Partly inspired by seeing F. Scott Fitzgerald portrayed on the screen in Paris at Midnight, I have just finished rereading this great American novel for the first time since high school. So I thought I'd put down some thoughts, to use the term rather loosely.First off, did I even crack the book? Back in high school, I mean. I know I actually read it cover to cover, but you'd think if I even just skimmed the Cliff's Notes, I'd have more recall of certain key plot elements. (Spoiler alert: It ends badly.) In a way it's great to reread it as though it's entirely new, since apparently those brain cells have been repurposed for Facebook navigation or something. But I feel so guilty, as though I owe it to Gatsby and Daisy to have borne the burden all these years of at least remembering their tragic fate.
And my amnesia didn't just come about recently. Years ago, I saw the Robert Redford movie of Gatsby on TV. When they came to the scene where he tries to impress Daisy with his wealth by exhibiting his vast collection of shirts, I thought the filmmakers had gone bonkers. You know, the screenwriters shouldn't take liberties with the book that way, thought I. While it makes for pretty good cinema, it was completely apocryphal. Wrong! The scene is in the book, pretty much exactly as it was depicted on-screen.
(Now allow me to pedanticate for a moment. I don't care how big the billboard is, barring flash-induced red-eye, there's no way Nick can see Dr. T.J. Eckleburg's retinas. Irises, corneas, and pupils, sure. Just not retinas, OK?)
In general, I found the book remarkably accessible for a truly great piece of literature. I do have my doubts about narrator Nick, though. Is "careless" really the best you could come up with, Nick baby? To me, that's like when you bump into someone and don't say, "Excuse me." These characters go a little closer to the "wanton" end of the scale, at least in my book. I kept finding myself wondering to what extent Nick was a stand-in for the author. All in all, it's a really memorable story. Just apparently not to me.
* It could be worse. If it pertained to political discourse, I'd say kindergarten.
