Reinterpretation of 'The Great Gatsby' in a Black context brings to light secret Los Angeles history
In 2022, Kyra Davis Lurie stumbled upon a tantalizing story on KCRW's "Curbed Los Angeles" about the residents of South L.A.'s West Adams Heights, a neighborhood known as Sugar Hill due to its wealthy Black Harlemites. Intrigued by the sumptuous soirees hosted by Academy Award-winning actor Hattie McDaniel in her Sugar Hill mansion, Lurie decided to unearth the hidden Black history nested within. Little did she know, the birth of the historical novel "The Great Mann" would be as much a story of self-reinvention as it would be a homage to F. Scott Fitzgerald's iconic 20th-century critique of the American dream, "The Great Gatsby".
Lurie, 52, hailed from Santa Cruz and had penned the light-hearted 2005 book "Sex, Murder and a Double Latte". Encouraged by her success, Lurie made her way to L.A. with dreams of joining a TV writers room. However, the 2007 writers' strike delayed her plans, prompting Lurie to write three erotic novels, which she dubbed "critiques of capitalism wrapped in a romance novel".
Inspired by the story of Sugar Hill and its famous inhabitants, Lurie recognized an opportunity to tackle a more nuanced challenge. However, many literary agents were hesitant to support her genre shift. Lurie likened their resistance to Marlon James' switch from writing comic books to his Man Booker Prize-winning novel "A Brief History of Seven Killings". Determined to tell the story of Sugar Hill, Lurie turned to Fitzgerald’s classic as a North Star, albeit one that proved troublesome due to a problematic racial slur in "The Great Gatsby".
Despite being a "huge Fitzgerald fan", Lurie felt the demeaning language in the book reflected America's cultural climate during the Red Summer of 1919 and the destruction of Black Wall Street in the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot. Through a Black reimagining of "The Great Gatsby", Lurie sought to marry the story of a vibrant Black enclave with a lesser-known piece of L.A. history.
"The Great Mann" follows the journey of a World War II veteran named Charlie Trammell III, who seeks a fresh start in L.A. after being emotionally scarred by the violence he witnessed. He settles in Sugar Hill and becomes entangled in the world of L.A.'s wealthy Black elite, a mix of real characters like John and Vada Somerville and fictional characters such as the mysterious businessman James Mann.
Like Fitzgerald's classic, "The Great Mann" tackles themes of reinvention, ambition, deception, and the pursuit of love and status. However, unlike "The Great Gatsby", it offers a unique cultural and historical perspective on Black America in mid-century Los Angeles, shedding light on lesser-known aspects of the time. The novel also delves into the struggle of Black creatives and business owners to hold onto their properties amid the racial housing covenants that were prevalent during the time West Adams Heights was developed.
"The Great Mann" is Lurie’s first foray into historical fiction, with additional projects on the horizon. She believes writing about historical Black lives feels like home to her and represents the path she was meant to take.
- Kyra Davis Lurie, originally from Santa Cruz, found inspiration in a story about Sugar Hill, a historic Black neighborhood in Los Angeles, to write her first historical novel, "The Great Mann."
- Lurie's novel, which incorporates elements of the American dream critique in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby", provides a unique cultural and historical perspective on Black America in mid-century Los Angeles.
- Lurie faced challenges in shifting genres and encountered hesitancy from literary agents, similar to Marlon James' experience when he switched from writing comic books to "A Brief History of Seven Killings."
- In "The Great Mann", Lurie explores the struggles of Black creatives and business owners in Los Angeles, particularly their attempts to hold onto their properties amid racial housing covenants.
- Lurie, who penned a light-hearted book in 2005 titled "Sex, Murder and a Double Latte", now sees her work chronicling historical Black lives as her intended path and a sense of home.
