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squids_can_read 's review for:
The Great Mann
by Kyra Davis Lurie
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is an African-American Great Gatsby retelling that I think would have worked better as a book inspired by The Great Gatsby. There are two main plot lines in this book, which I will refer to as the Great Gatsby plot and the lawsuit plot. These plots are very, very slightly related and don’t actually intertwine much.
I actually really liked the lawsuit plotline. I thought that the discussion of the law around the time and the views of the people in the community were really interesting. I don’t know much about Sugar Hill(the place this book took place), but I thought that it was an interesting place. It also seemed like the author researched for this portion of the novel, which I think is why it was so interesting to me. Reading the differing perspectives was also interesting. (I use interesting a lot but I really did enjoy reading this plotline because it made me think and learn about things that I didn’t know before).
On the other hand, I really didn’t like the Great Gatsby plotline. I thought that it was a very close rendition of the original Great Gatsby plotline, which I thought did a disservice to the book. The lawsuit plotline was more original, though still based on something, but the Great Gatsby plotline was a regurgitation. It made me sad because I thought that the rest of the book was super interesting and thought-provoking. I will say that I didn’t enjoy The Great Gatsby, the book, that much so maybe this book just wasn’t for me but it fell much flatter than the lawsuit plotline.
Another thing that I didn’t super enjoy was some of the sexual scenes that were in this book. They seemed to come out of nowhere and didn’t seem to have a real impact on the book. I think they could have been left out and the story would have been the same. It just didn’t seem to match the vibe of the book in my opinion.
The final thing is that this book was really easy to get through. The chapters are super short and the sentences aren’t super complex. The overall crafting of the novel is done well in my opinion.
I think that people who loved The Great Gatsby, who like to learn about African American history, and like messy people, will like this book. Since I only really liked learning about African American history, this book really wasn’t for me.
I actually really liked the lawsuit plotline. I thought that the discussion of the law around the time and the views of the people in the community were really interesting. I don’t know much about Sugar Hill(the place this book took place), but I thought that it was an interesting place. It also seemed like the author researched for this portion of the novel, which I think is why it was so interesting to me. Reading the differing perspectives was also interesting. (I use interesting a lot but I really did enjoy reading this plotline because it made me think and learn about things that I didn’t know before).
On the other hand, I really didn’t like the Great Gatsby plotline. I thought that it was a very close rendition of the original Great Gatsby plotline, which I thought did a disservice to the book. The lawsuit plotline was more original, though still based on something, but the Great Gatsby plotline was a regurgitation. It made me sad because I thought that the rest of the book was super interesting and thought-provoking. I will say that I didn’t enjoy The Great Gatsby, the book, that much so maybe this book just wasn’t for me but it fell much flatter than the lawsuit plotline.
Another thing that I didn’t super enjoy was some of the sexual scenes that were in this book. They seemed to come out of nowhere and didn’t seem to have a real impact on the book. I think they could have been left out and the story would have been the same. It just didn’t seem to match the vibe of the book in my opinion.
The final thing is that this book was really easy to get through. The chapters are super short and the sentences aren’t super complex. The overall crafting of the novel is done well in my opinion.
I think that people who loved The Great Gatsby, who like to learn about African American history, and like messy people, will like this book. Since I only really liked learning about African American history, this book really wasn’t for me.