THE GREAT GATSBY
A graphic adaptation by Nicki Greenberg
of the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Published by Allen & Unwin
Publication date: 31 August 2007
A graphic adaptation by Nicki Greenberg
of the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Published by Allen & Unwin
Publication date: 31 August 2007
RRP $49.95 Hardback
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby has captured the hearts and minds of readers for generations. Set in the glitter and decadence of 1920s New York, Max Perkins, in a letter to Fitzgerald on reading the original draft, said: ‘The novel is a wonder... it has vitality to an extraordinary degree and glamour, and a great deal of underlying thought of unusual quality... it is astonishing.’
Nicki Greenberg’s graphic adaptation, born out of a passion developed for the novel in high school and taking over six years to complete, is breathtaking and innovative. It is a wonderful homage to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s jazz-age classic that brings to life the glitter, the melancholy and the grand and crumpled dreams of Fitzgerald’s unforgettable characters. Her throng of fantastical creatures play out the drama, the wry humour and the tragedy of the novel, faithful to Fitzgerald’s plot, mood and characterisation.
The graphic novel is a growing genre. No longer just encompassing comic books, modern comic art has taken on a more sophisticated edge and encompasses graphic novels such as The Great Gatsby, Shaun Tan’s The Arrival, Eddie Campbell’s From Hell (made into a Hollywood film featuring Johnny Depp) and Jimmy Corrigan, or The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware, which won the Guardian First Book Award in 2001; self-published zines; and a return to the ‘adult comic’ made popular in the 1960s by artists such as Robert Crumb.
‘Bizarre, absorbing and very funny...
a bold idea that works to great effect.’ - Shaun Tan
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nicki Greenberg is a Melbourne-based comic artist, illustrator and lawyer. In 1990 she wrote and illustrated The Digits, a series of twelve children's books, selling 400,000 copies in Australia and New Zealand. More recently, in 2005, she wrote and illustrated It's True! Squids Suck.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby has captured the hearts and minds of readers for generations. Set in the glitter and decadence of 1920s New York, Max Perkins, in a letter to Fitzgerald on reading the original draft, said: ‘The novel is a wonder... it has vitality to an extraordinary degree and glamour, and a great deal of underlying thought of unusual quality... it is astonishing.’
Nicki Greenberg’s graphic adaptation, born out of a passion developed for the novel in high school and taking over six years to complete, is breathtaking and innovative. It is a wonderful homage to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s jazz-age classic that brings to life the glitter, the melancholy and the grand and crumpled dreams of Fitzgerald’s unforgettable characters. Her throng of fantastical creatures play out the drama, the wry humour and the tragedy of the novel, faithful to Fitzgerald’s plot, mood and characterisation.
The graphic novel is a growing genre. No longer just encompassing comic books, modern comic art has taken on a more sophisticated edge and encompasses graphic novels such as The Great Gatsby, Shaun Tan’s The Arrival, Eddie Campbell’s From Hell (made into a Hollywood film featuring Johnny Depp) and Jimmy Corrigan, or The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware, which won the Guardian First Book Award in 2001; self-published zines; and a return to the ‘adult comic’ made popular in the 1960s by artists such as Robert Crumb.
‘Bizarre, absorbing and very funny...
a bold idea that works to great effect.’ - Shaun Tan
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nicki Greenberg is a Melbourne-based comic artist, illustrator and lawyer. In 1990 she wrote and illustrated The Digits, a series of twelve children's books, selling 400,000 copies in Australia and New Zealand. More recently, in 2005, she wrote and illustrated It's True! Squids Suck.
It was shortlisted for the UK Aventis prize and the Australian Wilderness Society Awards in 2006. An active contributor to the Australian independent comic art scene, Nicki's comics have appeared in Silent Army, Pure Evil, and Tango.
I have the feeling that F.Scott Fitzgerald would be pleased with this interpretation of his work.
1 comment:
I love your blog and was thrilled to see this review on the graphic novel adaptaion of the Great Gatsby..it definatly has helped me decide to go and purchase it. Thank you so much!!
Post a Comment