The Great Gatsby (1925)

A short novel in which almost nothing happens, yet it is remembered in its entirety. The narrator, Nick Carraway, rents a small house next to a mansion where parties thunder every Saturday, and no one really knows the owner. Gatsby amassed a fortune in an unclear way and spends it on a single goal — to win back a woman and, along with her, to reclaim time, which, as is known, cannot be bought for any money. Fitzgerald captured America in the twenties at its peak: jazz, easy money, the feeling that the party is eternal. And at the same time, he delivered a verdict — old wealth carelessly shatters other people's lives and leaves without looking back. The book, published in 1925, did not achieve success during the author's lifetime and became a classic later, largely due to its language: Fitzgerald writes in a way that makes you want to read the phrases aloud again. The final paragraph about boats against the current is one of the most quoted in American prose.

The book card in the MegaInet.art catalog — reference information. Files are not distributed. Actual data: Wikidata (CC0).