The Great Catsby

Classic Tails #2

by Eliza Garrett (Adapter), F. Scott Fitzgerald (Creator)

CLASSIC TAILS - the greatest works of literature, as told by the finest breeds We all have our favorite classic tales; books that have been beloved to us since childhood, whose wonderful stories and rich tapestry of characters are unsurpassed in modern literature. How, you may ask, could these marvelous works ever be improved upon?Reader, ask no more...for we present

The Great CatsbyMillionaire Jay Catsby is a mystery. All alone in his moggy mansion, he throws extravagant parties attended by all the great and the good of the feline world. What nobody knows is that this is a kitty haunted by love - the love of a beautiful pussycat called Daisy, whom he lost to another long ago - and Catsby's great wish is that one day she, too, might be drawn to join the festivities.When Daisy's cousin Nick moves in next door, it seems like Catsby is a whisker away from winning back his beloved. But Daisy's husband Tomcat has other ideas...What readers are saying about The Great Catsby 'Hilarious twist on a classic, filled with many much appreciated cat puns''A lovely feline version of the classic tale. Beautiful and cute images and a lot of funny cat references!''Fun book - cleverly written. 5 stars'

Genres: Classics

64 pages, Hardcover

First published September 21, 2017

Reviews

[Xanthi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Visually, this is a lovely book. Filled with full colour illustrations, nice layout and design, and the end pages mimic those of books published decades ago. Where the book fails is in the story. I've not read the original, to compare, but get the impression that this condensed version is just a bit too brief to make sense or be all that interesting.

[María Eugenia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creo que tiene menos bromas en las ilustraciones (aunque en el texto sí) que el de Pugs and Prejudice, pero sigue siendo una adaptación graciosa y trabajada.

[Cat Strawberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely feline version of the classic novel. ‘The Great Catsby’ is a small hardback book around A6 in size and is filled with some lovely glossy pages though the cover is matt. Inside each double page contains a picture on one side with some easy to read text on the other. The overall look of the book reminds me of the ladybird books I used to have as a child although this book is obviously aimed at older readers.

I’d never read or seen an adaptation of ‘The Great Gatsby’ before so I was keen to learn this story and enjoy it in cat form. The story is told in the first person with our narrator, Nick Cattaway, a black and white cat who tells the story of what happened when he moved to East Fish, Long Island, close to where his cousin lives. Nick’s neighbour is the mysterious Jay Castby, a cat who loves to host wild parties every night, and one day when Nick attends one of these parties he learns exactly why Catsby has moved in so close to his cousin Daisy.

The story is a shortened version of the original and is a fun read although the ending is a bit sadder than I would have liked. What makes this a fun story though is all the feline references throughout the book. Many of the names have been replaced with feline versions such as Mew York instead of New York and there are plenty of descriptions of feline behaviour such as getting drunk on milk and ‘padding in’ to the party rather than walking in. The pictures also show some fun feline things such as Nick and a Siamese cat called Jordan sitting down to a meal where there are glasses of milk and a fish each on their plates!

The illustrations are lovely and have some lovely details in them. I love the way the cats all look in these pictures, they have a more fun look than the cats do in ‘Romeow & Juliet’, another book from the Classic Tails series. Although the pictures have a slightly simpler look than other Classic Tails books I’ve read, they still have some great detail and fun things to spot. There are some other creatures, ones that are not cats in this story, which is fun to spot, and it’s fun to see all the extras such as the milk in various places instead of alcohol, and the funny book title that Castby is reading in one of the later pictures. Despite the simpler look to the pictures I really like them and keep looking back at them as I love how cute they all look and there’s something I just love about the way Castby’s face looks in each picture!

The story is very easy to read which makes this book perfect for those who’ve never picked up the original classic (or any classic) before and who want to start. I think both adults and teens would enjoy this book especially if they love cats or animals in general. Some younger ages might also enjoy this and although it’s not exactly a happy ending, it doesn’t have the shocking effect that ‘The Picture of Dorian Greyhound’ had when I read it as the pictures in this story are simple and nothing scary like they were in the other book.

I’d definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in reading this classic or for anyone into cats. The pictures alone make this a lovely book to read, and with the story being an interesting classic I think lots of people will enjoy trying this book out. Maybe it’s because I love cats in general and just love anything with cats involved, but there’s something so brilliant and cute about all the pictures I just can’t help but love this book!
-Thanks to Bookbridgr and the publisher for a free copy.

[Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful book, but it obviously cuts the story a bit too short. But it does look nice on the shelf.

[Shayah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautuifull illustration i enjoyed it more with the cats version

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the original.

[Rachel (Smelleykins) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved 'The Great Gatsby' and when I seen this take on bookbridgr i knew i had to request a copy. It's such a lovely book. Kind of like the ladybird ones. There are stunning pictures throughout. It's a cute take on the story. Cat lovers will really appreciate it.