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kimmyslostchill's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
This book had no substance or growth or anything that connected you to any character. I think it’s supposed to be showing the depth of PTSD in multiple ways, however it was just such a random mix of stories that hardly felt natural. The whole time I felt no connection and the whole thing just seemed overly manufactured. Don’t get me wrong, all I read is fiction. Sometimes a lot of fantasy. That seems more real then this book did. And the fact that this is the “prequel” to Gatsby is just completely laughable. What a pathetic marketing ploy to get people to read this terrible book. (Yes, it went all the way up until when Nick moved across the way to Gatsby...but again, just manufactured and not naturally tying in.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Miscarriage
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Murder, Death, Gun violence, and Sexual content
janeycanuck's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I struggled to make the connection between the Nick in this prequel and the Nick in The Great Gatsby. It's only in the last 2 or 3 pages did it seem to be the same character and the evolution in those 3 pages isn't enough for me to feel like this is actually a prequel to The Great Gatsby and not just taking advantage of an already known character. I could have probably made the leap from Nick in Part 1 but Nick in Part 2 & 3 was such a secondary part of the story that any development that could have happened to create the Nick from Gatsby was overshadowed at best.
Had this been featuring some other guy named Nick, I'd have very different feelings. The writing is powerful and blunt, sparing nothing and no one though the shift in story between the war and New Orleans probably still wouldn't have worked for me.
Had this been featuring some other guy named Nick, I'd have very different feelings. The writing is powerful and blunt, sparing nothing and no one though the shift in story between the war and New Orleans probably still wouldn't have worked for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Gun violence, and Gore
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
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