One of the joys of teaching high school English is that I get to spend time with some of my favorite books every year. (A related joy is that I get to teach books I love and, since I’m the teacher, skip the crap I don’t love). My 11th graders will soon be swinging through Fitzgerald’s classic The Great Gatsby, and I can’t wait. There’s so much about the novel that I love: its tightly arranged structure, its use of image both as symbol and as tone-setter; its narrator and his voice. Yes, the book has its shortcomings, both cultural and craft-wise, but I’m willing to overlook them for lines like this: “Blessed are the dead that the rain falls on”.
There’s been a recent uptick in Gatsby interest, spurred largely by the Baz Luhrman-directed movie version, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby. But, mediocre movies notwithstanding, the book has been an American force since the mid 1950’s despite having lackluster sales and criticial reception when it was initially published nearly a decade prior. Book critic Maureen Corrigan delves into what caused the Gatsby renaissance, and why the book has remained so firmly woven into the fabric of American novels, in her nonfiction selection So We Read On. The book is multifaceted: Corrigan describes her own personal relationship with the book, but she gives biography of Fitzgerald as well, placing both him and his writing in the context of his life and the larger cultural shifts of early 20th century America. She also gives keen readings of the books themes and larger ideas, some of which she admits to not having noticed until much later in life. Like Gatsby, Corrigan’s book is easy to read. She doesn’t beat the reader with overly scholarly jargon, yet her excitement for Gatsby bubbles off the page. I will be able to teach this novel better having read So We Read On, but anyone (not just educators) can read and enjoy it.
If you haven’t read Gatsby since high school, but want to revisit it, come by the store and pick up So We Read On. If you were supposed to read Gatsby in high school but didn’t, we have copies of it, too. If you’re (un)lucky enough to buy either book while I’m working, be prepared to hear me carry on about it. And, please, don’t feel any shame if you’ve not read Gatsby at all. There’s nothing wrong with being “late” to a book, as evidenced by my beginning the Harry Potter series last week.
Yes. I work at Lemuria, and I’m just now reading Harry Potter. To my knowledge, I am literally the only employee of the store who hasn’t read it. But, I’m getting there—and I’m enjoying it. It’s fun to finally be a part of some of the conversations among the staff, who are (I’m sure you’ve noticed) rabid Potter fans. And I get a kick out of their giddiness when they ask me where I am in the book. Oh, just wait. It’s about to get really good! they squeal, then visibly hold back spoilers. I don’t feel excluded—rather, this spurs me on to read more, so I can fully participate in the nerdiness that abounds.
The same is true for Gatsby, or any “classic” book. Getting acquainted (or reacquainted) with a book doesn’t need to happen at a particular time. That’s the beauty of the written word—it’s not changing. Books are patient things, waiting for us to pick them up when we’re ready.
Written by Jamie
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