The Great Gatsby
Written by: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Narrated by: Jake Gyllenhaal
Length: 4 hrs and 52 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date: 04-09-13
Publisher: Audible Studios
If you grew up in the USA you’ve probably read The Great Gatsby in school but somehow I managed not to do that. As an adult I’ve read and heard good things about it which left me with the impression that it seems to reflect on some of the base qualities that form our culture. That intrigued me and finally made me read the book. I wasn’t disappointed. The audio edition I listened to is the newest one – a tie-in with the movie.
The story develops in the Roaring Twenties which are fascinating in so many ways. All the events in the book revolve around the love that Jay Gatsby feels towards the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. They meet a few years back during the war but can’t be together. Now, Gatsby has become very rich and thinks that he’s worthy of her. He’s trying to become close with her again but she’s married to another man who isn’t exactly the faithful sort.
Gatsby becomes friends with his new neighbor Nick who is also the narrator and with his help arranges a meeting with Daisy. This is the point where lots of things happen. If you’ve seen the trailer for the movie with DiCaprio – even more things happen! Not so crazy in the book though. Still, the first part of it was quite humorous and entertaining mainly due to Nicks’ sense of humor. After that things get more serious but I’m not going to spoil it for you. 🙂
Everything about the 20’s was quite interesting to read about – it seemed glamorous and lavish, but then again it’s all about rich people… Gatsby throws the wildest parties every week, hoping that Daisy will come to one of them but that doesn’t happen. At least he gets to be friends with Nick who turns out is his only true friend.
Jake Gyllenhaal narating a classic? Really? Honestly, I didn’t expect him to be as good of a narrator is he turned out to be. He really transformed the story into something unique and fresh, at least for me.
All in all, it was quite an enjoyable and thought provoking story, juxtaposing old money versus a self-made man like Gatsby, who of course is easy to root for.
I’m giving The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald audiobook 4 stars out of 5, because it was really nice. Not my favourite thing ever, but still I’m glad I picked it up.
If you’re interested, here’s the trailer for the 2013 The Great Gatsby movie inspired by the original novel:
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