The Great Gatsby

Starred review from December 2, 2002
Audio reviews reflect PW's assessment of the audio adaptation of a book and should be quoted only in reference to the audio version. Fiction THE GREAT GATSBY F. Scott Fitzgerald, read by Tim Robbins. Caedmon Audio, unabridged, six cassettes, 7 hrs., $27.95 ISBN 0-06-009890-2 Readers in that sizeable group of people who think The Great Gatsby
is the Great American Novel will be delighted with Robbins's subtle, brainy and immensely touching new reading. There have been audio versions of Gatsby
before this—by Alexander Scourby and Christopher Reeve, to name two—but actor/director Robbins brings a fresh and bracing vision that makes the story gleam. From the jaunty irony of the title page quote ("Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover, I must have you!") to the poetry of Fitzgerald's ending about "the dark fields of the republic" and "boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past," Robbins conjures up a sublime portrait of a lost world. And as a bonus, the excellent audio actor Robert Sean Leonard reads a selection of Fitzgerald's letters to editors, agents and friends which focus on the writing and selling of the novel. Listeners will revel in learning random factoids, e.g., in 1924, Scott and Zelda were living in a Rome hotel that cost just over $500 a month, and he was respectfully suggesting that his agent Harold Ober ask $15,000 from Liberty
magazine for the serial rights to Gatsby.

February 22, 2010
Robertson Dean's rich, deep voice sweeps us into this classic with the same straightforward narrative elegance Fitzgerald gives his narrator, Nick Carraway. Dean manages to be moving without dramatic exaggeration, and to distinguish characters, male and female, without resort to stereotyping. He reifies Jay Gatsby in all his ambition and naïveté, and paints Fitzgerald's complex picture of love, power, money, and hypocrisy with simple sonority. This audio is a wonderful experience for old fans as well as first-time Fitzgerald readers, and it comes with a companion e-book.

January 19, 2024

Fitzgerald's tragic tale of love not fulfilled finds new life in Erikson's stage adaptation, directed by Rosalind Ayres. The production is a fresh gem. It opens with sweeping orchestral music and seagulls squawking in the distance, setting the tone as objective observer Nick (played by Nate Corddry) begins to tell his story. Corddry imbues charming Nick with just enough naivete that listeners will want to know more. Sarah Drew sparkles as Nick's cousin Daisy, particularly as she gushes about her fabulous life and baby. Matthew Wolf provides plenty of braggadocio in his portrayal of Daisy's husband, Tom. Tom's lover Myrtle (voiced by Moira Quirk) oozes desperation as she tries to move up in the world. The nebulous Jay Gatsby is perfectly portrayed by Rufus Sewell. Transitions sometimes feel abrupt, such as when Daisy's demeanor changes from suspicion to lightness too quickly, but the action propels the story forward. Occasional sound effects (car and night noises, a bell ringing as a door opens, footsteps on gravel, period music, and crowd sounds) add depth to the action. VERDICT A satisfying revamping that hits the highlights of Fitzgerald's classic novel.--Stephanie Bange

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