I am a huge fan of The Great Gatsby and have read it several times. I also loved the 2013 movie (with Leonardo), and I wrote a post on that several years ago about how I will always consider this movie when thinking of the book.
The copyright on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book expired in 2021 so it is now in the public domain, making it legal for someone to write a different version of it, which Jillian Cantor has done in:
Beautiful Little Fools
Cantor’s new book is from the women’s point of view, an interesting perspective to think about because the original book is narrated by Nick who is but a bystander to the relationships portrayed.
The title specifically comes from Chapter 1 of the original book:
“I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool. “
Daisy on her hopes for her infant daughter
A new perspective on one of America’s most loved and bestselling novels of all time is a dangerous territory to move into considering all the purists and super fans out there. However, the author is a super fan herself, and this made me feel better about it! An essay included at the end of the book goes into this in detail.
I enjoyed reading her take on what the women may have really been thinking throughout all this. Spoiler: It comes off very differently than Nick’s views!
The perspectives included are Daisy’s (obviously), Jordan’s (the golfer friend who dates Nick during the summer), and Catherine’s (who is the sister of Myrtle Wilson, who is married to the mechanic and having an affair with Tom). Another voice thrown in is a detective who is trying to figure out which of these women may have shot Gatsby…maybe it wasn’t George Wilson after all?
And it made me want to watch the movie again…it’s currently streaming on HBO Max!