THE GREAT GATSBY

This audio edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece of wealth and class in the Jazz Age is, on the whole, a perfectly adequate production. The narrator, Anthony Heald, strikes the right tone throughout, and his characterizations are consistent, if not particularly compelling. (His women all sound slightly ditzy, which may be more Fitzgerald's fault than Heald's). The book is, of course, an American classic, and deservedly so; it’s a great read, and a great listen, in almost any edition. But given that THE GREAT GATSBY has been well published before in audio, the only question is whether this version offers something new and compelling. It's a fine production, but there's nothing particularly fresh about it. M.G. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 08]