Studio 360: American Icons: The Great Gatsby

We explore F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and find out how the compact novel became an American icon. Novelist Jonathan Franzen tells us why he still reads it every year or two, and writer Patricia Hampl explains why its lightness is deceptive. We'll drive around the tony Long Island suburbs where Gatsby was set, and Azar Nafisi describes teaching the book to university students in Tehran. Readings come courtesy of Scott Shepherd, an actor who sometimes performs the entire book from memory. [Broadcast Date: November 10, 2007]