The Great Gatsby

This is a beautifully written book, I didn't feel particularly affected by Gatsby's story which is why I wanted to rate this a 3, but certain passages were really beautiful like very few books I read before. It should be no spoiler that it's a sad story and it unveils themes that are true today. Take the big parties a Gatsby's mansion, he surrounded himself with so may people but almost none of them showed up when it was meaningful to do so (would you expect that anyway?). I see some of this in today's social media, with all those followers and facebook friends (who's on facebook this days anyway), how valuable are those in your life? How many of them would show up when it matters? To be fair I don't think that was the point of the big parties but it triggered that association for me.

All in all I recommend this book for how well it's written, we lack that today. I enjoyed a jump back in time to the 20s but the ending did not give me an immediate emotional reaction (like it did in Lord of the Flies for example). It carried more value as I digested the meaning of Gatsby's life and the unfolding of the events that led to the tragical moment.