Jay Gatsby is still in love with Daisy, whom he met during the war when he was penniless. Having made himself wealthy through illegal means, he now lives in a mansion across the bay from the home of Daisy Buchanan, who has since married for money. Holding on to his illusion of Daisy as perfect, he seeks to impress her with his wealth, and uses his new neighbor, Nick Carraway, (our narrator), to reach her.
Daisy's wealthy but boring husband is cheating on her. When his mistress is killed in an accident caused by Daisy, Gatsby covers for her and takes the blame. The result is a murder and an ending which reveals the failure of money to buy love or happiness.
Fitzgerald's elegantly simple work captures the spirit of the Jazz Age and embodies America's obsessions with wealth, power, and the promise of new beginnings.
This audio edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece of wealth and class in the Jazz Age is, on the whole, a perfectly adequate production. The narrator, Anthony Heald, strikes the right tone throughout, and his characterizations are consistent, if not particularly compelling. (His women all sound slightly ditzy, which may be more Fitzgerald's fault than Heald's). The book is, of course, an American classic, and deservedly so; it's a great read, and a great listen, in almost any edition. But given that THE GREAT GATSBY has been well published before in audio, the only question is whether this version offers something new and compelling. It's a fine production, but there's nothing particularly fresh about it. M.G. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
New York Times, April 1925...
It expresses one phase of the great grotesque spectacle of our American scene. It is humor, irony, ribaldry, pathos and loveliness....A curious book, a mystical, glamorous story of today. It takes a deeper cut at life than hitherto has been essayed by Mr. Fitzgerald.
About the Author
Frances Scott Key Fitzgerald (1896-1940) was born in St. Paul, Minnesota and educated at Princeton, where he was a leader in theatrical and literary activities. He began writing his first novel, This Side of Paradise, while serving in the army. Its publication in 1920 established him as the spokesman for the Jazz Age. His major novels include The Beautiful and Damned (1922), The Great Gatsby (1925), and Tender Is the Night (1934).
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