Nick

I wanted to read something shorter and hop off the series train, so I read Nick. Nick is a prelude to The Great Gatsby, exploring the time Nick Carraway spent toward the end of his tour in France during WWI to when he went to New Orleans to escape the monotony of home, leading up to when he moves to New York City.

I do not want to give too much away because for a shorter book there is a lot packed in there. Reading Nick was heavy though, especially the first third. Michael Farris Smith brought stark realism of Nick’s psyche forward by creating this narrative that reads… broken (upward inflection?). As I was reading Nick’s back and forth between going back to the fighting and his short times away in Paris trying to hold on to a relationship, I was getting the sense of Nick’s mental stack slipping; there is a sense of pointlessness yet obsession to hold on, but then when he goes back into the fight, there is a 0 to 60 shift in feelings of absolute terror and the need to do the job so that you can survive. That hit me hard (daughter of a veteran with PTSD and depression from active combat).

Nick’s time in New Orleans is reminiscent of what will come in The Great Gatsby. If you read The Great Gatsby then I would encourage you to notice the differences and similarities in Nick’s dynamic with Gatsby and Daisy, and Judah and Colette.

I have to feel bad for Nick, though. He is someone who interacts with people who are just as broken as he is. Like attracts like, I guess. It’s the drama of the story mixed with a realism of that time and that person. Nick comes back from WWI and he does not want to just go back to the white picket fence; there is a need to keep living the life of just moving along with deep-seated sadness and loss at least readable on your face. I think we all go through that, we want to live a life where we just want to sit in that darkness we have. Reminds me of the 12 step program where the first step is admitting you have the problem and accepting it. That is what Nick is for me; this is Nick’s phase where he wants to sit and coast. At least with The Great Gatsby, Nick is a little older and is in a phase of taking everything in and is wanting to do something more than sit and coast.

I kept Nick. I enjoyed the writing and how you were able to see Nick before Gatsby so that by the time Nick goes to New York City and moves in next door to Gatsby, things make sense. I appreciated that smooth transition at the end, like where you could just finish Nick then turn around and pick up The Great Gatsby. Very smooth, Michael Farris Smith.

I would recommend reading this if you read The Great Gatsby and you wanted more, or if you have not read it and wanted an introduction to that world. If you are interested, you would be able to find it here.

9/10