The Great Gatsby was first published in April 1925.
Complete and unabridged. Introduction and Notes by Guy Reynolds, University of Kent at Canterbury. Wordsworth Classics. Wordsworth Editions Ltd, London 1993. Introduction and Notes added 2001. Paperback, 122 pages.
Cover Design by Robert Mathias, Publishing Workshop. Cover Illustration A Fashionable Nightspot by T. Henry on A.G.B. Art. Gout. Beaute, December 1929. (Mary Evans Picture Library.)

While rebuilding my bookshelf system, I found a pile of duplicate copies. This is one of them.

The blurb:
Generally considered to be F. Scott Fitzgerald’s finest novel, The Great Gatsby is a consummate summary of the ‘roaring twenties’ and a devastating exposé of the ‘Jazz Age’. Through the narration of Nick Carraway, the reader is taken into the superficially glittering world of the mansions which lined the Long Island shore of the American seaboard in the 1920s, to encounter Nick’s cousin Daisy, Jay Gatsby and the dark mystery that surrounds him.
The Great Gatsby is an undisputed classic of American literature from the period following the First World War and is one of the great novels of twentieth century.

***
I’ve read The Great Gatsby both in Finnish—don’t recommend it!—and in English. In the Finnish copy they didn’t even mention the name of the translator. For a good reason, too; the translation is unbelievable substandard. That’s why I simply had to check the original version too. And I loved it.
First of all, I enjoyed the language. Secondly, the story itself. I guess there are many ways of reading this book. (If you like, you might see the review by professor Donald Mitchell on Amazon.co.uk. ) I got a kick out of the way Fitzgerald describes the so called classless society where everyone is entitled to happiness, prosperity, and respect, the American society that’s so much different and better than any of the old European class societies. — They don’t have social classes in the States the way we do, they don’t have the same kind of aristocracy Europe has, but...Fitzgerald shows there’s nobility after all, and you just can’t climb up the ladder if you weren’t born into it. Jay Gatsby wasn’t. When speaking about European Americans, the big question is, how long you and your family have been there in America; whether they came on the Mayflower (the noblest among the nobles, true aristocrats!) or just arrived (poor you).
Well, that’s what I read in this great text. And I love the way Fitzgerald weaves his criticism into the not-so-interesting love story.

Please, read The Great Gatsby and make your own interpretation. This copy is available.


F(rancis) Scott K(ey) Fitzgerald (1896–1940) on Pegasos — A literature related site in Finland
F. Scott Fitzgerald Centannary Home Page on University of South Carolina site
The F. Scott Fitzgerald Society
F, Scott Fitzgerald on Wikipedia

Edit. Dec. 2, 2009. The Great Gatsby is reserved for sekiaku.
Edit. Dec. 11, 2009. Mailed the book on Thursday the 3rd, I think. It should have arrived Belgium this week but since it's Christmas season, it may take a bit longer for Gatsby to travel.