Spoilers for “The Great Gatsby” below–be warned!
“The Great Gatsby.” We all know it. We all have been forced to read it. We all know the notorious GIF of Leonardo DiCaprio, champagne glass in hand, portraying Jay Gatsby, that has been used as a reaction image for years now. But have you ever heard of anyone whose favorite book is “The Great Gatsby”?
Me neither. And honestly, this “great American novel” falls short in too many ways for it to even come close to being my favorite novel. Don’t get me wrong, some of the themes of “Gatsby” I can talk about for hours. I love the imagery and romanticism F. Scott Fitzgerald brings to the table. I also adore how the foreboding tone of “The Great Gatsby” translates perfectly into the actual historical context of the Roaring Twenties, despite it being literally impossible for Fitzgerald to predict the events of the 1930s and 40s upon the release of “The Great Gatsby” in 1925. But, I’m also an avid historical fiction fan. Never, ever would I recommend “The Great Gatsby” to someone looking to get into reading.
Why is this? Simply put, Fitzgerald’s characters, specifically the female ones, fall flat in the original novel. We have Daisy Buchanan, who is quite literally defined as an object, a sparkly and expensive gift that Gatsby is chasing after. There’s also Jordan Baker, who isn’t really given much purpose besides representing all the negative aspects Fitzgerald sees in the “modern” (1920s) woman. There’s also Myrtle Wilson, who is, well, a prisoner to multiple men throughout the novel. Unfortunately for Fitzgerald, these characters expose not only his prejudices and shallowness, but also his shortcomings as a writer.
Enter “Beautiful Little Fools,” a 2022 novel by author Jillian Cantor that retells the events that occurred in “Gatsby,” but through the voices of all the women Fitzgerald neglected. I picked this novel off the shelf of my local bookstore purely for nostalgia’s sake, reminiscing on all the school projects I had to do on “The Great Gatsby” in high school. However, as soon as I opened the cover, I was immediately hooked and plunged into the world of glitter, lies, violence, love, champagne, and jealousy that the “Gatsby” world promises. After finishing “BLF” and quickly rereading “The Great Gatsby,” I’m here to tell you that this book is an absolute must for anyone left disappointed by Fitzgerald’s storytelling.
I was captivated almost instantly by the title and extended quote on the inside of the book. Daisy Buchanan’s famous words about her infant daughter were some of the only depth given to the women in “Gatsby” originally, but Cantor took those words and ran:
“I hope she’ll be a fool–that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool. “
The Great Gatsby
In “BLF,” the “Gatsby” women are not fools at all—in fact, they’re everything but. Cantor spins this classic novel by retelling it through the perspective of Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, Myrtle Wilson, and, to my surprise, Catherine Wilson. Myrtle’s sister, Catherine, who is briefly mentioned by Fitzgerald, plays a crucial role in the “BLF” version of “Gatsby.”
To quote Cantor herself:
“My novel is narrated by Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Myrtle Wilson’s sister, Catherine, as well as a detective hired to investigate Jay Gatsby’s death, who is certain one of these women were involved. Beautiful Little Fools unfolds as part mystery, part retelling, and part historical novel detailing the lives of women at the time. Though it could be read as a companion to The Great Gatsby, it can also be read alone, because ultimately, it’s an exploration of the interior lives of women, their struggles, their triumphs, and most of all, their secrets.”
For anyone who somewhat remembers “The Great Gatsby,” this new book might seem incredibly mundane. So what if we can see the women’s perspective of Gatsby’s parties, Tom Buchanan’s infidelity, Nick Carraway’s… mediocre-ness? Everyone already knows what happens at the end of “The Great Gatsby.” After the death of Myrtle Wilson, George Wilson takes a pistol and kills Jay Gatsby in his pool, and then shoots himself. Right?
This is not the whole story, according to Cantor. The longer you read “BLF,, the more it seems obvious that each one of these women have a clear and obvious motive for killing Gatsby. And after a diamond hairpin is found at the scene of the crime, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before one of these women are declared guilty for the murder of the Great Jay Gatsby.
I won’t spoil “BLF,” but I will tell you that the story of “The Great Gatsby” is so much more enthralling with a little bit of substance behind these characters. Jillian Cantor’s rendition and beautiful storytelling gives all these initially one-dimensional women a life, a backstory, and reasoning that they have deserved for 97 years.
Check it out here.