Overview

Critically acclaimed novelist Michael Farris Smith pulls Nick Carraway out of the shadows and into the spotlight in this fascinating look into his life before Gatsby Before Nick Carraway moved to West Egg and into Gatsby's periphery, he was at the center of a very different story-one taking place along the trenches and deep within the tunnels of World War I. Floundering in the wake of the destruction he witnessed firsthand, Nick delays his return home, hoping to escape the questions he cannot answer about the horrors of war. Instead, he embarks on a transcontinental redemptive journey that takes him from a whirlwind Paris romance-doomed from the very beginning-to the dizzying frenzy of New Orleans, rife with its own flavor of debauchery and violence. An epic portrait of a truly singular era and a sweeping, romantic story of self-discovery, this rich and imaginative novel breathes new life into a character that many know but few have pondered deeply. Charged with enough alcohol, heartbreak, and profound yearning to paralyze even the heartiest of golden age scribes, Nick reveals the man behind the narrator who has captivated readers for decades.

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9781549107863

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Reviews

"""Nick is an exemplary novel....a moving, full-bodied depiction of a man who has been knocked loose from his moorings and is trying to claw back into his own life."" -- ""New York Times"" ""Anyone who knows The Great Gatsby will hear echoes of that book's luxurious melancholy...in [its] style that gracefully reflects the rhythms of Fitzgerald's prose."" -- ""Washington Post"" ""Michael Farris Smith paints a smart, vivid picture of a shady, messy world that birthed one of literature's best known characters and has written a must-read for Gatsby fans and newcomers alike."" -- ""Town & Country"" ""Petkoff's strong and affecting delivery highlights Nick's maturation from innocent Midwesterner to war-scarred veteran who is trying to rediscover some good in the world. His downplayed portrayals maintain the atmosphere of the novel, allowing the dialogue to flow seamlessly with the narrative. The audiobook ends just where The Great Gatsby begins, as Nick spots the green light at the end of the dock across from his cottage."" -- ""AudioFile"" ""A compelling character study and a thoroughly unconventional prequel."" -- ""Kirkus Reviews"""

Nick is an exemplary novel....a moving, full-bodied depiction of a man who has been knocked loose from his moorings and is trying to claw back into his own life. -- New York Times Anyone who knows The Great Gatsby will hear echoes of that book's luxurious melancholy...in [its] style that gracefully reflects the rhythms of Fitzgerald's prose. -- Washington Post Michael Farris Smith paints a smart, vivid picture of a shady, messy world that birthed one of literature's best known characters and has written a must-read for Gatsby fans and newcomers alike. -- Town & Country Petkoff's strong and affecting delivery highlights Nick's maturation from innocent Midwesterner to war-scarred veteran who is trying to rediscover some good in the world. His downplayed portrayals maintain the atmosphere of the novel, allowing the dialogue to flow seamlessly with the narrative. The audiobook ends just where The Great Gatsby begins, as Nick spots the green light at the end of the dock across from his cottage. -- AudioFile A compelling character study and a thoroughly unconventional prequel. -- Kirkus Reviews

A dark and often gripping story that imagines the narrator of The Great Gatsby in the years before that book began...Smith is a talented writer known mainly for his gritty evocations of violence, struggle, and loss...The new Nick is a man fully realized, with a mind tormented by the war and by a first love that waned too fast to a fingernail moon of bitter memory...A compelling character study and a thoroughly unconventional prequel. -- Kirkus Reviews A compelling character study and a thoroughly unconventional prequel. -- Kirkus Reviews

Author Information

Michael Farris Smith, the author of several books, is the recipient of the 2014 Mississippi Author Award and has been awarded the Mississippi Arts Commission Literary Arts Fellowship, the Transatlantic Review Award for Fiction, and the Alabama Arts Council Fellowship Award for Literature. His short fiction has twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and his essays have appeared in the New York Times, Catfish Alley, Deep South Magazine, and more. Robert Petkoff is an actor and audiobook narrator who has won a prestigious Audie Award and multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards. He has appeared on Chappelle's Show, Law & Order, and Quantum Leap. His Broadway credits include Sir Robin in Spamalot, Perchik in Fiddler on the Roof, and Tateh in Ragtime.

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