annacwick 's review for:

Nick by Michael Farris Smith

4.0

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This book was a beautifully written prequel to The Great Gatsby that looks at the life of Nick before he meets Gatsby. I cannot stress enough what a wonderful writer Michael Farris Smith is. He manages to put the reader right into the scene; you feel like you are right there next to Nick throughout this book. The first part of the book deals with Nick's participation in WWI and a French girl he meets in Paris. This part of the story is both hard and lovely. The second part of the book almost feels like a separate story as Nick goes home to the US, but decides to go to New Orleans instead of home to Minnesota. In New Orleans he is more of an observer of another marriage with issues due to the war. It almost felt like 2 different books, and at the very end he ties things into the beginning of Gatsby, which almost felt unnecessary; I felt the book could have stood on its own without being a Gatsby prequel. That said it was enjoyable and I will be reading more Michael Farris Smith in the future.
Five words to describe this book: 1920s, WWI, prequel, lost love