READ THIS: THE SUMMER WE READ GATSBY by Danielle Ganek
This post is in green in honor of the green light at the end of Daisy's dock. We still believe it is there and The Great Gatsby is Peachy Deegan's most favorite book of all time, so we had to see what Danielle Ganek came up with. Any book would be quite critically measured against our favorite of all time, and Peachy just worships F. Scott Fitzgerald, so much so if you see her jumping in the fountain in front of the Plaza just to imitate Scott and Zelda, you should not be surprised...Particularly in this heat! She definitely would do it but hasn't as it would not look good if she was arrested. We do not know Danielle Ganek and do not know if she meant to draw any comparisons between what she set out to do and the original Great Gatsby, but we can't help but consider the comparisons.
Peachy has read The Great Gatsby many, many times (the first time was at Miss Porter's School at the suggestion of the great teacher Rennie McQuilkin; his 10th grade English class is what this whole site is named after!) and wants to clarify something: West/East Egg is not the Hamptons- it is Great Neck, Long Island and Long Island's North Shore. The Fitzgeralds lived there in 1922. Fitzgerald wrote from experience. The Summer We Read Gatsby definitely takes place in the Hamptons in the present day, more or less. Also, the 1920's were a far more prosperous time than recent years...unfortunately! Fortunately, Prohibition is not in effect now, clearly from the antics of Peck and Stella Moriarty, and her vow to never drink again (p. 22)...great Irish girls they are! Also, Peck wears Jo Malone. We have recommended Jo Malone many times!
What The Summer We Read Gatsby is really about is the bond of family, and in particular, sisterhood. As Peachy does not have a sister, she cannot comment on it but the relationship that develops between half-sisters Peck and Stella, who have the same father but different mothers, is really well-thought out, well-written, and highly entertaining and enjoyable. You will laugh at their analyzations of life, particularly if you are predisposed to think the same way, you will laugh at the character of every detail of their life including Fool's House (perfect for old money: history and pedigree) and the Fool in Residence, and you will even laugh at the men they fall for, complete with their monogrammed swimming pools. (Tacky! Monograms belong on sweaters and cufflinks. This guy must have skipped his student handbook at Salisbury...or wherever he prepped if he did in fact.)
It does not all take place out East...there is a lovely scene at the Four Seasons Restaurant in the Pool Room! A great room, if you have not seen it...and that would be another tempting jump in thought during this heat wave.
Poor Aunt Lydia...at least she went out with a bang in Paris. We will reveal a bit of her wisdom, but of course not all of it as you need to read the book:
"'You are the sole author of the story of your life, my dear. Make it a good one.'" (p. 92) The familial ties in this book are bound to the eccentricity of each character and their relationship to each other...and we cannot help but say these girls are quite like Little Edie, who of course went to Miss Porter's School too, along with her more famous cousin Jacqueline Bouvier. Peachy is an ancient.
Although all in all this book is well worth reading, we think the use of the word situation, the way it is used in this book, is totally inappropriate for those in Manhattan and those East of Manhattan-it is a word that is native in this context these days to the state WEST of Manhattan and does not seem to flow well in the context of a book that has Gatsby in the title. We are keepers of the flame of Fitzgerald!!!
We wish the Fitzgeralds were here today-we would love to write about them in soirees in our Nightlight column...Whom You Know recommends The Summer We Read Gatsby! You'll be so entertained.
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