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gracer's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Two stars seems harsh, but, truthfully, to me this book was only "okay."
There was plenty to like, namely excellent writing - I saw a reviewer on Goodreads say that Smith is really good at atmospheric writing, and I have to agree. I'll add that this premise started strong, maybe too strong, maybe my expectations got too high.
This book is divided into four sections. In the first section we find Nick in France, fighting in WWI, meeting a woman when he's in Paris on leave, re-encountering her after another stint at the Front, etc.
I liked this part. Again, Smith created an atmosphere - of war, of wartime Paris, of soldier life - that was very real. It was believable, and it made me want to believe in this version of Nick. I wasn't sure that this was Nick Carraway, but it was a Nick, and he might have become Nick Carraway.
In Part II, Nick is back in the States, after the war, taking the train back to his home in Minnesota. He gets as far as Chicago and then spontaneously boards a train to New Orleans. Okay, I thought. Avoiding his re-entry into the old world after the experiences of war. Believable. If this Nick is gonna go on a New Orleans bender, I'm down.
For about a week of book time. Beyond that, though? Who is Colette, what is the point? It's like she exists to make Nick further regret what happened with Ella in Paris, and maybe embodies what Ella is, or would be, or will be? But to me that only takes away from Ella and I have no investment in Colette. And Judah is what, the same, for Nick? What Nick could be? Okay, I trudge along, wearily, but by the time Kade Mc-whatsit enters I really don't care. I don't understand how this is supposed to be informing the character of Nick Carraway, who, when I re-read Gatsby for the third time just a few weeks ago, still came off as a little bit young and naive and good-natured, and I don't see much of that emerging from these experiences, except maybe a bit of the good-nature, which we saw when he first encounters Judah.
If Nick Carraway had experienced all of this, I find it really hard to believe he would have stuck out the whole summer on West Egg. Maybe that was the intention: he'll hang around aimlessly with people who aren't any good and don't do anything for him, and he'll keep on doing that. But man. 300 pages of random New Orleans arson and abduction? I dunno.
I would probably have been less harsh if it hadn't been framed as a story about Nick Carraway. If it had just been a post-WWI book set in New Orleans. But to be honest, I don't know if I would have picked that book up.
All that said, I'm curious to read other books by Farris. He certainly writes well - the fact that I read this whole thing rather than moving on halfway through makes that clear. And it wasn't an unpleasant experience; it was easy reading (if rather dark and gnarly). It just didn't work, for me, as a Gatsby prequel.
There was plenty to like, namely excellent writing - I saw a reviewer on Goodreads say that Smith is really good at atmospheric writing, and I have to agree. I'll add that this premise started strong, maybe too strong, maybe my expectations got too high.
This book is divided into four sections. In the first section we find Nick in France, fighting in WWI, meeting a woman when he's in Paris on leave, re-encountering her after another stint at the Front, etc.
I liked this part. Again, Smith created an atmosphere - of war, of wartime Paris, of soldier life - that was very real. It was believable, and it made me want to believe in this version of Nick. I wasn't sure that this was Nick Carraway, but it was a Nick, and he might have become Nick Carraway.
In Part II, Nick is back in the States, after the war, taking the train back to his home in Minnesota. He gets as far as Chicago and then spontaneously boards a train to New Orleans. Okay, I thought. Avoiding his re-entry into the old world after the experiences of war. Believable. If this Nick is gonna go on a New Orleans bender, I'm down.
For about a week of book time. Beyond that, though? Who is Colette, what is the point? It's like she exists to make Nick further regret what happened with Ella in Paris, and maybe embodies what Ella is, or would be, or will be? But to me that only takes away from Ella and I have no investment in Colette. And Judah is what, the same, for Nick? What Nick could be? Okay, I trudge along, wearily, but by the time Kade Mc-whatsit enters I really don't care. I don't understand how this is supposed to be informing the character of Nick Carraway, who, when I re-read Gatsby for the third time just a few weeks ago, still came off as a little bit young and naive and good-natured, and I don't see much of that emerging from these experiences, except maybe a bit of the good-nature, which we saw when he first encounters Judah.
If Nick Carraway had experienced all of this, I find it really hard to believe he would have stuck out the whole summer on West Egg. Maybe that was the intention: he'll hang around aimlessly with people who aren't any good and don't do anything for him, and he'll keep on doing that. But man. 300 pages of random New Orleans arson and abduction? I dunno.
I would probably have been less harsh if it hadn't been framed as a story about Nick Carraway. If it had just been a post-WWI book set in New Orleans. But to be honest, I don't know if I would have picked that book up.
All that said, I'm curious to read other books by Farris. He certainly writes well - the fact that I read this whole thing rather than moving on halfway through makes that clear. And it wasn't an unpleasant experience; it was easy reading (if rather dark and gnarly). It just didn't work, for me, as a Gatsby prequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Abortion, Excrement, Drug use, Drug abuse, Medical trauma, and Child death
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Confinement, Cursing, Excrement, Medical content, Murder, Stalking, and Grief
This book starts in the midst of WWI and reads like a Wild West action/adventure, so if you know that I think you know what to expect. I found it very palatable, considering the setting/context, but if you don't do violence, you might want to skip this one.kimmyslostchill's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
This book had no substance or growth or anything that connected you to any character. I think it’s supposed to be showing the depth of PTSD in multiple ways, however it was just such a random mix of stories that hardly felt natural. The whole time I felt no connection and the whole thing just seemed overly manufactured. Don’t get me wrong, all I read is fiction. Sometimes a lot of fantasy. That seems more real then this book did. And the fact that this is the “prequel” to Gatsby is just completely laughable. What a pathetic marketing ploy to get people to read this terrible book. (Yes, it went all the way up until when Nick moved across the way to Gatsby...but again, just manufactured and not naturally tying in.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Miscarriage
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Murder, Death, Gun violence, and Sexual content
janeycanuck's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I struggled to make the connection between the Nick in this prequel and the Nick in The Great Gatsby. It's only in the last 2 or 3 pages did it seem to be the same character and the evolution in those 3 pages isn't enough for me to feel like this is actually a prequel to The Great Gatsby and not just taking advantage of an already known character. I could have probably made the leap from Nick in Part 1 but Nick in Part 2 & 3 was such a secondary part of the story that any development that could have happened to create the Nick from Gatsby was overshadowed at best.
Had this been featuring some other guy named Nick, I'd have very different feelings. The writing is powerful and blunt, sparing nothing and no one though the shift in story between the war and New Orleans probably still wouldn't have worked for me.
Had this been featuring some other guy named Nick, I'd have very different feelings. The writing is powerful and blunt, sparing nothing and no one though the shift in story between the war and New Orleans probably still wouldn't have worked for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Gun violence, and Gore
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
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