Classics Considered

Fitzgerald is one of those authors who provokes in me a love/loathe reaction.  There was something unforgettable and moving in The Great Gatsby and This Side of Paradise ; the surreal, Wuthering-Heights level of drama and the tragic stories lingered in my mind a long time afterward.  Tender is the Night haunted me in a different way: an instant trainwreck with little rhyme or reason, it left me so disgusted I had to quit reading early on.  So when I saw the library had just added The Last Tycoon to their ebook collection...and it was available, and it was under 200 pages...I invariably got pulled into checking it out and reading it over the 4th of July. There aren't many authors I would recommend reading solely for their writing style, but I think every aspiring American writer should read something by Fitzgerald, even if it's just a chapter.  There's something distinctly American about his style.  It's a strange, signature combination - breathless, matt...

Tender Is the Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald - (no rating) Biggest disappointment of the year so far; did not finish. The Atlas of Beauty - Mihaela Noroc - 3 stars An interesting library book.  Somewhat repetitive; would've  preferred less social-political commentary. Embers - Sándor Márai - 4 stars Surprisingly great!  European history buffs will appreciate  this ruminating novel.  Full review here . Poetry of the First World War - ed. Marcus Clapham - 3 stars Not an easy or pretty read, but a sobering one.  More thoughts here . Moonflower - Jade Nicole Beals - 4 stars   Poems of peace and introspection; this was a refreshing read. Anthem - Ayn Rand - 2 stars Great concept, so-so execution.  Full review here . Breakfast at Tiffany's - Truman Capote - 1 star Writing style on point, story not my cuppa.  More thoughts here . This has not been the month for in-depth, written reviews, and I'm feeling a bit sheepish about that.  Work ha...

  My first attempt to read this book was on a plane, four years ago.  I had been going through some tough times, and as I plodded through the first fifty pages, my mind kept wandering.  I grew tired of the apparently carefree protagonist - who had the romantic name of Amory Blaine - and ultimately tossed this to the Not Finishing stack with a single comment: "Weird book so far." Having finished the book now, I would word it a bit differently: "Weird book, but oddly rewarding." If you are a reader who can love a book for the sake of its writing, This Side of Paradise is just your sort of book.  It is written in a series of vignettes and takes place over the course of Amory's childhood, youth, college years, and early adulthood.  Much like the crisp narrative of The Great Gatsby , each scene has its own particular mood and brilliancy, and the effect is a chocolate box of impressions, some bitter and some sweet.  Youth is like having a big plate of candy. Sen...

I completely missed the Gatsby craze of last year.  Of course, I knew about it, but for whatever reason, it remained out of my sphere, something to do eventually.  I've never read the book before or seen any film adaptations, and the net benefit is being able to read the book with a fresh perspective - only prejudiced by the fact that I cannot not picture DiCaprio and Mulligan as Gatsby and Daisy.  *sigh* (Might I also point out that Daisy is supposed to be brunette and Jordan is supposed to be blonde?  Details, anyone?) Now that that's squared away, let's talk about the book, by F. Scott Fitzgerald .  I read it in four days, which for me these days is a pageturner.  Expectations were middling - I tried very hard to read This Side of Paradise  a couple of years ago and gave up early.  On the other hand, The Great Gatsby  (1925) is hyped as a great American classic, and a portrait of the Jazz Age, and a stirring, "cautionary tale" against the ...