The Throwback Tuesday weekly post is a opportunity for me to revisit the good, cheesy, forgotten or essential parts of music, film, tv and books from my childhood, the past few years or the generations/eras/works of art that have influenced my life in some way.
This week I’m going to talk about one of my favourite books of all time, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The first time I read this book was in sixth form as one of the English Lit texts we studied, I loved it instantly. The 1920’s has always been one of my favourite era’s and that along with the description from Fitzgerald, the mystery in the plot and the depth to each character made it a wonderful read.
At school, we spent hours picking apart the plot and the characters and all the little subliminal messages which is obviously interesting to find out more about a book but it can mean you get bored of talking about it for a while after the exam and all the prep you have done. But last year with the film due to be released I decided to read it again to refresh my memory and see if I still loved it as much as I did then.
It may only have been 4-5 years since I last read it but I remembered the story almost perfectly but that didn’t ruin it for me because although I knew what would happen the way the story is told and brought to life by Fitzgerald’s writing keeps you satisfied as a reader. The story is told through the eyes of Nick Carraway, a Yale graduate, who moves next door to the elusive Gatsby who throws the most amazing parties at his house weekly.
Nick visits his cousin Daisy across the water, we later find out that Gatsby owns his house because he has a perfect view across the water of Daisy’s house. Gatsby and Daisy used to be lovers and he is still in love with her despite her being married with a child. Surrounding that is a story full of affairs and middle class American life during the prohibition, all the lives of the people you meet are intertwined with each other in a way they don’t know about and that slowly reveals itself to you throughout the book. It’s a thrilling read and a book I know I will love for a very long time to come.
I still haven’t actually seen the latest movie, though I did watch the 70’s version with Robert Redford at school, but whether you have seen the film, read the book or not check out the trailer for the film below and definitely read the book if you can, you will not regret it.
Mixtape Couture 