The Great Gatsby

I hadn't read this before, but I'd always wondered about it. I had heard it was about "the twenties", "Chicago", and "a rich guy who throws big parties." To my surprise it wasn't about any of those things, really. This is definitely the single most beautiful novel I've ever read. I love Steinbeck a great deal, but his work does not have the consistently breathtaking poetry of Fitzgerald's writing. Everything is described gloriously, everything seems real, and nothing, nothing, nothing is wasted. Every word, every image, seems to have five or six purposes. And though it is over 80 years old, it sounds like it could have been written yesterday. I think this novel is as close to perfect as any I have ever read. Can it be that Fitzgerald's other books are anywhere near this good, or did he sell his soul like Orson Scott Card? I guess I'll have to read some and find out.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's full name is Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald. Sometimes I think a weird name is good for a person.