Many thanks to No Exit Press for inviting me to be a part of the blog tour for NICK - The Great Gatsby prequel!
SHORT SYNOPSIS:
Before Nick Carraway moved to West Egg and into Gatsby's world, he was at the centre of a very different story - one taking place along the trenches and deep within the tunnels of World War I. An epic portrait of a truly singular era and a sweeping, romantic story of self-discovery, this rich and imaginative novel breathes new life into a character that many know only from the periphery.
Charged with enough alcohol, heartbreak, and profound yearning to transfix even the heartiest of golden age scribes, NICK reveals the man behind the narrator who has captivated readers for decades.
MY REVIEW:
Anyone who knows me is aware I have a slight obsession with Mr. Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby. I wrote not one, but two dissertations about this book, so you can say I am a fan. When I heard Smith was writing a prequel to TGG I knew I had to read it.
The first part of the book focuses on Nick's short stay in Paris and his love affair. I really enjoyed this part, as it has that Gatsby sentiment and the descriptions are amazing. During Nick's time in the war, Smith spares no detail, no matter how brutal it might be. The wording shows just how disastrously bad the war was for everyone. Smith's focus on the inner mind of the character enables the reader to sympathise with the men who fought in the war even more.
In the second part of the book, Nick is back in America. We are able to get a glimpse of the path which will take him to try his luck in New York. The book ends where Fitzgerald's begins, this was a nice touch and a homage to Fitzgerald who is clearly beloved by Smith.
"Michael Farris Smith is an extremely talented and gripping author."
What I was missing in NICK was Gatsby's flamboyance and decadence which exists in Fitzgerald's book. Even when Gatsby goes through difficult times in his life, there is always hope and a dream of a better life. NICK is very dark, and at times hard to read due to scenes of war and violence. Also, personally, in The Great Gatsby I understood Nick to be very 'innocent' and dazzled by the lights of the city, parties and drinking. In NICK, 'Nick' experiences major psychological trauma of the war and goes through his mother's depression as a child, which is just difficult to connect with Fitzgerald's Nick.
Overall, NICK is wonderfully vivid, I haven't seen descriptions like these since I read Hamnet. Only a few authors are blessed with this ability to portray the scenery so realistically. Michael Farris Smith is an extremely talented and gripping author.
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*Disclaimer - I do not own any of these photos. please note that all images and copyrights belong to their original owners.*
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