How Gatsby Got Wild

By John Kenney

"At least three portions in the book "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life," by Kaavya Viswanathan, bear striking similarities to writing in "Can You Keep a Secret?," a chick-lit novel by Sophie Kinsella." — The Times, May 2

LARRY KING My guest tonight is John Kenney, author of the new bestseller "The Great Gatsby." John, welcome.
JOHN KENNEY Thank you, Larry.
MR. KING Tell us about the book.
MR. KENNEY It's the story of a man's quest to win the heart of a woman by amassing great wealth.
MR. KING You set it in the 1920's. Why?
MR. KENNEY It just felt right to me.
MR. KING The title is interesting.
MR. KENNEY The title is always hard but one day it just came to me.
MR. KING The green light.
MR. KENNEY Indeed.
MR. KING What does it symbolize?
MR. KENNEY So many things. Mostly hope, I think. But also wealth. Money is green. A traffic light can be green.
MR. KING A lot of vegetables are green.
MR. KENNEY That's true, too.
MR. KING I was struck by the narrator, Nick Carraway. Such a keen observer of life. He was obsessed with Gatsby, wasn't he?
MR. KENNEY He was.
MR. KING And Daisy. What a character.
MR. KENNEY I modeled her on an old girlfriend of mine. Also on the actress Mia Farrow.
MR. KING I can see it. This is a big departure from your first novel, "White Noise." The character of J. A. K. Gladney. Professor of Hitler studies at a small college. Versus Jay Gatsby. Similar first names though.
MR. KENNEY I love "White Noise." I'm still very proud of it.
MR. KING As you should be. Detroit, you're on with author John Kenney.
CALLER Hi, Larry. I love your show.
MR. KING What's your question?
CALLER I was wondering who Mr. Kenney's influences are?
MR. KING Good question. John?
MR. KENNEY I have very little time to read when I'm writing but Scott Fitzgerald and certainly Don DeLillo are both very big influences. I'm very familiar with their work.
MR. KING Are there similarities between your new novel, "The Great Gatsby" and "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald?
MR. KENNEY Not so much "similarities." They're actually identical.
MR. KING I see.
MR. KENNEY Except for my name as author.
MR. KING And your book "White Noise?" Did DeLillo influence you heavily in the writing of that?
MR. KENNEY He did. Again, it's exactly the same book.
MR. KING The exact same words, in the exact same order.
MR. KENNEY Identical.
MR. KING Legal problem? Moral problem?
MR. KENNEY Not really. My agent and publisher are behind it 100 percent.
MR. KING And the books are selling well?
MR. KENNEY Really well. I'm very fortunate.
MR. KING What's next?
MR. KENNEY I'm working on a book about family, Larry. Aging parents, the siblings who've grown apart and are all struggling in their own ways.
MR. KING Title?
MR. KENNEY "The Corrections."
MR. KING The Jonathan Franzen book?
MR. KENNEY That's right.
MR. KING But with your name on it?
MR. KENNEY Exactly.
MR. KING That's great. Thank you so much. John Kenney. His new book is "The Great Gatsby." We'll be right back with Bono.