I am a Great Gatsby nerd. I have been involved in several discussions, for several years, regarding the nature and messages of this book. I try to find out everything I can about F.Scott Fitzgerald, his motivations, his wife Zelda, US history as it pertains to this story, etc. My goal is always to try to get to deeper meanings and read between the lines of this short book, which I do consider to be an almost perfect novel.

The original title of The Great Gatsby was "Trimalchio". And this book is an early version of TGG, written before Fitzgerald straightened out all of its glitches. I heard that director Baz Lahrman made his cast read Trimalchio before they filmed his 2013 version of Gatsby (starring Leo DiCaprio). The idea was that the actors should have more insight into the characters.

I never knew who Trimalchio was. But, apparently, Tramlachio was a character in the 1st century AD Roman work of fiction Satyricon by Petronius -- an arrogant former slave who became wealthy by distasteful tactics. So that was the similarity, assuming Jay Gatsby came into his wealth by shady measures. Which he did! (The question seems to be, exactly HOW shady...)

This book was not really available to the public until around 2012. I only found out about it recently, and knew I had to read it.

If you are not a big Gatsby fan, you might not notice the subtle differences between Trimalchio and the final novel of TGG. but they are there. As other reviewers have stated, Chapter 7 is a big game changer, in which more of the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby is revealed. However, now having read it, I did not like finding out!

The thing is, I believe Fitzgerald knew the valuable author's lesson of less is more. One of the things that makes The Great Gatsby great is its brevity, mystery, and ambiguity. But I am really glad I read this book, as it offers insights into Fitzgerald's writing process. Also included are history of the text, detailed footnotes, and letters exchanged between Fitzgerald and his editor. I found this fascinating.

I would rec this book for serious Gatsby nerds.

This was a wondrous discovery. Has anyone written anything so brilliant in just one summer?

Antes de que su editor le sugiriera las correcciones que convirtieron a "El Gran Gatsby" en lo que conocemos, esta era la primera versión de Fitzgerald y la verdad es que me gusta más. Los cambios no son tantos (algunos párrafos en dos o tres capítulos) pero me gusta que en "Trimalción" el misterio de Gatsby se mantenga más tiempo y que sea él mismo quien aclare todo en una confesión a Carraway después del accidente. Ademas, siento que la versión posterior hace ver peor a Gatsby - a través de los rumores de los demás - ya que se insiste repetidamente en que es contrabandista y ese ensañamiento de Tom con él, si bien tiene sentido, me parece un tanto exagerado. Por lo demás, la historia es muy parecida a la de la novela que todos conocen y hacer estas dos lecturas en paralelos es una gran experiencia para quienes - como yo - amamos la novela de Fitzgerald.

5/5

[Next review contains spoiler about both Trimalchio and The Great Gatsby]



I'd say I'm started as a dreamer, just as Gatsby did. I did believe in most of the charming ornaments at both side of the path that we both were walking through. But right in this moment, I'm just disgusted as Nick.

Reading n  Trimalchion just revived all the magic that I felt in the original Gatsby. And, as I don't think I reviewed Gatsby yet, I'll just tell what I did love of him. I first watched the movie, and all the magic and gathering of all the broken things that just sharped the spirit of what I saw that was Gatsby. All the loneliness that bleed the movie just made me fell in love.

Reading n  The Great Gatsbyn for first time was watching that all the fake sadness that I had was just a unreal and tainted vision of what Baz Luhrmann believed in his Gatsby. But the one from Scott Fitzgerald just was crashed with all the weight of the cruelty of the reality of his time. I didn't feel betrayed, because those two vision of Gatsbyjust showed us the reality of being a dreamer in a world where the dreams just can stayed broken.

Watching the way of the world of Gatsbywas really conceived, in the mind of F. Scott Fitzgerald was simply beautiful. Walking in the same path of loneliness, love, despair and, disillusion was gorgeous.



If you lovedn  Gatsbyn, you need to read this, to watch the birth of n  Gatsbyn and his raise and fall.

If you are interested in "The Great Gatsby" (which presumably you are or why else are you interested in this book?) you can only give "Trimalchio" five stars. It is fascinating. It is rare to see an entire early version of a book you love published, and, for a book such as Gatsby, where every word is important and heavy with nuance and symbolism, to see the changes made, the words taken out, the words put in, the changes in structure, along with the publisher's notes and the letters between Fitzgerald and his publisher is truly enlightening.

(I say you "can only give this five stars", apparently some people on this site disagree. Other reviews have stated "too much like Gatsby" or "I preferred the original"... As you will.)

Usually when you read a novel, you are reading the finalised version of it that has been laboured over extensively by not only the author but the editors and alpha readers. It is very rare indeed that you are given the opportunity to see an early version of that story, and that's exactly the opportunity offered to you in the form of Trimalchio. The early version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's most famous story, and indeed one of the most famous pieces of American literature, is easily recognisable in this text, but there is also remarkable insight into Fitzgerald's thought processes regarding the characters and the process of creating a novel itself.

For the first couple of chapters, the text reads almost identically to The Great Gatsby, with only minor changes here and there to reflect title changes or grammatical corrections. It's as one delves into the meat and potatoes of the novel that they discover a very different middle section. While a lot of the story beats are the same, the party that Daisy attends and the confrontation scene play out quite differently, offering a different perspective on Fitzgerald's planned direction.

I really enjoyed this opportunity. As a massive Gatsby fan (something many of my friends will reluctantly attest to,) I was more than familiar with the "original" text and found this insight into Fitzgerald's drafting process delightful. Trimalchio is a must-read for any fans of Fitzgerald, but in particular those who study Gatsby, be you students, teachers or just those eager to discover more of American literature.

I just heard of this title a week or so ago. With Gatsby being my favorite since I first read it at the age of fifteen (too long ago), and having seen the movie three times so far, I had to give this a go. I'm baffled that as an English major that I haven't heard of this version sooner, but I'm really glad I did. No one writes such whimsical worlds as Fitzgerald and this early version gave me even more insight to the world I wish I could live in. Some of the characters are down-right despicable, but even with his dark mystery, Gatsby balances them out by being the eternal romantic, gentleman, and hopeful dreamer. Now I understand Leonardo DiCaprio's version of him so much better having read this version. Like the commercials say, the summer belongs to Gatsby. If you are a Fitzgerald diehard like I am, you'll thoroughly enjoy this early edition.

PS- read the very end of the book to discover to meaning of why Fitzgerald named this Trimalchio. It's just brilliant and so enchanting. Doesn't quite hold a place in your heart the way "Gatsby" does, but it's extremely powerful with such great meaning. Ok, I'm done gushing about everything Gatsby now. Enjoy!

Trimalchio would have been an important book in its own right, had it been the version of The Great Gatsby which was ultimately published. The storyline is not significantly altered in arriving at the final text, and almost all the great passages are present here that are present in Gatsby. What makes me appreciate the final masterpiece even more are the subtle and not-so-subtle changes Fitzgerald made. Individual word choices and minor rephrasings, such as substituting "gave me some advice" for "told me something" in the novel's opening sentence. The specificity this and other amendments create deepens the novel's impact. Interestingly, it is also the omissions, the removal of details and explanations, that add to the mystic of the story. Whereas in Gatsby, Daisy's intentions and resolve are only addressed in the scene at the Plaza, here she clearly states, in the early stages of the affair, what she plans to do now that Gatsby is back in her life.

The introduction compares reading Trimalchio to listening to music you know well, but with significant changes in the key and mechanics of the music. This is an apt comparison. As I stated in my review of Nick, I love The Great Gatsby. Rereading it for me is like singing along to my favorite song. However, I have to disagree with another statement in the introduction: Trimalchio is not a "separate and distinct work of art." The differences between Trimalchio and Gatsby are insufficient to render this anything more than a near-final draft, despite the sub-title mischaracterizing it as an "early version." Read this novel simply to witness and appreciate the ways in which Fitzgerald converted a fine work into one of the greatest novels in literature.

If you like Gatsby, you really should read this earlier version.

Cómico y grotesco fue lo primero que pensé al terminarlo. ¿Qué puedo decir? Ni siquiera sabía que esta versión de El Gran Gatsby existía. La compré porque estaba ridículamente barata (como un Gatsby de segunda mano), sin expectativas y con la esperanza de que al menos sirviera de pisa vasos. Pero, para mi sorpresa, me gustó.

Desde el primer momento, la historia me atrapó con su desfile de fiestas extravagantes, personajes que beben como si el agua no existiera y un protagonista que se esfuerza demasiado por impresionar a alguien que, sinceramente, no vale tanto la pena ( Daisy). Pero lo que realmente me sorprendió fue ese final amargo:

“Así vivimos, como botes remando contra la corriente, arrastrados sin cesar hacia el pasado.”

Y ahí me quedé, cerrando el libro y mirando al vacío como si hubiera descubierto el sentido de la vida. ¿Por qué sufrimos por cosas que ya no podemos cambiar? ¿Por qué Gatsby creyó que una mujer que lo dejó por un tipo como Tom Buchanan iba a ser su salvación? ¿Y por qué, después de todo, siento tanta pena por él?

esta versión me sorprendió más de lo que esperaba. Es una historia de excesos, ilusiones y sueños imposibles, con un toque de tragedia que te deja pensando en la vida… y en lo malo que es idealizar a alguien que no te merece.

The early version of The Great Gatsby. It was exactly what I expected. However this version was a bit darker than I expected. The way Fitzgerald describes the characters in the novel was misogynistic and anti-Semitic. With all that aside the early version was exactly the same as the TGG. I would recommend the this book if you really loved the Great Gatsby. It is more than a fairytale of a long lost love, but a dream and a passion colliding in slow motion watching as life slips through your finger tips.

This was probably one of the most intriguing and interesting books that i've read in a while because of how simple and complex it can be at the same time. The premise of the story is following Nick's point of view, the main character, as he gets to know his new neighbour, Jay Gatsby. Mr. Gatsby is a very mysterious figure and as we read we try to figure out who this man is, where he came from, what he does etc. No other character seems to know him well either, many of them even questioning how he was able to get so rich. It''s a very circular kind of story, were we begin with a lot of questions and it slowly start unraveling and picking up pace as we get to know more and more.

Fitzgerald does a great job of keeping everything mysterious even with such a simple topic. A man gets rich, people wonder why, and he finally confesses his true origins to a close friend.

In conclusion, the great Gatsby was probably one of my favourite books to read since it was a very short but packed story, There was a lot going on all the time and the descriptions were simply beautiful, he left very little to imagination. I'd highly recommend this book to a friend who is interested in economics or business since it gives insight on the business world of the 1930's in America and how people were able to become rich in those times.