Books Like The Great Gatsby

Books Like The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published in 1925 and failed to make the impact that the author had hoped for. However, in the years following its publication, the novel has steadily continued to sell and more and more readers gained a new appreciation for the title. It also received numerous adaptations that kept the story of the mysterious Jay Gatsby and his romantic obsession with Daisy Buchanan fresh in people's minds. Initial impressions of the book simply being a period piece also faded as readers as well as critics began to recognize it as a true classic. Although very few other books can compare to this classic, there are some books like the Great Gatsby that are worth reading.

Gatsby's Girl

by Caroline Preston

Gatsby's Girl by Caroline Preston

Just as Jay Gatsby was smitten with Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby so was F. Scott Fitzgerald for a girl named Ginevra. She was his first love and definitely had an influence on some of the characters that he wrote, particularly Daisy. Scott and Ginevra met at a country club dance when she was sixteen and he was nineteen, which was all it took for Scott to become smitten. Unfortunately for Scott, Ginevra tired of him long before he was over her, so it doesn't have a very happy ending for him. While Gatsby's Girl does contain a fair amount of historical fact, the author also used a lot of her own educated guesses and fictional elements to flesh the story out and make it more interesting.

Rules of Civility

by Amor Towles

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Although Rules of Civility is set in the post-Depression era of 1937, it also features a protagonist who finds herself suddenly caught up in the glitz and glamor of high society life. The narrator of Rules of Civility is a twenty-five year old woman, named Katey Kontent, but it is Tinker Grey, the banker she meets during a chance encounter that shares the most similarities with Jay Gatsby. Both of these characters are extremely charismatic, but also hide their true identities behind a facade that they use to impress those around them. Katey also observes the other characters in the story in a similar manner to that of Nick Carraway, the narrator of The Great Gatsby. Fans of The Great Gatsby will enjoy Rules of Civility as it not only has a similar voice, but also explores the same type of themes.

The Sun Also Rises

by Ernest Hemingway

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

Like The Great Gatsby, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway had mixed reviews when it was first released before going on to become recognized as some of the greatest work from the author. Since both authors wrote about the Lost Generation, it is to be expected that their novels feature similar themes. Both novels are also critical of the frivolous lifestyles that the wealthy were able to lavish in, while vanishing illusions and unrealized love also feature prominently. In The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway created two of his most memorable characters, Lady Brett Ashley and Jake Barnes. The book follows their adventures as they explore everything from the wild nightlife that Paris had to offer in the 1920s to the brutal bullfighting in Spain. The writing style is more sparse than The Great Gatsby, but just as sharp and memorable.

The Gilded Life of Matilda Duplaine

by Alex Brunkhorst

The Gilded Life of Matilda Duplaine by Alex Brunkhorst

Although The Gilded Life of Matilda Duplaine is set in modern-day Los Angels, it features plenty of similarities with the decadence of The Great Gatsby. A lot of this is thanks to the fact that the author also has experience as an estate agent to the wealthiest professionals in Los Angeles. This has given her a unique glimpse into the kind of extreme wealth and privilege that most people can only dream about. In The Gilded Life of Matilda Duplaine, the story is viewed through the eyes of a young journalist, named Thomas Cleary. He is given the task of digging up quotes for the obituary of a legendary film producer, so he jumps at the chance when the deceased eccentric daughter, Matilda, offers to introduce him to some of the Hollywood elite. However, just like Nick discovered in The Great Gatsby, Thomas finds that their lives are not always as perfect as the rich and famous would want you to believe.

Mrs. Dalloway

by Virginia Woolf

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf is another contemporary of F. Scott Fitzgerald, and her novel, Mrs. Dalloway, was published in the same year as The Great Gatsby. Since both are from a post World War I era, it is no surprise that both books feature a lot of the same issues for characters to deal with either. Despite the books being set in different countries, America in the case of The Great Gatsby and England for Mrs. Dalloway, disenchantment is a central theme for both stories. The issues that the authors tackled in the books were not only relevant for their times, but continued to be relevant enough to ensure that the books went on to become known as some of their best work. There are also plenty of similarities between the characters, such as the protagonist of Mrs. Dalloway, Clarrisa, being torn between two men just as Daisy is in The Great Gatsby.