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300. Daisy Miller by Henry James: My first impression after reading this novel was one of disappointment.  It seemed too simple. I waited for something to happen but it never did until the main character died. However, like Fitzgerald, the story shows the progress society has made. The story is about social restrictions placed on young ladies. In the novel, it was frowned upon for a young unmarried woman to be seen in the company of a young man she is not engaged with for such a length of time without the presence of an elder woman. The problem was that some of these restrictions differ and when Daisy arrived in Europe where such restrictions were tough, she was confused and ignorant of what she was to do. Thus, reading the novel one is likely to think that Daisy is a tough woman brazenly defying society, yet it turned out that she was totally ignorant of the laws and that she was only flouting them in innocence. Though not a good representation of Henry James, it still provides ...

The Great Gatsby  (Scribner, 1925; 214) was read for the 'difficult to read' section of the Top 100 Books challenge . The story is pitiful but interesting. It tells of real human nature and how money attracts friends like flies to honey but troubles dispels them like a repellent.  In this story set in New York, the enigmatic Gatsby has moved into the neighbourhood, possibly to get closer to his childhood lover, Daisy, who is now married. He is now rich and throws several parties in the hope that Daisy, to whom Nick is related through her husband Tom, would pass through. He lives in the same neighbourhood as Nick Carraway and the Buchanans (Daisy and Tom). Tom himself loves fan and cheats on his wife with the wife of an old friend of his. Finally, Gatsby - through Nick - invited Daisy to his plush mansion. Daisy is now in between thoughts; however a series of events would lead to several deaths, including Gatsby. And there, he would be left alone. The distance b...