The Best Way to Read The Great Gatsby
A classic to enjoy again and a comment on its pertinence today
She thought I knew a lot because I knew different things from her . . .
After 2020, I wanted to start 2021 in the best way possible, with a good book, jazz music in the background, and a flute of rosé sparkling wine. For me, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald never disappoints. It’s been my favourite book since early high school, which, yes, was a time where I didn’t understand a majority of its themes. Nonetheless, Fitzgerald’s writing was incredible. And even with a more adult understanding of the world, the writing is still the best part for me.
Swinging jazz and pink bubbles on New Year’s Day is not only one of the best ways to start the year but also one of the best ways to read The Great Gatsby. I felt rich lounging in my family’s living room in unflattering comfy clothes. I was transported to the most flattering representation of the Jazz Age in America, or perhaps the least flattering, depending on how you look at it. To read The Great Gatsby is to experience both a life through rose-coloured glasses and a tragedy.
However, when I finished it, it sat with me in a way it’s never sat with me before. This is a story I’ve read multiple times, done two papers on, and consider one of my…
