As a pageant of imagery and lyricism, the book is a blowout. It is the Feast of St. Stephen. His images are effortless, structurally complex sentences are presented as unfurling spools of silk cloth. Beyond evocative line after evocative line, what amazes me most is how approachable and crystal clear the writing is. As I mentioned in my last post, from a writing standpoint, this novel was a fascinating pairing with Brave New World. Think Davis Foster Wallace paired with Cormac McCarthy.
Another memory from when I first read the book in high school, I had never felt so close to a book's narrator before. This is something else the book does beautifully: Fitzgerald establishes such a close bond between reader and narrator.
Now, this puppy is #2 on the list (just behind the much-fabled Ulysses). Should it be? I look forward to reading more of the top 10 novels to make a stronger assessment. The story is fairly simple, especially when compared with the epic scope of Brave New World. But complex equals not quality. Still, I get the sense that it's Fitzgerald's gifts as an author that are ranked at #2, rather than the book itself.
Nevertheless, within its simple structure, I enjoy the little character contradictions and speed bumps Fitzgerald employs. It's hard to see any of these characters as "good people." Fitzgerald really fleshes out each character. I particularly enjoyed how Daisy was not a demure, all-American "good girl," but rather a spoiled, unfaithful Northeastern gal.
RECOMMENDATION? Oh, yeah, you should read this one. Time will tell if the novel is ranked a little too high on the list (I suspect it is...), but the quality of the writing is plainly undeniable. A simple, but very rich, story about chasing after one's dreams.
The next pair has been drawn! It's The Moviegoer by Walker Percy (#60) and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (#94). But first, a little off-list Murakami...
-N.C.
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