The Great Gatsby

     Author                             F Scott Fitzgerald

     Country                           United States

     Genre                              Fiction: Classic

     Publication Date            1925

     Pages                              189








They say it's a classic. Am confused since to me classics have always been 'Jane Austen' or something close. But I guess it was my time to dabble with somewhat different.

Much against my initial urge to leave the book unfinished, I managed to complete it. And the fact that it's a less than 200 page book was no small a contributor!

While this definitely doesn't rank as one of the best books I have read, the book gives an interesting perspective of the 'Jazz Age' 1920s America. Ranked as one of the greatest books to read among the myriad listings of this nature, the book tells the story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for Daisy and the absolutely lavish, frequent and crazy parties that he hosts on Long Island. 

While the book starts at a slow pace, it gains momentum towards the middle and finally manages to grip the readers. The ending of the book is however, unusually sad and leaves a very dark picture of the society in general. The fact that hardly anyone turns up for Gatsby's funeral is a sad telling on a society which is caught up with money and power. While his parties saw attendance in hundreds, ironically, his funeral is attended only by 3 to 4 people.

To know if you have truly impacted people during your life, look around to see how many turn up at your funeral. That's a true test of a life well spent.

And that's my takeaway from this Amercian classic!