Should billionaires exist? It’s a question I’ve seen a lot in the comments sections lately.
Well, Jay Gatsby might have been a billionaire if he lived in our era. And if he lived in a cyberpunk future? He absolutely was. And his motivation and drive stayed the same. Attaining that which he could not have, the one who got away. By amassing a vast fortune so that he would finally be good enough to lure in the incomparable and unattainable Daisy Fay. Buchanan.
That was the backbone of my reading in January. A reread of The Great Gatsby and a reading of the futuristic steampunk retelling, Local Heavens by K.M. Fajardo.
I loved Local Heavens. I thought it took all of the themes of longing and obsession with the green light, the great divide between the haves and have nots with the Valley of Ashes watched over by the Eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, the emptiness and moral decay of the characters, the superficiality of wealth and social class, and ultimately the American Dream’s corruption.
OMG it was so good. I finished it weeks ago and I’m still thinking about it.
The no spoilers reasons you should read it. First, I recommend you read or reread The Great Gatsby side by side to really appreciate the continuation of themes as well as the contrasts to this futuristic world.
Nick is our narrator through both stories, but while Gatsby is the main character in TGG, Nick is the main character in Local Heavens. He tries to stay reserved and in control through the book, but his humanity slips out despite his best efforts. The rest of the characters mostly stayed exactly true to their original writing, but this change opened up an opportunity for Nick and Gatsby to take unique character arcs.
The technology and world-building are amazing! The idea of happy sleeps for entertainment, modifying your body for aesthetics and athletic performance (in some ways not so different from our modern times, huh?), the descriptions of net diving made his job and side quests very high stakes, the immersive restaurants (take me there!) all had me very vividly able to picture the world.
The characters are flawed. To the point of being unlikable. Umm, hello, Tom. But that is the point.
Love when your books match your outfit.
Also, Best Offer Wins was such a fun ride! Pick it up if you are in the mood for a thriller!
So often, books that get a lot of attention give us these very likable characters who are driven forward by a plot. Local Heavens gives us an exciting plot with substance and asks us to examine the actions of characters that we may not be rooting for. It gives us the opportunity to explore how we feel about their actions and society without the emotional allegiance that we sometimes give to our main characters by default.
Speaking of appearances and societal pressures. See, you knew I was working another book into this thread somehow. Fashionopolis by Dana Thomas shines a light on the fashion industry that most people wish would be swept under the rug and never spoken about again.
Be honest, you’ve bought a $2 tshirt. Or some other absurdly low priced item that you probably only wore once or twice and never thought, how could someone make this fabric, dye it, cut it, sew it, market it, ship it, sit in inventory in a store that pays employees, and still make a profit in this the decade of 2020 where a dozen of the “cheap” eggs (topic for another day) reached over $5?
My criticism of Fashionopolis is that it doesn’t lead to any actionable change to the consumer. Wait, it does. Buy from a designer who takes great care of the people and the environment in every step. This sounds great until you look at Stella McCartney’s sale shirts and find the least expensive is a semi-sheer graphic t-shirt, not suitable for work or a fancy dinner, is $234 at the time of my reading.
The first 1/3 of the book should be required reading to anyone who buys clothes. The truth is that we can and do make an impact on the planet and the lives of those in the supply chain when we buy clothes, and we should try to do better than the current standard.
All three of the books above are in my Fable group, Wildly Wandering Pages, join and let’s talk more. I have so many thoughts and spoilers that I’d love to discuss!
Quickly, two other books I read that fit the theme are Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk, set in young America, though I don’t think it said the date, and Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber. Both of these have the Gatsby gilded and glamorous setting as a backdrop. Both have magical realism. Both were very fun reads. Let me know if you’d like more on these or the other books I finish before the month is over!
What are you reading now?
Living Wildly Well 