Book Review - The Great Gatsby

Seeing as Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of "The Great Gatsby" was released a couple of weeks ago, I thought it would be a good idea to review the book itself. However, if you have not seen the movie but want to...
**SPOILER ALERT** Maybe look away!

"The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald (First published in 1925)

I think before we go into any discussion of this book we should establish the major differences between the book and the movie.

In the book, Nick Carraway was not put under the care of a doctor to recover.
In the book, Jordan and Nick had a brief romantic relationship
In the book, Gatsby does not lose his temper and yell at Tom in the apartment when he wants Daisy to tell him she never loved him. 

Baz Luhrmann's enormously extravagant party scenes were an excellent reflection upon the book's scenes. For example - "In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars." Somewhere else in the book, Fitzgerald describes the music being played as "yellow".  Those unique colour descriptions had me sold for sure!

Despite the obviously lax morals of this book (not necessarily reflective of Fitzgerald's personal values, more likely a reflection of the times), there are a number of lessons to be learned.

1) Be sure your sins will find you out. George Wilson on the night Myrtle is run over says, "You may be fooling me, but you can't fool God." 
2) Hypocrisy is rife. Tom is incredibly hurt when he discovers that Daisy is in love with Gatsby, yet he has been having affairs (with Daisy's full knowledge) for years. 
3) Money means nothing. In this book, the rich are clearly not happy. Tom & Daisy's marriage is falling apart, with both of them in love with someone else, "Neither can stand the person they're married to." - Catherine, the Great Gatsby (Tom with Myrtle Wilson the garage owner's wife and Daisy with Gatsby, although this is learned considerably later in the book). Even the protaganist is not immune. Gatsby gives huge parties at great expense for anyone who wants to attend, but those who take advantage of his hospitality choose not to attend his funeral. It is a sobering picture and is reminiscent of the entire book of Ecclesiastes, which deals with life as being meaningless. 
4) Carelessness is hurtful. At the end of the novel, Nick observes that "Tom and Daisy were careless people." Daisy who seemingly adored Gatsby, is a coward and cannot even bring herself to attend his funeral. Tom's lover was run over by a car and her husband committed suicide and yet he feels little. Tom and Daisy have no regard for the feelings of their small daughter named Pammy when they embark on their affairs. The first thing this couple does when tragedy strikes, is run away. 

I know not everyone is a "read the book before the movie" type of person, but I think that this particular novel, is one that enhances a cinematic viewing greatly. It's not the end of the world if you saw the film first, I am just saying that it adds another layer to the message.

The language of the book is a little slow to understand at first, but after a chapter or so, you will ease into it.
Five Stars - Excellent. I think everyone should read this book.