Review: Falling for Gatsby by Claire Dyer

As a lover of all things F. Scott Fitzgerald, the title of this novella had me hooked.

"What would it be like to love like Gatsby loved, to be in thrall to an ideal and to be so faithful to that ideal?' ponders Lucas as he sits in the cinema watching The Great Gatsby. A chance encounter as the film credits roll answers this question for him, and changes his life for good.

It is not entirely necessary to have seen/read The Great Gatsby before reading this, but it would help in order to appreciate the multitude of references to it.
Lucas isn't strictly Gatsby - he seems to me to be more of a Gatsby/Nick hybrid. Recently out of a failed long term relationship he is searching for something real in his life, someone to save, and that person is Martha. Following a ridiculously short courtship she married Adam oblivious to his controlling and abusive personality, and aside from her confidante Diane she has no escape - until she meets Lucas. The Great Gatsby is the cause of their meeting, and subsequently plays a part in all of their clandestine afternoons together, as they compare their personal story with Fitzgerald's masterpiece.

I only wish that this story was longer! It easily had the potential to be a full length novel, yet the short and sweet style worked well with the plot.

4/5 stars: fans of Gatsby will appreciate the references, whilst the gentle and tender love story will appeal to any romance fan.