Book Review: "Careless People" by Sarah Churchwell

Full Title = Careless People: Murder, Mayhem, and the Invention of The Great Gatsby by Sarah Churchwell

Now, I am not someone who enjoyed The Great Gatsby when I first read it at sixteen years' old. I thought it was melodramatic and boring and the writing was overly styled. I was a bit insulted considering my favourite short story was (and still is to this day) The Diamond as Big as the Ritz - which is by F. Scott Fitzgerald - I could not believe someone with that much talent could write something so empty as Gatsby. However, after reading the book a couple of times I have come to see it in a new light. No, I still don't think that I could ever enjoy the book - but I respect the work that went into it. This book by Sarah Churchwell opened my eyes even more to the work that went into composing The Great Gatsby and though I still don't like the book - it has given us food for thought.

Churchwell opens by vividly detailing the social, cultural, and economic environment of the 1920s, often referred to as the Jazz Age. She explores the transformative effects of Prohibition, which not only banned alcohol but created an underground culture of speakeasies, bootlegging, and organised crime. The new wealth of the era, fuelled by the stock market boom, fostered a hedonistic pursuit of pleasure among the upper classes. The author juxtaposes this prosperity with the undercurrents of societal inequality and a sense of moral ambiguity that defined the decade. This context sets the stage for understanding the world F. Scott Fitzgerald both lived in and portrayed in The Great Gatsby. This is probably one of the most important aspects of the book as many people believe that the era was characterised by its lavish party atmosphere. This may have been half-true, but the other half was a hedonism fuelled by the new-age prosperity in which social divides were somewhat greater than they were before. Ironically, it was also the age of faux-socialism in which the middle class were definitely pretending to care about the poor a bit more.

Churchwell delves into F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald’s relocation to Great Neck, Long Island, in 1922. She describes how their neighbourhood—a vibrant mix of old money, new money, and artists—would influence the fictional East Egg and West Egg in The Great Gatsby. The Fitzgeralds quickly become notorious for their extravagant parties and chaotic lifestyle, marked by excessive drinking and socialising. The author connects these experiences to Gatsby’s own quest for acceptance and wealth, suggesting that Scott drew heavily from his personal life to craft the novel’s themes and characters. Famously, it would also be these exact personality traits that would eventually kill the author. It was fascinating to read about how they once moved to Europe and wanted to initially get away from the fanciful American lifestyle, drawing from the European designs to fashion the mansions of East and West Egg.

The book draws direct parallels between real-life events and the characters in The Great Gatsby. Churchwell meticulously traces how individuals the Fitzgeralds encountered—socialites, bootleggers, and dreamers—shaped figures like Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, and Tom Buchanan. She also considers Zelda’s role as Scott’s muse, noting how her vivacious personality and complex relationship with him informed many of his heroines, including Daisy. Personally, I hate all the characters in this book, The Great Gatsby was one of those books where I thought 'every single character in this novel deserves the misery they get'. When I look back on it now, there is something in me that thinks 'hey, perhaps that was the whole point of the book.'

A major focus of the book is the 1922 Hall-Mills murder case, where the bodies of Edward Hall, a married minister, and his lover Eleanor Mills were discovered in a field in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Churchwell reconstructs the details of this sensational crime, including the public outrage, media frenzy, and salacious testimonies. She explores how the case captivated America, mirroring the era’s fascination with scandal and crime. While Fitzgerald likely did not reference the case directly in The Great Gatsby, Churchwell suggests that its themes of infidelity, murder, and societal hypocrisy resonate strongly with the novel’s moral core. Now, even though I did not particularly enjoy The Great Gatsby and perhaps still do not - I do recognise that there is a lot of work and research especially on this particular case that went into creating the mythos that lives with its pages. This is something I respect of Fitzgerald - a man who was like a soothsayer of his time and observed that because these things were slowly becoming more prominent, the era itself could not keep this up.

Zelda Fitzgerald features prominently in Churchwell’s analysis, both as a source of inspiration for Scott and as a tragic figure in her own right. The book examines Zelda’s descent into mental illness and how this mirrored the darker realities of the Fitzgeralds’ seemingly glamorous lives. Churchwell draws connections between Zelda’s vivacity and the character of Daisy, while also highlighting the limitations imposed on women during the 1920s. We all know the theory of Zelda Fitzgerald and how much she may or may not have had to do with her husband's writing - some even think that she was the person who actually wrote the books. The character of Zelda though reflects on many characters within Fitzgerald's writing - one of them is Daisy and the rest you have to pry out.

In conclusion, Churchwell reflects on The Great Gatsby as a timeless masterpiece that captures the contradictions of its era. She examines its enduring appeal, arguing that the novel’s critique of wealth, love, and ambition remains relevant today. By intertwining the real-life story of the Fitzgeralds and the Hall-Mills case with the fictional narrative of Gatsby, Churchwell provides a nuanced understanding of how life and art intersected in one of the 20th century’s greatest novels. Yes, I do recognise it as one of the 20th century's greatest novels because I respect its status - my personal opinion holds little weight when it comes to academics. Though, there is not a single person alive or dead who could possibly make me sit through the god awful 2013 film adaptation ever again.