(This entry was written in 2006, soon after Haruki Murakami's Japanese translation was released.)
[Story]
In 1922, 30-year-old Nick moved to New York. He spent his life frugally, but lived in an area of many mansions. In such an area, Gatsby, who lived next door to Nick, had especially large land and a splendid house. Nick attended his party to know the mysterious neighborhood...
[My opinion]
This is a new Japanese translation by Haruki Murakami. With Murakami's many praises to this novel, I had been looking forward to reading it. In conclusion, this novel certainly met my great expectations.
The Japanese publisher of this new translation labeled this copy "a sorrowful and noble story". Such words fit this work more than other novels, I think. The vanity of luxurious parties, love affairs among men and women, unmeasured indiscretion of people who have power, sudden tragedy and Gatsby's rarefied will and behavior of his will – these factors were described by very classical sentences. This "classical" means high quality, neat and having value that may not be lost overtime. I think it depends on Fitzgerald's original sentences but also Haruki Murakami's spirited translation.
After a long interval, I encountered an overseas novel which I now want to read many times. The intrinsic value and power of this story are deserving.
After reading, I saw the book cover of this novel and felt very sad, even though I never gave heed to it before reading. It is merely a picture of a withered leaf floating in water. This difference of feeling may show the power of this novel.
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