The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is a book by F. Scott Fitzgerald, first published in 1925. Set during the glittering yet uneasy years of America’s Jazz Age, the novel is narrated by Nick Carraway, a young man drawn into the privileged world of Long Island’s wealthy elite. From his modest home on West Egg, Nick becomes fascinated by his mysterious neighbour Jay Gatsby, a lavish host whose extravagant parties conceal a singular and obsessive dream.

At the heart of the story is Gatsby’s longing for Daisy Buchanan, a woman from his past who now lives across the bay in the refined world of East Egg with her domineering husband, Tom. As Nick is pulled deeper into their circle, he witnesses the sharp contrasts between old money and new wealth, appearances and reality, romance and moral decay. The novel carefully traces how ambition, desire, and social status collide beneath the surface glamour of the Roaring Twenties.

Through its elegant prose and tightly focused narrative, the book offers a penetrating critique of the American Dream, exposing how material success can hollow out genuine human connection. Fitzgerald’s portrayal of excess, illusion, and disillusionment captures a society intoxicated by wealth yet haunted by emptiness, making the novel both a vivid period piece and a timeless exploration of aspiration and loss.