The Great Gatsby

I am partial to English classic novels. They are even more intriguing when made into films. Poetic words, delightful idioms, witty barb, and literary flourishes from bygone eras seem to point beyond the mesmerising portraits they paint.... to windows that invite my peering eyes to glimpse the past... that I may unravel a little more of its mysteries which a modern-age person like me would never completely know. What great minds those authors had. What great legacies they have left us. And for a person like me who loves to write, what great mentors they make - even though most are down in their graves by now!

As a way of resting from a week's labours (and celebrating a finished paper presentation) this evening, I watched "The Great Gatsby", a film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 classic American novel. While it is a rather sad and scandalous tale, I enjoyed it very much for its elegance (Fitzgerald has such a charming way with words), the kaleidoscopic imagination it sparked off, contemporary reality popping up in such a nolstalgic piece of post-war work and the escalating tension that its plot held and resolved well at the end. So many big lessons to be learned too. Fitzgerald, you have fascinated me indeed. What an inspiring work of art!

I would rate the film 8 out of 10, by the way.

Well then, here's to a fruitful week ahead, people!