“Absolutely real — have pages and everything. I thought they’d be a nice durable cardboard. Matter of fact, they’re absolutely real. Pages and — Here! Lemme show you.”

from F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby (Chapter III) on Rap Genius

During the 20s a lot of people had libraries in their houses full of fake books just to show off their high level of knowledge and their above-average intelligence to their visitors. The fact that the books in Gatsby’s library are “bona-fide piece of printed matter” shows that Jay is more than just a rich guy in New Egg parading his wealth. Owl-Eyes knew that from the beginning, that’s why Spoiler Alert ——— he’ll be one of the few persons to attend Gatsby’s funeral.

Gatsby’s library isn’t just a constructed stage, au contraire, that room is the only reality in a society that hid his corrupted values behind a facade of money and luxury.

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