G is for The Great Gatsby

I was an avid TV watcher as a kid, but not much of a reader. It was something my family, especially my dad, was quite concerned about. He always said books allow you to use your imagination and turn on the "TV screen" in your mind, a much better alternative to the "boob tube" in his view. Try as he might, however, he could not get me turned on to reading.... except for William the Watch Cat... but that's another story. ;)

Fast forward to high school. I intermittently liked works we read Freshman and Sophomore years. Junior year, my attitude adjusted even more. This was the year of American literature: Fittzgerald, Hemingway, Arthur Miller and the like.  I've yet to fully understand why, but Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby became and remains one of my favorite novels. I say I don't understand why because Gatsby is full of self-centered, morally questionable, generally unadmirable characters, but it still resonates with me.

I must warn you, there are minor spoilers about the novel coming up, so if you've not read it, beware.

Working in an English class this school year has allowed me to revisit this classic and analyze it from an adult perspective, which has helped to clarify some of the mystery of my fascination with it; but there is still an intangible quality to it. Perhaps that is what makes it great... that you can't fully define its appeal, that the experience is unique to every reader.

In a superficial sense, I can say I've grown to like it even more because I found an audio version on Audible.com read by Frank Muller. Unfortunately he's passed away, but he was an amazing narrator of innumerable books who had a way of making the listener a part of the stories as I believe few others have.

I've also grown to sympathize with Jay Gatsby's tragic circumstances, to understand the motivation for his actions at a deeper level than ever before. I think The Great Gatsby is a novel that will continue to reveal new ideas and perspectives to me each time I re-read it. What more can you ask for from a classic?

If only Fitzgerald had lived to know the effect his much-read, often-loved, arguably masterful work has had on countless readers.