F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Beautiful and Damned

Hi

This review is about the second novel in the book; ‘The Beautiful and Damned’.
This specific novel has 343 pages.
You can find all my F. Scott Fitzgerald reviews here.

"The Beautiful and Damned tells the story of Anthony Patch (a 1920s socialite and presumptive heir to a tycoon's fortune), his relationship with his wife Gloria, his service in the army, and alcoholism. The novel provides an excellent portrait of the Eastern elite as the Jazz Age begins its ascent, engulfing all classes into what will soon be known as Café Society. As with all of his other novels, it is a brilliant character study and is also an early account of the complexities of marriage and intimacy that were further explored in "Tender Is the Night." The book is believed to be largely based on Fitzgerald's relationship and marriage with Zelda Fitzgerald.”

I feel quite the same about this novel as I did about ‘This Side of Paradise’. It could be the reason why they are in the same book.

This novel is just a story about a couple whose lives are filled with waste and decay. They are waiting for his grandfather to die to get their inheritance and fill their life with even more parties and other forms of pleasure.

Both Anthony and Gloria are unlikable characters and that’s why I honestly didn’t care about them, the novel and its progress. They are selfish, useless, banal, vain, haughty, impatient, lazy, and proud and they just generally lack any form of empathy. Furthermore, there’s no evolution in their characters. There’s an evolution in their relationship (no one didn’t see that coming the moment they married) but not in their characters, not really at least.
But it is quite fascinating to read about their downfall and their inability to try and change anything about it.
And it is impossible to feel any kind of sympathy for Gloria and Anthony as they “struggle” to survive.
The drama is too much for me. I can’t stand the constant whining of Gloria, their feeling of superiority, their banality, their arguments and, well, generally, the drama.

Again, there are moments of beautiful prose, but it’s not engaging or unforgettable. I really do feel like this author is a bit overrated.
This is a story told to us through long descriptions and little (inner) dialogue. To me, it didn’t feel like a reading experience. Someone could read this to me and I’d feel just the same; not absorbed at all.
But it is easy to read and the characters are skilfully painted.

See you tomorrow for my Wrap Up!
Helena

F. Scott Fitzgerald: This Side of Paradise

Hi

This Side of Paradise is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s debut novel.
It has 245 pages. I got it as a gift in one book with The Beautiful and Damned.
You can find all my F. Scott Fitzgerald reviews here.

 “This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald's romantic and witty first novel, was written when the author was only twenty-three years old. This semiautobiographical story of the handsome, indulged, and idealistic Princeton student Amory Blaine received critical raves and catapulted Fitzgerald to instant fame. Now, readers can enjoy the newly edited, authorized version of this early classic of the Jazz Age, based on Fitzgerald's original manuscript.”

It’s obvious to everyone that although Amory Blaine is a selfish, detached, egocentric and superficial man; it is because he is a product of the time he lives in and because he is the son of his parents with their own faults. Life as an upper-class gentleman and woman was just tedious and boring.
He's not really unlikable, but it's not that I care about him either. 

Fitzgerald writes about all this in a very believable manner. I can't find fault with the writing because it is good, it's just detached and definitely not engaging in any way.

I mean, it’s good and all (see above) but the story really is boring. Really boring.

Happy reading!
Helena

F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby

Hi

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of those books ‘you have to read’ and I finally did.
My copy has 115 pages and a 14-page introduction. I bought it at the Boekenfestijn.

The prose is beautiful and well-crafted. It is however not unforgettable or the sign of a true genius. It is an easy to read novel. You can feel the emptiness in the novel, you can feel how life was in those days.
I enjoyed this in the novel. Everything is very clean and pure; there are no words and sentences that don’t serve a purpose.

But it is a distant novel. I felt no connection whatsoever to the story or the characters. And the novel is described to us; we’re not a part of it. We know nothing about these characters, we get no motivation for their actions. We feel no relationship between Gatsby and Daisy, no passion, no desire. We know nothing about Tom and Myrtle and Jordan except for what we’re told. Even our narrator Nick is a mystery to us.
This novel feels like a story you tell someone and not like a reading experience.

Jay Gatsby is a man who has the means to do anything but who is hungry for love. He has filled his life with pursuing his dream: Daisy. By throwing with money, organizing huge parties and reinventing himself he tries to win her over. He has the illusion that he can rewrite the past, that everything will be fine if he could erase the last few years. He wants to reclaim the past; he needs to hear that Daisy always loved him so he can go back to a time where they were pure and innocent.
His dream of winning back Daisy aside, he’s empty.
And that idea is very beautiful.

Happy reading.
Helena