My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’ll admit the only reason I picked up this book to read was after watching the ostentatious movie adaptation by Baz Luhrmann. The story set in a continent in an era which isn’t very familiar to me did put me off initially. However I’m glad I decided to read this classic after all.

The first person narrative is without a doubt the highlight of this book with Nick Carraway’s observation forming the entirety of the story telling. The book is as much as about Carraway as it is about Gatsby.

Through Nick we traverse the diverse landscape of America from the mundane and boring Mid-West to the Ultra Jazzy and exciting East. His daily routine describes how Americans lived during the age of excess – long commutes from lavish country homes to the boisterous metropolis of New York working in high paying Wall Street jobs. His extended family, viz his cousin’s lifestyle provides a glimpse of how old money lived and how new money – Gatsby, was looked down upon by them.

The book isn’t just about the humans but also about their environment. It’s a great insight into the heart of a country that was just coming out of a world war and reaping the rewards of victory. The contrast of the Long Island landscape against that of Manhattan as well as the purgatory-like region in between is brilliant.

This book was written at a time when language and prose meant something. When the use of fancy words was not a fad but the norm. Reading this book is a delight for those who enjoy such rich prose albeit it can get a tad confusing and a re-read is called for. It’s no wonder this classic is a staple for most middle and high school reading courses.

If you enjoy good writing, simple stories but rich complex interpretations of text, this is your book. At 180 pages it’s an absolute quick read.

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My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Disappointed.

The book starts off like a Hollywood screenplay and does hold some promise in the first few pages. Alas this isn’t a book about Wall Street! What ensues is a repetition of a series of anecdotes about drugs, hookers and illegal money making schemes of a rather dysfunctional individual.

This is an autobiographical account of trader from the late 80s early 90s yuppie generation who believed the world was his playground and anything that made him more money and brought him pleasure was his for the taking. It’s a rather comical account of his life with some truly bizarre incidents that sound that they were totally written for a movie.

There are a few chapters that deal with really gritty financial dealings and probably only those well acquainted with that world would truly appreciate them. Yep, I did enjoy those portions of the book!

The author obviously is recounting his glory days which he later admits weren’t his noblest. Nonetheless the absolutely insane shenanigans and over the top experiences of the protagonist are kinda too much to handle.

The last few chapters provide a tad relief from the drug infused lifestyle of the protagonist, but not enough to rid you off the sour taste of the remaining book.

I chose to read this book after catching the trailer of the Martin Scorsese movie adaptation starring Leonardo DiCaprio. So obviously I pictured the talented actor as I was reading this book. However there are a number of chapters in the book where I find it hard to visualise Leo enacting them on screen, but then again he’s a great actor, so who knows!

Overall, I’m kinda disappointed with the book and wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re in the mood to learn how different drugs (prescription or otherwise) can be combined in a perfect balance while you are being given a blow job by a set of high priced hookers aboard a private jet headed to Zurich. On second thought, maybe you’d like reading about that kind of stuff!

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