This is one of those books I always felt I "should" read, and had never gotten around to. I'm very glad I did. 
 For the first fifty, or maybe even seventy, pages, I admit I wondered what all the fuss was about. This wasn't a "great novel," to me, let alone The Greatest American Novel Ever Written. It was shallow, banal, and maybe even a bit boring - superficial people leading superficial lives. 
 But then, as the nuances of Gatsby's life unfold, the depth of this tragedy hits you and you understand--or at least I did--why this book has been revered and continues to be read so many years after Fitzgerald wrote it. There are some beautiful lines in this novel, including 
 "Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead." 
 And then, of course, there are the last lines of the book, which hit you right between the eyes. A beautiful tragedy, simply told, about the dangers of pinning all your hopes and dreams upon the whims of someone else.