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A review by penandswordinn
Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor
4.0
Beautiful Little Fools is a retelling of The Great Gatsby as told from the perspective of the women of the story. Daisy, Jordan, and Catherine (the sister of Myrtle) all discuss their lives before and after the novel. A unique take on the story, this book does well to not tarnish the characters as F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote them. Daisy is focused on herself and her comfort. Jordan holds her secrets to her chest. Catherine focuses only on her sister and the fate that will befall her.
This book had a very strong opening. There are four points of view; the three women and the cop who is investigating the murder of Jay Gatsby. Where other books will leave you wondering who is speaking, this book allowed each character to have their own voice and opinions be heard. Daisy naivety in the beginning matched her age and personality. She didn’t have a care in the world. It isn’t until she gets older and realizes how dark the world can be that she herself starts to wear a mask.
While this book was strong in the beginning, it really lost me once we caught up to the events of the Great Gatsby. Jay was set to the wayside, being this bad guy in the background we only really get glimpses of. I did appreciate it being called out just how obsessed with Daisy he was, as that was his whole motivation throughout the original book. This part of the story felt like the author was saying “Oh you know what happens so I won’t go into much detail.” I would’ve liked more of this detail, as if this book came first or the other doesn’t exist.
In the end, Beautiful Little Fools brings a soap opera atmosphere to the world of The Great Gatsby. And, it could be argued, continues the tradition of a soap opera atmosphere with affairs, mobsters, and murder afoot. While it was an overall pleasurable read, there was still some fleshing out that needed to be done.
This book had a very strong opening. There are four points of view; the three women and the cop who is investigating the murder of Jay Gatsby. Where other books will leave you wondering who is speaking, this book allowed each character to have their own voice and opinions be heard. Daisy naivety in the beginning matched her age and personality. She didn’t have a care in the world. It isn’t until she gets older and realizes how dark the world can be that she herself starts to wear a mask.
While this book was strong in the beginning, it really lost me once we caught up to the events of the Great Gatsby. Jay was set to the wayside, being this bad guy in the background we only really get glimpses of. I did appreciate it being called out just how obsessed with Daisy he was, as that was his whole motivation throughout the original book. This part of the story felt like the author was saying “Oh you know what happens so I won’t go into much detail.” I would’ve liked more of this detail, as if this book came first or the other doesn’t exist.
In the end, Beautiful Little Fools brings a soap opera atmosphere to the world of The Great Gatsby. And, it could be argued, continues the tradition of a soap opera atmosphere with affairs, mobsters, and murder afoot. While it was an overall pleasurable read, there was still some fleshing out that needed to be done.