Великий Гэтсби
Chapter 1
AndIhadthehighintentionofreadingmanyotherbooksbesides. Iwasratherliteraryincollege —oneyearIwroteaseriesofverysolemnandobviouseditorialsforthe"YaleNews." —andnowIwasgoingtobringbackallsuchthingsintomylifeandbecomeagainthatmostlimitedofallspecialists,the"well-roundedman." Thisisn’tjustanepigram —lifeismuchmoresuccessfullylookedatfromasinglewindow,afterall.
ItwasamatterofchancethatIshouldhaverentedahouseinoneofthestrangestcommunitiesinNorthAmerica. Itwasonthatslenderriotousisland whichextendsitselfdueeastofNewYork —andwherethereare,amongothernaturalcuriosities,twounusualformationsofland. Twentymilesfromthecityapairofenormouseggs,identicalincontourandseparatedonlybyacourtesybay,jutoutintothemostdomesticatedbodyofsaltwaterintheWesternhemisphere,thegreatwetbarnyardofLongIslandSound. Theyarenotperfectovals—liketheeggintheColumbusstory, theyarebothcrushedflatatthecontactend —buttheirphysicalresemblancemustbeasourceofperpetualconfusiontothegullsthatflyoverhead. Tothewinglessamorearrestingphenomenonistheirdissimilarityineveryparticularexceptshapeandsize.
IlivedatWestEgg, the—well,thelessfashionableofthetwo, thoughthisisamostsuperficialtagtoexpressthebizarreandnotalittlesinistercontrastbetweenthem. Myhousewasattheverytipoftheegg, onlyfiftyyardsfromtheSound,andsqueezedbetweentwohugeplacesthatrentedfortwelveorfifteenthousandaseason. Theoneonmyrightwasacolossalaffairbyanystandard—itwasafactualimitationofsomeHoteldeVilleinNormandy, withatowerononeside,spankingnewunderathinbeardofrawivy,andamarbleswimmingpool, andmorethanfortyacresoflawnandgarden. ItwasGatsby’smansion. Or,rather,asIdidn’tknowMr.Gatsby,itwasamansioninhabitedbyagentlemanofthatname.
