Why The Great Gatsby been hailed as one of the best novels of the 20th Century  

Really I'm not sure but I absolutely love it. I had to read it in high school as did all of my friends and out of all of us I'm the only one that likes it. I like the style and the emotion that you feel for each of the characters.

"Gatsby" distilled the essence of Fitzgerald's genius. The structure is perfect, flawless, and it is suffused through with a romantic intensity almost unparallelled in 20th century American literature. The prose is exquisite; the whole work is beautifully modulated, and in the shape of Gatsby, it boasts one of the greatest tragic high romantic heroes of all literature. In general I prefer Fitzgerald's short stories to his novels, but after several false starts ("This Side of Paradise" is interesting, but slight), he finally wrote the novel of his dreams, of his life. For all its obsession with dissolution moreover, it is ultimately a moral work, with the shady James A. Gatz sacrificing himself to save another out of motives of unconditional adoration, and finding some decency within himself thereby at long last. "Gatsby" is no more celebration of twenties hedonism; but a fierce critique of the shallowness and selfish materialism at the heart of "the greatest, gaudiest spree in history". For that reason, it appeals especially to me.