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A review by nataliealane
Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor
3.0
3/5 ⭐️ for BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FOOLS by Jillian Cantor
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Thanks to @harperperennial for an eARC! Beautiful Little Fools is 2/3 prequell, 1/3 retelling of The Great Gatsby through the lens of the women in the story. It follows Daisy Buchanan, her friend Jordan, and Mabel Wilson’s suffragette sister (a new character), all tied together by one man: Jay Gatsby. It begins and ends with his murder, and the question the author poses is: what if Wilson didn’t kill him? What if it was a woman?
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I was definitely intrigued to see how it worked out, although I had my suspicions of which woman killed him in the beginning and was right in the end. The chapters follow the 3 women as they grow up, how they each are involved with Gatsby, and eventually how they connect to the events of the classic novel. There are also chapters from the perspective of the detective investigating Gatsby’s murder, although they were were few and far between and didn’t add much except an extra layer of intrigue.
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I liked Daisy and Jordan getting their own time to shine as they aren’t super developed in TGG/their main roles were as love interests. The biggest revisionist aspect is in the portrayal of Gatsby. Here, he is not a lovelorn man desperately trying to recreate the past and reach his version of the American Dream; he is possessive(not simply obsessive), manipulative, and callous. Really, aside from the detective and Jordan’s father, all the men in this book are horrid, manipulative, possessive, self-serving creeps. While die hard fans might not like the author “messing with” the original novel, we not only get well rounded female characters, but a wider look at what the American Dream and freedom means for the women in the story
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I thought the detective chapters somewhat unnecessary, and the last 1/3 or so retelling TGG felt rushed. Gatsby’s machinations sometimes veered too far into unbelievable or caricature-ish for me. I also take issue with the fact that not only was one of Tom’s affairs with a minor, but it was also one of the more graphic sex scenes in the book. We already understand at that point in the book how much of a rotten dirtbag he is, so I felt it unnecessary. Ultimately I feel like just wasn’t the perfect book for me. I didn’t fully enjoy/love it per se, but I can appreciate what it adds back into the literary/academic conversation surrounding classic novels.
TW: familial death (parents and sibling), infidelity, homophobia (more implied than outright said), domestic abuse, attempted sexual assault, infertility, cancer, sexual content (mainly poetic or implied/fade to black but a couple more graphic scenes including with a minor)
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Thanks to @harperperennial for an eARC! Beautiful Little Fools is 2/3 prequell, 1/3 retelling of The Great Gatsby through the lens of the women in the story. It follows Daisy Buchanan, her friend Jordan, and Mabel Wilson’s suffragette sister (a new character), all tied together by one man: Jay Gatsby. It begins and ends with his murder, and the question the author poses is: what if Wilson didn’t kill him? What if it was a woman?
~
I was definitely intrigued to see how it worked out, although I had my suspicions of which woman killed him in the beginning and was right in the end. The chapters follow the 3 women as they grow up, how they each are involved with Gatsby, and eventually how they connect to the events of the classic novel. There are also chapters from the perspective of the detective investigating Gatsby’s murder, although they were were few and far between and didn’t add much except an extra layer of intrigue.
~
I liked Daisy and Jordan getting their own time to shine as they aren’t super developed in TGG/their main roles were as love interests. The biggest revisionist aspect is in the portrayal of Gatsby. Here, he is not a lovelorn man desperately trying to recreate the past and reach his version of the American Dream; he is possessive(not simply obsessive), manipulative, and callous. Really, aside from the detective and Jordan’s father, all the men in this book are horrid, manipulative, possessive, self-serving creeps. While die hard fans might not like the author “messing with” the original novel, we not only get well rounded female characters, but a wider look at what the American Dream and freedom means for the women in the story
~
I thought the detective chapters somewhat unnecessary, and the last 1/3 or so retelling TGG felt rushed. Gatsby’s machinations sometimes veered too far into unbelievable or caricature-ish for me. I also take issue with the fact that not only was one of Tom’s affairs with a minor, but it was also one of the more graphic sex scenes in the book. We already understand at that point in the book how much of a rotten dirtbag he is, so I felt it unnecessary. Ultimately I feel like just wasn’t the perfect book for me. I didn’t fully enjoy/love it per se, but I can appreciate what it adds back into the literary/academic conversation surrounding classic novels.
TW: familial death (parents and sibling), infidelity, homophobia (more implied than outright said), domestic abuse, attempted sexual assault, infertility, cancer, sexual content (mainly poetic or implied/fade to black but a couple more graphic scenes including with a minor)