Leeds Book Club: The LainiBop Challenge - Book 15 - The Great Gatsby

READ!	TO GO!
15	115

The LainiBop Challenge

THE GREAT GATSBY

F. SCOTT FITZGERALD

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* * * * * SPOILERS * * * * *

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I
loved, loved, loved this book.  I'm really looking forward to seeing
the new remake of the film but not sure how it will translate to the
screen.  

The
Great Gatsby tells the story of the fictional communities ofWest
and East Egg in New York.  The narrator is a man called Nick
Carraway. Early on in the book, he admits that "it was a matter
of chance that I should have rented a house in one of the strangest
communities in North America"  He is the link between all of the
characters, from his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan, to
the Great Gatsby himself, a mysterious figure, who lives right next
door to Nick but for much of the early part is only referred to by
name, and always with some strange and fantastic story attached.



There
are a couple of main plots throughout, which are all neatly tied
together at various points in the story, and are all equally
compelling.  We have Tom and Daisy's tempestuous marriage and rumours
of an affair, to Gatsby's regular, magnificent parties and who he
really is underneath all the hype and scandal.  I love the character
of Nick, because he plays the part of the narrator, but not being
directly involved in the story, he is in the perfect position to
comment on the events and people around him.  Having explained
already that he finds the community strange, we can rely on him to
take an impartial view of events and can relate easily to his
descriptions.  Daisy and Tom's relationship is fascinating too, this
is one of the things which is subject to rumour and scandal among the
other characters, everyone having an opinion on Tom's affair. The
fact that we are quickly introduced to his mistress with whom he
seems to lead a double life with their own friend's separate from
Daisy just makes this all the more enticing to read.



Most of
all though, I absolutely adored the way this was written, the prose
is so beautiful and imaginative, that it made me smile as I read. 
Fitzgerald compares seemingly mundane items and people in such a way
that they seem anything but boring and ordinary. "...wedging his
tense arm imperatively under mine, Tom Buchanan compelled me from the
room as though he were moving a checker to another square"

"'We
ought to plan something' yawned Miss Baker, sitting down at the table
as if she were getting into bed".  (pg 18)

"It
was the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down, as if each
speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played again."
(pg 15)

"We
pushed aside curtains that were like pavilions, and felt over
innumerable feet of dark wall for electric light switches - once I
tumbled with a sort of splash upon the keys of a ghostly piano"
(pg 153)

These
words conjure up beautiful images and for that reason alone, I will
definitely be looking up further works by Mr. Fitzgerald.  Even if
the story itself hadn't been so enjoyable, the words he used
captivated me completely throughout and transported me to a different
time and place.  And that, to me is the reason I read.  After just
finishing the dire work that was Mary, Mary by Julie Parsons, this
was a joy. I would absolutely recommend everyone to pick this up and
have a read.