Tonight, we’ll read an excerpt from “The Great Gatsby,” a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, the novel depicts narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan.

The novel was inspired by youthful romance and riotous parties the author had recently experienced.

“The Great Gatsby” was a commercial failure that many critics thought was sub-par to Fitzgerald’s previous work. Now, it is widely considered to be a literary masterwork and a contender for the title of the Great American Novel.