Book Review: Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor

I was really excited about the promise of this one, but to my mind it didn’t deliver quite what I was hoping to find. Rather than a reimagining, or recasting of characters, large swaths of this were more properly described as a retelling of Gatsby, in plainer and less metaphorical (and thereby less intriguing) language.

I was most interested in the female perspective component, since the women in the original book are mostly sidelines designed to justify or amplify the men’s actions, but found the presentations of them to be almost as flat (albeit in a different way) as the originals. They still felt like stereotypes, just more fleshed out. It The story didn’t explain their motivations, it just told me what they were (if that makes any sense), and it was oddly unsatisfying as a result…

The magical lyricism of Fitzgerald’s story, with its metaphors and allegorical symbolism (yes, green light at the end of the dock, I’m talking to you), turns out to have been a significant part of the magic of the original for me, because its noticeable lack here really struck me. This one is a lot more straightforward, and that made the story a lot less engaging and magical for me. I just never felt that spark here – it was fine, just not what I was hoping it would be. If read as a stand-alone, without a long-time love of the original, it’s probably a more enjoyable read- but for me, it didn’t quite hit the mark I wanted it to.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.