konkie44 's review for:

The Great Mann by Kyra Davis Lurie

4.5

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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This is a retelling done right, and possibly even better than the original. That's a big claim to make, and I'm not saying that Kyra Davis Lurie is a better writer than Fitzgerald, but this book has meat to it. It closely follows the plot line of "The Great Gatsby", but instead of the centering around the lives of New York's wealthy inhabitants, it takes place in the real neighborhood of Sugar Hill, Los Angeles, where the Black Elite of the 1940's lived. Many famous personages resided here, in both the book and real life - Hattie McDaniel, Louise Beavers, Ethel Waters, and Loren Miller, to name a few. All the elements of "The Great Gatsby" play out, but the storyline is propelled by the fact that many of the homes in the neighborhood have racial covenants on them, for which the residents of an all-white housing association in the area take their black neighbors to court. Lurie includes much historical fact in this historical fiction book, including actual quotes from new articles of the day. Women are given more power in this story, race relations and discrimination are critical to the novel, and the elements social class and old and new money exist much like the original. You need not have read "The Great Gatsby" to understand or enjoy this, but I do think having read it adds to the story.

I'll leave you with my favorite quote of the book - it made me stop in my reading tracks and reflect on the truth of the statement. It felt so unfortunately relevant for all that is happening currently in our country.

"Figure out who you can underpay...or what prejudices can be twisted to your benefit. Burglaries, pickpocketing, those are crimes for the poor. But the wealthy? They rob others of their power."