The Great Gatsby Had Us All Fooled — Lessons In Life, Simplicity, & Writing

Lost In The Algorithms — Odyssey # 32

I’m reading “The Great Gatsby” for what feels like the hundredth time. It’s like revisiting an old friend, only to discover new layers, hidden whispers in the text that had previously eluded me.

Fitzgerald’s craft is a masterclass in storytelling, and it resonates with me as a writer and a man navigating life’s labyrinth.

It’s ironic, in a dark, whiskey-soaked kind of way, that Fitzgerald, with all his lyrical genius, didn’t get to see his “Great Gatsby” turn from a shelf-sitter into the American literary holy grail.

The world’s applause can be a fickle lover, coming around only when you’re too dead to bask in it.

It’s a harsh reminder of the writer’s path — a journey often riddled with uncertainty and the haunting specter of obscurity. Yet, this thought fuels my life to keep penning my thoughts and narrating the mundane and marvels of existence. Because, in the end, isn’t that what we writers do? We cast our bottled messages into the vast ocean of human experience, hoping they’ll wash ashore in the hearts of those who find them.

Fitzgerald said: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in…