The Great Gatsby

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Narrated by: Jake Gyllenhaal

Length: 4 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Finalist, Classic, 2014

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel of the Roaring Twenties is beloved by generations of readers and stands as his crowning work. This new audio edition, authorized by the Fitzgerald estate, is narrated by Oscar-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain). Gyllenhaal's performance is a faithful delivery in the voice of Nick Carraway, the Midwesterner turned New York bond salesman, who rents a small house next door to the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby. There, he has a firsthand view of Gatsby’s lavish West Egg parties - and of his undying love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan.

After meeting and losing Daisy during the war, Gatsby has made himself fabulously wealthy. Now, he believes that his only way to true happiness is to find his way back into Daisy’s life, and he uses Nick to try to reach her. What happens when the characters’ fantasies are confronted with reality makes for a startling conclusion to this iconic masterpiece.

This special audio edition joins the recent film - as well as many other movie, radio, theater, and even video-game adaptations - as a fitting tribute to the cultural significance of Fitzgerald’s Jazz Age classic, widely regarded as one of the greatest stories ever told.

©1925 Charles Scribner's Sons. Copyright renewed 1953 by Frances Scott Fitzgerald Lanahan (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Combining a deeply loved classic like The Great Gatsby with a well-known Hollywood voice like Jake Gyllenhaal’s could create magic or disaster. Could there be competition between the two? Which side would come out stronger? This production strikes a graceful balance, with both big names blending to complement each other. Gyllenhaal’s reserved tone lends polish to Fitzgerald’s text, accentuating the mood of poetry that pervades the novel. His delivery is simultaneously youthful and experienced, aware of the subtleties of the characters and the plot nuances as he infuses them with life. Gyllenhaal controls his performance with style and careful pacing, seemingly keeping as reverent an eye on the novel as Gatsby himself kept on that elusive green light." (AudioFile magazine)

Pleasure Fest!

Outstanding! A real page turner, old sport! The incessant immortalities of the rich and their lack of compassion. F. Scott Fitzgerald honed his writing skills masterfully in this classic to communicate just that.

A Lovely Read

“Poor Son of a Bitch”

The line above struck me and I think this is the underline meaning of the entire book. Gatsby was a poor man with riches. And, in the end, none of the things he strived for mattered at all.

Wow this is awesome

Jake gyllenhall did an amazing job. An American classic . Loved it and the narration. Thank you

Cool

Jake Gyllenhaal is a great narrator. Okay story but very cool speaking. I would recommend

Simple, Beautiful, and Exquisitely Textured

I am a ravenous reader. I consume books (audio, electronic, and paper) by the pound and byte. I RARELY go back and reread a novel I've read before. It just seems a waste of time, a waste of an opportunity for another book, another story. The Great Gatsby, however, is one of those handful of books, those rare literary jewels, where this rule of thumb is consistently bent and re-broken. For readers of good literature, this novel is like scripture. IT is something you read to enjoy the page, the paragraphs, the sentences, the words. It draws you back. It haunts future books you read. It invades you.

For American Literature, The Great Gatsby stands with 'Moby-Dick' and 'Huckleberry Finn' as a monument of not just literature but the uniquely American experience. It captures the excess, the energy, and the decadence of the 'Lost Generation'. Other Fitzgerald books are amazing, but Gatsby is one of those novels that seems to have surprised everyone, even Fitzgerald.

Finding the right narrator for any book is an art form (often misunderstood, almost always ignored). Certain books require a certain type of reader. Gyllenhaal was an inspired pick for the Great Gatsby. He has the range to subtly capture the different characters, but the charisma and the energy to embody the dialogue of Gatsby and the easygoing narrator Nick.

Why Try?

Fitzgerald is too much greater than me to try to review him. Want to listen to what a great American novel is? Listen to Jake Gyllenhall read this. One of the greatest books in the American language. Did I write "Great" enough?

Great Audio Quality With Miscast Narrator

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I have much enjoyed Gyllenhaal's film performances and he's certainly someone I keep an eye on for movies I would enjoy. That being said I think he was sadly miscast as the Nick Caraway narrator. Gyllenhaal just isn't a period piece sort of guy. He's modern in every way, voice, inflection, tone, accent, and just not believable as a young man of the post-WWI era. Caraway is educated, sophisticated, knowledgeable. He may not have the ready wealth of the crowd he runs with, but he's certainly not out of place or uncomfortable in such "elevated" surroundings. He recognizes the trappings of large amounts of money as exactly that--trappings. It's the people and their characters which preoccupy him, not their stuff. The rube in the palace, in spite of his wealth and experience, is Gatsby himself. His money and its purchasing power is far too new for him to be taking it for granted. And this childlike enjoyment and appreciation is part of Gatsby's charm for Nick. Gyllenhaal's most successful characterization is Tom Buchanon, the boorish, foolish, philandering husband of Nick's cousin Daisy. Fitzgerald paints him in broad strokes, not quite a parody of the ex-jock, he's too destructive, too powerful to laugh at, but Tom is the modern one that Gyllenhaal "gets."

What other book might you compare The Great Gatsby to and why?

Fitzgerald's "voice" is easily recognizable and distinct from other early 20th century writers. Great Gatsby fans would love his other novels and short stories. He's poetic, but never obscure and sometimes humorous. An easy read with intense themes.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Gyllenhaal is not a natural narrator, but he has a pleasant baritone and would probably improve if he continues in this work. The first chapter contained two stand-out mistakes in pronounciation: the word claret mispronounced as "klar-ay," rather than "klar-it," and the word settee mispronounced as "set-tay," rather than "sett-ee." Neither word is of French derivation, which I am assuming was Gyllenhaal's assumption. (Both words come from English and have a standard English pronounciation.) It's not so surprising that a young American actor doesn't have these words in his lexicon. What is surprising is that no one on the production/direction side of this recording caught the mistakes. Doesn't anyone "literary" audit these recordings before they're released? Now there's a plan.

Was The Great Gatsby worth the listening time?

In spite of my issues with this recording, I did not feel my money wasted. I got it at a very good price. Fans of Jake Gyllenhaal of the he-can't-put-a-foot-wrong stripe will love this.

Any additional comments?

The audio quality of this recording is very, very good.

One of my favorite books.

I love this novel, but we absolutely should stop making high-schoolers read it. This is a book for people in their 30's. It's about memories and regret, about trying to repeat the past and capture something that was lost. All things teenagers have no real sense of.

And while I respect Jake Gyllenhaal as an actor, his reading of this novel was just too flat for my taste. The novel itself is very subtle, and I think he needed someone to direct him on the arcs of the performance.

Who DOESN'T love The Great Gatsby! It's a CLASSIC

I had forgotten a lot of what the story was about after both reading it and watching the original Great Gatsby with Robert Redford a few years back. But that ending was the one thing that remained in my head. The new movie is soon to be released and I was curious to hear it in audio format AND it was a good price, so I got it, heard it, and LOVE IT! Yes it's far fetched, indulgent and from another era we can no longer relate too, however, it is still possible no matter how far fetched, it is indulgent in a way to be appreciated by those who 'are' indulgent, and it mirrors a piece of history and their personal lives that is true to the times and luxury and lack of luxury in those times. I found Daisy to be annoying, but I have known men who love those damsel in distress types. But the romance was truly romantic and the story is luxurious and suspenseful. Excellent narration from Jake Gyllenhaal.

Is this real life? Is this just fantasy?

Where does The Great Gatsby rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is the best of the best. Jake is one of the most genuinely real actors of today because of his inability to hide any and every emotion that he feels. What makes him a great actor also makes him the best narrator. I wish he would narrate all the audiobooks. His warm velvet voice and inflections make the book even more enjoyable, something I never thought would be possible.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Great Gatsby?

When Jay Gatsby once again becomes James Gatz through his own storytelling has always been a favorite moment of mine.

Which character – as performed by Jake Gyllenhaal – was your favorite?

I think Jake perfectly captured Fitzgerald essence as the narrator. I wish Baz Luhrmann had listened to this audiobook before casting Spiderman.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When you realize that Gatsby's death marks the end of his reign, the reader must reflect on the shallow insignificance of material belongings.

Any additional comments?

READ ALL OF F. SCOTT FITZGERALD'S BOOKS NOT JUST THIS ONE PLEASE