The Great Gatsby

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite books of all time and one of my favorite books to teach. It's the story of friendship, of love and loss, of betrayal, and the search for the unattainable American dream. Rich with symbolism and prose that sings with Fitzgerald's poetic lilt, Nick glides though life, unsure of his place in high society while Jay Gatsby attempts to do everything he can to win the love of his former sweetheart, Daisy, now married to the pompous unfaithful Tom.

Though this is one of my faves, I've never heard an audiobook of it, so I was gleeful when I was fortunate enough to receive an ALC of The Great Gatsby narrated by Tanner Buchanan. He does an awesome job! His voice has a sleepy dreamlike quality that I think fits Nick Carraway perfectly. I also love the voice he choice for Gatsby. It sounded so strong and charming, just like I imagine Gatsby to be. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC.

This is the audiobook that is destined to become a staple in any American Literature course. The narration simply takes the characterization and nuances to heights that haven't been reached by this audio's predecessors. When you think of the ideal accompaniment to a classic such as Gatsby, especially for analytical use, this is it.

The new audiobook recording of The Great Gatsby is delightful. The narrator, Tanner Buchanan, does a wonderful job creating unique voices for each character and imbuing a conversational tone to the main character's thoughts.

This is an amazing tragedy. Throughout the years, this book has always held a special place in my heart. The sadness of Gatsby, the coldness of Daisy, the terrible way that everything turns out. Nick's storytelling, breaking our hearts after giving us hope. It's a must read (and listen) for sure.

I've read The Great Gatsby many times over, but this new audiobook provides a depth that I hadn't experienced with it before. Tanner Buchanan does a fantastic job giving each character a unique and intriguing voice, particularly for Jay Gatsby himself.

When my step-daughter studied The Great Gatsby in her English class a few years back we all sat down to watch the Baz Luhrmann movie with her. At this stage she was thoroughly sick of the text - an unfortunate by-product of having to write essays on a topic over and over again - but I remember her telling us about some of the differences to the book.⁠

When I had the opportunity to listen to a brand new audiobook production narrated by Tanner Buchanan via @netgalley I jumped at the chance and quickly fell in love with its sumptuous embrace.⁠
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I would describe this book as decadent. It has a substantial feel to it, even though it's very short in length. I was surprised that it felt very modern despite being written in 1925 as I've found some classics require a certain level of concentration, but this felt like it dripped over me like honey.⁠
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I usually rail against "flowery", over descriptive text but Fitzgerald uses an economy in his writing that makes every word combination powerful in driving the plot forward and creating just the right feeling for each character and situation they find themselves in. I had to stop myself writing down every sentence that captured my heart as I would have written down most of the book.⁠
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The audio of this version was sublime, and yes I'm at risk of using every superlative in my lexicon to desribe this audiobook! The pacing, the tone and the accents all felt entirely reflective of the era and the characters.⁠
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I picked up so many subtleties in the text that just couldn't be conveyed in the film, and I am so glad I finally read it.⁠
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I would liken it to Boardwalk Empire in its layered portrayal of America in the Roaring Twenties. It covers themes of idealism, social upheaval, and excess and touches on the impacts of war.⁠
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This was a really special experience and I would recommend it to anyone who studied it some years ago (I can understand needing some distance after dissecting it), and anyone who has never read it.