The Great Gatsby

This is not a “love story” and I don't understand why it is held in that regard by word-of-mouth. Or at least from my perspective.

The prose was incredible, which I didn't expect; it had an excellent way of incorporating modern and “classical” eloquence that I found enthralling and kept me hooked. The way the author handled each character's introduction was great as well because by meeting them for the first time we had a general idea of their personality as well as how our expectations about them would be “distorted” or “emphasized” as the story continued. I loved the way Gatsby, in particular, was [formally] introduced because it defied my expectations about him: instead of presenting him with an almost regal light or with an imposing introduction that completely defined him (like the author did with Tom a.k.a Toxic #1), he simply appeared as a guy having a good time conversing with the protagonist in the most casual way possible. When he said “I'm Gatsby” I literally jumped and had to go back and read when he came into the scene (as by this point we were introduced to a bunch of characters in said party that we weren't going to see again, so I thought he was one of them).

One of the aspects I like about Nick, our narrator, is that he really didn't care for whatever lavish things Gatsby did or tried to impress him with: he simply looked and interacted with him just like when he first met him at that party. Thus, their friendship seemed palpable and probably the only honest thing devoid of any hypocrisy to come out of this story. Just the fact that he stayed with Gatsby on that long night until morning and said those words about him, about how he's actually worth more than what they made him out to be, was probably my favorite part of the book.

Having said this, Gatsby is an idiot. A lovable idiot (sometimes, especially towards the end) but an idiot at that. Meanwhile, I personally think Daisy is our Toxic #2, and no wonder she stayed with Tom: they belong with each other as they are, in fact, the same (minus the White Supremacy thing, as far as I know). I don't know if that's an unpopular opinion, but three people died in this book and even Nick pointed out their nature TWICE in the novel.

Oh, and I liked Jordan. She was very “grounded” and had a no bs air to her that made her such a compelling character in a way that I didn't understand how she became friends with Daisy in the first place. She and Nick are probably the best couple in the book and they are not given enough credit or attention by the author.

In the end, I really loved this book and story, and well, it's an “American masterpiece” that's deserving of said acknowledgment. Although, I'm picky about something that didn't come to be: when Nick met Tom for the last time before he left NY for good (and after he parted ways with Jordan, which made me mad because I wanted those two to be together but I guess I was asking for a lot), it was revealed that he pointed Wilson in the direction of Gatsby, and said that he got what he deserved for killing Myrtle. Now, I don't know what this says about me, but I wanted Nick (as he shook his hand saying his goodbyes) to pull him closer and say to his ear “Daisy was driving” and just walk away. It would've been satisfying AF.