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Summary and Reviews of Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor

Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor

Beautiful Little Fools

A Novel

by Jillian Cantor
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Readers' Rating (3):
  • First Published:
  • Feb 1, 2022, 368 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Feb 2022, 368 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

USA Today bestselling author Jillian Cantor reimagines and expands on the literary classic The Great Gatsby in this atmospheric historical novel with echoes of Big Little Lies, told in three women's alternating voices.

On a sultry August day in 1922, Jay Gatsby is shot dead in his West Egg swimming pool. To the police, it appears to be an open-and-shut case of murder/suicide when the body of George Wilson, a local mechanic, is found in the woods nearby.

Then a diamond hairpin is discovered in the bushes by the pool, and three women fall under suspicion. Each holds a key that can unlock the truth to the mysterious life and death of this enigmatic millionaire.

Daisy Buchanan once thought she might marry Gatsby—before her family was torn apart by an unspeakable tragedy that sent her into the arms of the philandering Tom Buchanan.

Jordan Baker, Daisy's best friend, guards a secret that derailed her promising golf career and threatens to ruin her friendship with Daisy as well.

Catherine McCoy, a suffragette, fights for women's freedom and independence, and especially for her sister, Myrtle Wilson, who's trapped in a terrible marriage.

Their stories unfold in the years leading up to that fateful summer of 1922, when all three of their lives are on the brink of unraveling. Each woman is pulled deeper into Jay Gatsby's romantic obsession, with devastating consequences for all of them.

Jillian Cantor revisits the glittering Jazz Age world of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, retelling this timeless American classic from the women's perspective. Beautiful Little Fools is a quintessential tale of money and power, marriage and friendship, love and desire, and ultimately the murder of a man tormented by the past and driven by a destructive longing that can never be fulfilled.

Simultaneous hardcover and paperback release

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Reviews

BookBrowse Review

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This is a tale of powerful women who aren't afraid to take matters into their own hands. Daisy, Jordan and Catherine are drastically different characters, but their interactions with Gatsby and the resulting secrets bind them together in unforgettable ways. Their flaws and their desires make them relatable, while their cleverness and flair make them likable. Cantor's work enriches The Great Gatsby by providing new points of view and adding an interesting twist to the narrative. Fans of historical fiction, women's fiction and murder mysteries will thoroughly enjoy Beautiful Little Fools and find themselves eager to discover who pulled the trigger...continued

Full Review (634 words)

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(Reviewed by Jordan Lynch).

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Beyond the Book



Contemporary Retellings of Classic Stories

Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor is a feminist reimagining of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic American novel, The Great Gatsby (1925). Instead of retaining Nick Carraway as the narrator, Cantor retells the story from the viewpoints of the novel's women. Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker and Catherine McCoy were all secondary characters in the original book. Retellings such as Cantor's often allow the stories of secondary and minor characters to be brought to life, driven perhaps by the desires of authors and readers alike to expand upon the original version. While there are many retellings set in the modern day, the following take place in the same time period as the book they are reimagining.

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Read-Alikes

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