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    The Summer We Read Gatsby: A Novel
    The Summer We Read Gatsby: A Novel
    The Summer We Read Gatsby: A Novel
    Audiobook8 hours

    The Summer We Read Gatsby: A Novel

    Written by Danielle Ganek

    Narrated by Justine Eyre

    3/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Half-sisters Cassie and Peck could not be more different. Cassie is a journalist with her feet firmly planted on the ground; Peck is an actress with her head in the clouds. In fact, the only thing they seem to have in common is their inheritance.

    Fool's House is a broken-down home in the Hamptons left to Cassie and Peck by their Aunt Lydia, a house that she decreed they must share. But Cassie and Peck can't afford the place, and they can't agree on what to do with it. Plus, along with the house, they've inherited an artist-in-residence and self-proclaimed genius named Biggsy who seems to bring suspiciously bad luck wherever he goes. Cassie and Peck try to figure out their Aunt Lydia's puzzling instructions to "seek the thing of utmost value" in the house, but as summer comes to a close, they seem no closer to coming to a decision.

    The Summer We Read Gatsby is filled with fabulous parties, tempting romances, eccentric characters, and insider society details. It's a sparkling novel that showcases Danielle Ganek's pitch-perfect sense of style and wit.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateMay 27, 2010
    ISBN9781400185641
    The Summer We Read Gatsby: A Novel

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    Reviews for The Summer We Read Gatsby

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    • 3/5
      If you are one of "those" and go to the Hamptons (or "The Country") you may enjoy this summer read about half sisters that find each other as they sort through their beloved Aunt's house in South Hampton, NY. If you are looking for literary, or funny look elsewhere.
    • 4/5
      Wasn't so sure I would enjoy this book at first, but I ended up loving it!!
    • 3/5
      The Summer We Read Gatsby, by Danielle Ganek and read by Justine EyreFormat: audiobookRating: 3.5 starsThe Summer We Read Gatsby is a delightful novel about two half-sisters who have inherited an aging house in the Hamptons. Cassie, also known as Stella, and her sister Peck decide to spend one last summer in the house before selling it. Over the course of the summer, which reminds them of the summer 7 years before when they really did read The Great Gatsby, they search for love, a missing painting, a ghost, a way to afford to keep the house, and the "thing of utmost value" that their aunt mentioned in her will.In spite of a few negative reviews, I liked this book. It wasn't a book that brought on any great emotions, but it was a pleasant read filled with humor and a sense of wistfulness. One or two of the reviews that I read mentioned that it would be a good beach read (especially since it was set in the summer), but I ended up listening to it in the winter which was nice as it brought with it the feeling of warm, lazy summer vacations and eased some of the dreariness of January. It also put me in the mood to reread Gatsby myself, which I have not done since high school. Novels that make you want to reread classics or learn more about a particular topic or historical period always get extra points in my book. The characters were intelligent and interesting. They were also pretty, and moderately succesful, which is another plus in my mind - it irks me when characters are too perfect.This book lent itself well to the audiobook format. It was straightforward and easy to follow which is important if you are like me and listen in short bursts rather than long sittings. And I cannot say enough good things about Justine Eyre. I first discovered her when I listened to Margaret George's novel Helen of Troy. Ms. Eyre's voice was wonderfully suited for that book, and I liked her treatment of this book almost as well. Some reviewers found her accents off-putting, but I thought they were very well-done, especially her interpretation of Cassie, who grew up in Europe rather than America.
    • 4/5
      This book started off slowly for me, but I ended up enjoying it. It's the story of two sisters, Stella and Peck, who inherit a house in the Hamptons and must live there for one summer, in accordance with their aunt's will. At first it seemed too shallow and the plot wasn't going anywhere, but things started to move when a (possibly Jackson Pollock) painting was stolen from their house and they wanted to figure out who did it. The characters also showed more depth (at least some) as the story progressed. Overall, it was feather-light and fluffy, but fun summer reading.
    • 5/5
      When their Aunt Lydia dies, half-sisters Pecksland Moriarty and Stella Blue Cassandra Olivia Moriarty, become the executors of her will. She has asked something rather simple of the two --- spend one last summer at her ramshackle cottage in the Hamptons, aptly named Fool's House, before selling it and, while there, find a thing of utmost value.Pecksland, Peck for short, and Cassie, although Peck prefers to call her Stella, are exact opposites. Peck, an actress, is all drama with an outfit and shoes for every occasion. She is always concerned with a “situation” which can range from a true problem to her sister's lack of fashion sense. Cassie is a journalist and translator living in Switzerland and cares little for fashion much to the horror of her sister. She's a recent divorcee deeply mourning her aunt's death and has little in common with the sister she doesn't always believe she's related to.Aunt Lydia was a devotee of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and she's instilled that same love in her nieces. The book, and all their aunt loved about it, is the source of Peck and Cassie's greatest memories of their aunt and the cottage. Aunt Lydia also liked to think of herself as a patron of the arts and always had an artist living at Fool's House to give it that artsy vibe. The current resident is an unusual character that neither sister can figure out but, since he was there at the request of their aunt, they're willing to live with him and his antics until they can decide what to do with the place.Spending their days sorting through papers and looking for a thing of utmost value bring Peck and Cassie a closeness they never thought possible. They decide to carry out their aunt's wishes and host the official Fool's Party to open the summer. The party, which is a success, leaves the sisters with a problem --- a painting which hung over the fireplace for as long as they both remember goes missing and they begin to speculate that it might actually be the thing of great value. The two gather a strange and wonderful cast of characters to help them find the painting and in the process, find a family, find love, and find they really are sisters with a lot in common.I remember reading The Great Gatsby and falling in love with the setting and the characters and wondering if people like these characters actually existed in the world. They do, just not in the world I live in. But that didn't stop me from me from being fascinated anyway. I felt much the same about this book. Ganek brings together some truly wonderful characters that make you want to rush off to live at Fool's House. Peck is full of fun and brings a new outlook to life that Cassie never let herself imagine. The sisters inhabit a strange little world and in an odd way it brings the two together.It's a chick-lit sort of book with some fabulous characters, the beach, and a little romance. Witty and sarcastic at times, Ganek makes it easy for you to fall for her characters. You don't have to be on the beach to enjoy this book but I think it's certainly an excellent summer book. Ganek will make you smile and want to break out the beach chair.
    • 4/5
      Easy fluff. I enjoyed more than I though I would, but that may be because I'm immersed in Fitzgerald at the moment. Plus, New York, my home away from home.
    • 1/5
      predictable chick-lit.
    • 3/5
      I'm not sure why I finished this book. I guess I just kept thinking it had to get better; it didn't. Ganek has received good reviews for this and her previous book. This was bad - stock characters, ridiculous and predictable plot, although there were moments of humor.
    • 3/5
      (Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)I picked up this breezy beach read literally on a whim the other week, after spying it on the "New Releases" shelf at my neighborhood library, suspecting the entire time that it might turn out to be an inexorable piece of chick-lit; and indeed, while author Danielle Ganek admirably attempts to add as much cynicism and dark touches as she can to her story of two mismatched half-sisters who inherit a wacky aunt's rundown bungalow in Long Island's the Hamptons (setting of The Great Gatsby as well, for those who don't know), she unfortunately cannot completely hide her love for all things pink and shiny and expensive and WHEEEEEE!, resulting in sometimes unintentionally hilarious scenes where our anti-Hamptons main character will go on and on about how little she follows or cares for fashion, while simultaneously describing both the style and brand name of every single piece of clothing being worn at the party where she's letting everyone know how little she follows or cares for fashion. The whole book is like this, to tell you the truth, an attempt to fight against the stereotypes of chick-lit while then wallowing in these very stereotypes just a few pages later; and it leaves the manuscript a schizophrenic read by the end, which I suspect will disappoint both the readers looking for such stuff and those looking to avoid it. It's a shame, because Ganek is a decent writer; and in the future, I'd encourage her to really go for broke either one way or the other, and not try to both have her cake and eat it too like she does here.Out of 10: 7.8
    • 1/5
      I listened to about the first third of this book in my car and had to stop. The woman who reads it has the most annoying voice ever. Her accents are totally fake and unnatural and completely turned me off of completing the book. Who cares what happens to Peck and Stella? Not me!