflicts. In real life, people have to make choices and live with them. Many novelists prefer the Greek tragedy approach where fate resolves all issues.
Obviously books like these are pretty well written. There are quotable quotations galore. But truly, the emperor has no clothes. "The Great Gatsby" is a second-rate story disguised in fine clothes and helped along by a multitude of critics who somehow managed to find hidden meanings and symbolism in it. The myth of the novel has been so built up that the clear-eyed reader who points out the obvious is snubbed by so-called literary experts.
Tags: fiction drama
