(3.5⭐️)  Glamour, money, and murder.  This retelling of The Great Gatsby captures the scene while showcasing the women’s voices rather than their stunning good looks. 

 

Daisy, Jordan, and Catherine.  The women behind the men.  Those men may have objectified these women.  But those men missed out on how smart and brave these women were.  

 

Jillian Cantor shifts the perspective and reimagines The Great Gatsby from a fresh new angle.  Told in alternating point of view, we get to know these women as individuals.  Their hopes and dreams.  There struggles.  The lives they lead and how that differs from the expectations they once held.  These are full bodied characters, and you’d be a fool to consider them nothing more than beautiful.  

 

The women are given a bold voice, but I found the men to be utterly despicable.  Cunning, unlikeable, and fully repugnant.  While I love seeing women championed, I would have appreciated it more had the men not been so vastly demoralized.  

 

It’s been eons since I read The Great Gatsby, and sadly I feel that impacted my enjoyment of this novel.  It’s hard to appreciate a fresh take when the original feels crusty in the memory.  

 

Narrated by a full cast, to include Julia Whelan, the audio production is incredibly well done.  This is one that easily stands alone without need of the physical text. 

 

Many thanks to Jillian Cantor, Harper Perennial, and Harper Audio for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.