The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

We read this in high school. I didn't pay attention in high school. I did have a few memories from the book but with it being the runner-up on the Modern Library's list of best English (language) novels of the 20th century, I, without question, had to (re)read it.

But what is there to say about The Great Gatsby that hasn't already been said? The book is really good. It's easy to see why it's the second best novel of the 20th century (and actually considered #1 on Radcliffe's list). The setting is perfect if you're into the glitz of the 1920s. The characters are fascinating in that they are rich, went to elite Ivy League schools (I'm a sucker for both real and made-up people who went to these universities) and only give a crap for life's finer things. And then the plot is real sweet.

The one truly likable character is Nick Carraway, who lives in a humble abode nested between two mansions, one being Gatsby's. It is his looking into the lives of the rich and the superficial that, in my opinion, makes this story what it is. He makes friends with Gatsby, who turns out to not all that he seems, and learns of the history between Gatsby and his cousing, Daisy, who is married to unfaithful Tom Buchanan. Nick also becomes involved with Jordan Baker and this relationship is a lot like Jake and Lady Ashley's in Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. Sounds like a perfect soap opera. But it is Fitzgerald that makes these relationships intriguing. At the end of the novel, it kind of turns into a murder mystery.

I think this is the archetypal book to give to aspring creative writers because it contains every element of a great novel. Unlike Ulysses which elicits both great and bad opinions on its genius (which Joyce probably knew as he wrote it), The Great Gatsby's genius can only be attacked with little jabs, but nothing too serious. This is truly a great American novel with many perfectly crafted sentences.

But you guys have all read this book. You know it's good stuff. Probably right outside my top 5 if not barely sliding in under the line.