The Great Gatsby is not a book.
The Great Gatsby . Fitzgerald -- inspired by the parties he had attended while visiting Long Island 's north shore -- began planning the novel in 1923 , desiring to produce , in his words , `` something new -- something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately patterned . '' His editor , Maxwell Perkins , felt the book was vague and persuaded the author to revise over the next winter . In 1998 , the Modern Library editorial board voted it the 20th century 's best American novel and second best English-language novel of the same time period .