Library Staff Review
F. Scott
Fitzgerald's classic, The Great Gatsby, tells the tragic tale of Jay Gatsby as seen through the
eyes of transplanted Midwesterner, Nick Carraway. Nick moves to New Egg (read this to be Long Island)
during the time of flappers and Prohibition. He is fascinated by Jay Gatsby,
his well-to-do neighbor with a mysterious past. Nick receives an invitation to attend a party at Gatsby's
elaborate estate and eventually meets the elusive Gatsby. Nick gets pulled into the relationship
of Gatsby with Nick's cousin, the lovely Daisy Buchanan. This ill-fated liaison is at the heart
of the story.
I didn't find
any of the characters to be sympathetic; in fact they are the type of people
whom others might wish ill. Don't
let that discourage you from reading The Great Gatsby.
Whether you view The Great Gatsby as the glorification of the Jazz Age or as an indictment
of the shallowness and cynicism of the 1920's, one thing is certain. It is a pleasure to read the lyrical
prose of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The Great
Gatsby is the focus of the National Endowment for the Arts national literacy
initiative "The Big Read" this year. A wide assortment of free activities -
antique car shows, film showings, talks on 1920s Buffalo, and Charleston dance
parties, among others -- relating to Gatsby and the flamboyant era of the 1920s
is underway to mid-November across the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library
System - complete information is available at the BECPL site.
George kills Gatsby and then commits suicide. The End.