The Great Gatsby is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald that follows Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire, as he tries to win back his lost love Daisy Buchanan. Set in the 1920s, the story is narrated by Nick Carraway and depicts the social decadence and excess of the Jazz Age. The novel examines themes of idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval, and excess through its portrayal of the American Dream.