The Travel of Nick Carraway: In 2021, the prequel to the novel The Great Gatsby

American writer Michael Farris Smith is preparing to publish his new novel, Nick, a prequel to Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s classic The Great Gatsby.

According to The Guardian, the book will go on sale in the United States on January 5, 2021. Later - February 25 - the novel will be released in the UK. These dates were not chosen for publication by chance: on January 1, the copyright for the Great Gatsby expires. Then the work will become public domain, and everyone will be able to adapt it.

In the center of the plot of the novel by Michael Farris Smith is Nick Carraway, the narrator from the original work. Farris Smith focused on the life of the hero before meeting with the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby.

In the story, before moving to West Egg, Carraway was at war. He delays returning home to avoid heavy conversations about his experiences, and for this purpose sets off on a transcontinental journey. First, Nick gets involved in a romantic adventure in Paris, and then plunges into the "heady madness" of New Orleans.

• © kinopoisk.ru

Michael Farris Smith in his novel tried to revive a character about whom very little was previously known.

“The last time I read Gatsby a few years ago, Nick didn’t get out of my head: so little is known about him that I couldn’t resist developing this character in my imagination, and in the only way to do this was to transfer his story to paper. I endured this idea and plunged into it with all the emotions that serve as a source of inspiration, ”the writer said.

He emphasized that Nick Caraway was always close to him as a character.

“The feelings he feels about the onset of his thirtieth birthday and the coming decade of uncertainty have always echoed my own emotions of that age. And, for the most part, I still feel that way, torn between the revelations of life's discoveries and the renunciation of those discoveries, ”explained Michael Farris Smith.

Jeffrey Mulligan, editor-in-chief of the British publishing house No Exit Press, who has already read the novel, believes that Farris Smith’s story turned out to be “exceptional”.

“The trenches and funnels from the shells are pictured extremely vividly, and the silence of the tunnels is deafening. And the finale, the thoughtful finale that brings Nick's story to an end while opening up the world of West Egg, is excellent, ”The Guardian quotes Mulligan.

Michael Farris Smith is the author of books such as Blackwood, The Fighter, Desperation Road. His novels were included in the best-of-year lists according to Esquire, Southern Living, Book Riot and many others. The writer became the finalist of a number of literary awards in the USA, Great Britain and France. His work has been published in The New York Times, The Bitter Southerner, Garden & Gun and other publications.

The tragedy of the American dream

Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby was published in 1925. At first, the book received mixed reviews from critics.

In the early years, the work was not very popular with a mass audience. Until his death in 1940, Fitzgerald was convinced that the romance had failed.

However, two years later, during World War II, an organization was created in the United States to distribute paperback books to soldiers living abroad. The Great Gatsby has become one of the most popular titles provided to the regiments: more than 150 thousand copies of the novel went abroad. By 1960, sales were stably at about 50 thousand copies per year.

To date, the novel has been translated into 42 languages ​​and sold in more than 25 million copies worldwide. The Great Gatsby is considered one of the main works of American literature. In his book, Fitzgerald criticized the concept of the American dream with its characteristic wealth, licentiousness, hedonism and passion, as well as a consumer society and a cult of material prosperity.

• © kinopoisk.ru

The story of the mysterious wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for Daisy Buchanan was repeatedly filmed.  

The first film adaptation of the same name was released in 1926. The director of the silent film was Brenon Herbert, starring Warner Baxter and Lois Wilson. At the moment, the film is considered lost. In 1949, the premiere of the Elliot Nugent tape with Alan Ladd and Betty Field took place.

Another film adaptation appeared in 1974. Jack Clayton became the director of the tape, and Francis Ford Coppola worked on its script. The main roles in the film went to Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. The picture received low reviews from critics (its rating on the Rotten Tomatoes portal is 39%), but it was awarded two Oscars for the best musical adaptation and costumes. In addition, Karen Black - the performer of the role of Myrtle Wilson - was awarded the Golden Globe.

The latest film adaptation of The Great Gatsby was released in 2013. In the film, Baz Lurman was played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan. The film showed good results at the global box office, collecting more than $ 350 million with a budget of $ 105 million, and received two Oscars: for the best work of the production designer and costumes.

In addition, in 2018 it became known about YouTube Premium plans to release the Gatz series, based on the theory that Francis Scott Fitzgerald represented Jay Gatsby as a mixed-race man. The date of the premiere of the project is unknown.