Great by Sara Benincasa (review)

Ever since Naomi’s mother became a multimedia sensation in the food world, Naomi has reluctantly left her middle-class Midwestern roots every summer to stay in the Hamptons among the rich, famous, and fake people her mother wishes she would cultivate as friends. This summer is different, though. There’s a guy, for one thing, but more interestingly, a fascinating girl named Jacinta has rented the house next door. Jacinta’s fashion blog and lavish parties have made her approval a coveted commodity, but what she really wants is for Naomi to introduce her to Delilah Fairweather, girlfriend to a former child actor turned boorish jerk, who is friends with Naomi through her mother. As Delilah and Jacinta become more and more intimate, Naomi watches with trepidation, sensing Jacinta’s vulnerability as she learns disturbing truths about the profound selfishness and detachment of these people who only play at relationships with those outside their circle. For readers familiar with The Great Gatsby, there are no surprises as to how this ends, but Benincasa’s overlay of contemporary media and social structures onto that source text is ingenious, making this a savvy and believable remake alongside Korman’s Jake, Reinvented (BCCB 11/03). Even readers who don’t recognize the parallels will be drawn into the tragedy of a young woman willing to risk everything to reclaim a lost love (like Jay and Daisy, Jacinta and Delilah were childhood friends). Delilah’s unworthiness and Jacinta’s need are explored critically but without overly harsh judgment, as Naomi’s evolving understanding of her mother expands her capacity for compassion. The guys, though, remain despicably serene in their lack of accountability for any wrongdoing, reminding us that the lessons of Gatsby are, unfortunately, still current.