So We Read On

by Maureen Corrigan · 2014

So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures is a nonfiction work of literary criticism by NPR’s "Fresh Air" book critic Maureen Corrigan. The book investigates the lasting power of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, tracing its origins, its rocky path to canonization, and its hidden influences—from hard‑boiled crime fiction to the social commentaries on race, class, and gender. Corrigan blends archival research, classroom observations, and personal memoir to show why the novel remains a rite of passage for generations of readers and how it continues to shape American cultural imagination.