Amor Towles has been compared to F. Scott Fitzgerald ...
348603
Amor Towles has been compared to F.Scott Fitzgerald for his novel Rules of Civility,  but in this book he adds to that a Tolstoy-like playfulness with Russian history, albeit based upon the twentieth century's Party bureaucrats rather than the nineteenth century's war with Napoleon. Count Alexander Rostov is unflappable in the face of adversity and charming even toward his Soviet overlords. For being a member of the nobility, he is sentenced in 1924 to permanent house arrest in Moscow's famous Metropol Hotel where he abides through thick and thin for another thirty years before finally making his escape. Only a writer with Towles's skill at depicting aristocratic resilience and his mastery of the humor in everyday pretensions could make such a restrictive sentence seem not only livable, but even entertaining.
99903
Bret Easton Ellis is the modern version of F. Scott Fitzgerald; while the setting is the West Coast in the 1980s instead of the East Coast of the 1920s, Ellis manages to write a book that is perhaps as appealing to  Generation X and beyond as "This Side of Paradise" was to Jazz  Age readers.  Clay, the novel's protaganist, while living a lifestyle  foreign to most of the novel's readers, still manages to relate to the  general population through his demonstration of the meaningless of an  empty, vapid, materialistic lifestyle.  References are constantly made to  how "pale" he is, but while he may not be physically tan compared  to his friends, he has more of a personality, and is at least attempting to  escape the alluring LA environment he grew up in by going East for college.  His friend Daniel gets sucked back into the LA lifestyle, but Clay resists  rather successfully by the end of the novel, making him a compelling  protaganist.  The 1980s pop culture references make the novel enjoyable to  cultural fans of that particular era, and the prose style, that of a  neverending monologue with some flashbacks is immensely appealing.  This is  Ellis' first and best novel, and it is amazing that he wrote it as a  college student.  If only I, a current college student could write as well  as him....
825231
I reread this in two days, in conjunction with a terrific new biography of Fitzgerald, "Paradise Lost," by David S. Brown. I was amazed most by The Great Gatsby's romance, its plotting, its implicit commentary about American social values and ethics as the new century took hold after WW I and Americans saw fortunes to be made. Class and racial distinctions, along with anti-Semitism, were just part of the landscape and are presented as such, as if in a time capsule revealing what everyone just accepted. What is timeless about this book, which many consider the Great American Novel of the 20th century ("Moby Dick" being the 19th century's Great American Novel), are the complex psychological portraits of its characters (Daisy, Nick, Tom, Jay, Jordan, George Wilson,), the sweeping scope of its portrait of America, which still holds up today, the beauty of its descriptive prose, and the poetry of its shimmering romance. It's a wonderful piece of art that deserves its place high up in the American literary canon. This novel overturned all the Victorian claptrap of 19th century literature and consciously focused on the real and modern world, complete with "immoral" behavior, drinking, totally selfish and unethical people, and the drive for freedom from hypocritical piety. A true masterpiece, worth reading twice!
3158259
The collection of short stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald are very enjoyable. I confess that THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON was what drew me in to buying the short stories but I enjoyed every story. My personal favorite was BEATRICE BOBS HER HAIR. Very well written stories. It's a pity the movie version of Button was nothing like the story.
2694581
F Scott Fitzgerald's book has always been one of my favorite books and altho I have not read it in years, it is still one of my favorites.
2563525
This story is about Amory Blaine, a young man whose story we follow from his early childhood of great privilege through his college graduation to see him develop a great skepticism. It may have been his life's great economic downturn, maybe it was his poor luck at love, or maybe a mix of these and more led Amory to his new perspective. As readers we feel sorry for what has been forced to endure, but the silver lining comes as Amory and his mates discuss love, politics and growing up. The opinions they share are substantial, eye-opening, and they still ring true generations later.

This book was recommended to me a few years back by a friend. I asked her what her favorite book was and this was her response. It obviously took me awhile to get around to reading it, but I am glad I did. Better late than never, as they say.

I feel the book is best broken up into three sections: pre-college, college and post-college. And the first and third sections were my favorites. The pre-college section covers his childhood as Fitzgerald writes him as an Elizabethan "mack daddy." I laughed continuously as the young man with the silver tongue would, always minding his manners, attempt to seduce any woman he encountered.

The college section, which is the majority of the book, we begin to see the transformation of Amory Blaine. Through a group of friends that I found similar to the Dead Poets Society from the&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/movie-of-the-same-name/dp/B000B8QG1S/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">movie of the same name</a>, Amory begins to finally see pain, suffering and injustice. He is handed a social conscience and wears it from then on as a badge of courage. This section of the book grew a little monotonous for me and was where I had to strengthen my resolve to get through it.

The post-college section, though somewhat pessimistic, was my favorite part of the book. In this final few chapters to the book I believe I found why my friend had recommended it. While I agreed with some of Amory's arguments at the end of the book and disagreed with others, I found them all to have merit. I must admit that I am even depressed that many of Amory's complaints about the state of society still plague society today. I applaud the author for writing a book that is still relevant so many years later.

This Side of Paradise is a short book where you may breeze through the beginning, lose interest in the middle, and become somewhat empassioned towards the end. I did not love this book, but I enjoyed parts of it a good deal. I'm glad to have now read some Fitzgerald other than just&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Great-Gatsby/dp/0743273567/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Great Gatsby</a>.
2251227
High flying, fast living F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) attained great commercial and critical fame early in life--and then began a rapid fall into a ferocious alcoholism.  In 1925 THE GREAT GATSBY, now regarded as his masterpiece and often described as "the great American novel," was published to only mildly enthusiastic reviews and sold poorly; in order to fund the lifestyle to which he had grown accustomed, Fitzgerald set aside his next book length project and turned to short stories and the occasional bout of "writing for Hollywood."

Although Fitzgerald began to formulate ideas for TENDER IS THE NIGHT as early as 1925, the project was slow to take form and was not published until 1934--by which time it had become a reflection of Fitzgerald's stormy marriage to the equally high flying, fast living Zelda Sayre, who gradually sank into insanity and was permanently institutionalized by the early 1930s.  Originally published in serial form in Scribner's Magazine, it received mixed reviews, and when it was published as a novel it did not prove the great commercial success Fitzgerald hoped.  It was the last novel he completed before his 1940 death.

The story is set in Europe, where the Fitzgeralds themselves lived through much of the 1920s, and begins with Rosemary, a very young woman who has recently jolted to fame and fortune as an actress in silent film.  Beautiful but in many respects innocent, Rosemary vacations on the Riviera--where she makes the acquaintance of Dick and Nicole Diver, an incredibly wealthy, exceptionally attractive couple who seem to be the height of all the modern era has to offer.  Rosemary quickly subcums to Dick Diver's immeasurable charm and falls in love with him, but Nick is determinedly bound to Nicole, as much from responsibility as love.  Nicole's apparent flawlessness is a facade.  Dick is a psychiatrist; his wife, Nicole, is also his patient.  She is insane.

Fitzgerald was often accused of writing about rich and pretty but trivial people.  In one sense this is true, but in Fitzgerald's work the shiny surface is precisely that, a false front that the characters present to the world in order to maintain both their social standing and self-image. As the novel moves back and forward in time, we see how Dick has been "bought" by Nicole's family and how he is repeatedly torn between love for Nicole as a husband and care for her as a patient so that--even as Nicole begins a final recovery--he begins his own destruction, sucked dry by the endless personal and professional compromises required of him.  Increasingly dark in tone, TENDER IS THE NIGHT is not so much disillusioning as it is ultimately, painfully  nhilistic.

Fitzgerald seemed to regard TENDER IS THE NIGHT as both his most personal and his favorite work, and there are few who would not regard it as a masterpiece.  Even so, it is very much a flawed masterpiece, occasionally problematic to a point at which it snaps the reader out of the very reality it attempts to create, most often due to Fitzgerald's own authorial self-indulgence.  That said, the characters and their situations are not always as convincing as one could wish and the structure of the novel is occasionally muddy.  And yet--

Even with these glaring issues running throughout the novel, TENDER IS THE NIGHT is the sort of book that you think you will not finish and then suddenly find yourself on the last page.  Whereas THE GREAT GATSBY tended to focus on the mask, TENDER IS THE NIGHT focuses on the face beneath it, and the result is uniquely powerful.  You care about the Divers and even though you sense their ultimate fate you, like they themselves, fight against it.  It has moments of brilliance as powerful and often more so than any other novel of the first half of the 20th Century.  Strongly recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer
4229704
Having studied Gatsby years ago in undergrad work, I wasn't so enamored of revisiting it until I realized the benefit of appreciating the historical setting and having a greater sense of its corresponding influences. It helped that I read some other commentary on F Scott Fitzgerald. I've even taken to reading some of his other works.

Many book club members did not appreciate it but I did. The hint of Gatsby's dark side can be a bit daunting. Overall, though, it accomplishes what the author intended. Other character development in the novel could made the reading experience more enjoyable for me. Still, I liked the book.
3674196
F. Scott Fitzgerald writes so wonderfully I cannot help but get lost in his words. The Beautiful and the Damned is no different. I personally hated the protagonist, Anthony Patch, and his opponent, Gloria, wasn't much better. I suppose that's what a truly gifted writer can do... allow the reader to thoroughly dislike the characters while still enjoying the story. Highly recommended!
2537117
CALL ME ZELDA is Erika Robuck's subjective excursion into the life of Zelda Fitzgerald.  This view is not of the glamorous southern belle, prone to wild excesses whose identity and fame seems to have been grounded in her roaring twenties wild flapper image as well as her marriage writer F. Scott Fitzgerald.  This offering appears to be one of those books that attempts to be "all things to all readers" as it addresses subjects like misdiagnosed mental illness, jealousy and unhealthy competition, alcoholism, religion, as well as an in depth and often boring exploration of a couple of symbiotic relationships involving a failed marriage, and an unusual friendship. Ms. Robuck seems to be of the opinion that Zelda Fitzgerald's identity crisis and manic mood swings were caused as much by her controlling alcoholic husband and the squelching of her artistic integrity as by her misfiring synapses.

Scott definitely does not fare well in this telling, vacillating between a controlling, jealous and resentful individual, who stole most of the ideas for the characters in his novels from his wife's diaries, to the alcoholic often compassionate and apprehensive guy who dissolves into an insecure sobbing mess on a regular basis.  One must, however, take into consideration that the story is viewed through the rather narrow vision of a narrator whose reliability is questionable.  Anna, the near perfect nurse with some unresolved problems of her own, seems to possess a Yoda like understanding of Zelda, usually arriving at an answer to her problems long before the professionals.  Many of Anna's choices are of the "gut feeling" variety and often tend to be more damaging than helpful and her attachment (read obsession bordering on unhealthy)to Zelda is less than professional.

We have all been exposed to various incarnations of the story of F. Scott Fitzgerald in other books and movies and there have been several books about Zelda.  While I understand that CALL ME ZELDA is historical FICTION, and just one author's portrayal of an insecure drunk and a mentally unstable woman who were looked upon as American Royalty early in the twentieth century, the truly admirable individual in this telling is Scottie, the Fitzgerald's young daughter.  While her appearances in the novel are limited she comes across an unspoiled, sweet, understanding child who is accepting of her situation and wise beyond her years.

Unlike Ms. Robuck's previous offering which was a captivating page turner, this book seemed to drone on. How much can you really say about a bi-polar protagonist without the dialog being repetitious?  I loved Ms. Robuck's HEMINGWAYS GIRL......CALL ME ZELDA, not as much.
1544500
Don't go by the movie; Fitzgerald's Gatsby is much more compelling and grand with a broken spirit under the guise of the "American Dream". Will love it always.
2392916
This is the first book-length biography ever written about F. Scott Fitzgerald.  It is only one of three such biographies of Fitzgerald recommended by The F. Scott Fitzgerald Society.  It is the only one of the three published by a major private publishing company.  The other two of the three were published by state university presses.  It is hardbound, published in 1949 and 362 pages long.  I bought it used in good condition.  Mizener was a professor at Carlton College when the book was published.  He writes in a very analytical style that prepares the reader for a punch line or vividly understanding summary statement to follow.  His readers are likely to concentrate on the analytical material while repeatedly wondering where the author is going with all these details, only to find a capping statement that is memorable enough to copy down and convincing enough to make them wonder why they were wondering.  I was surprised by the importance of football in Fitzgerald's early life and by the shortage of life experience outside of falling for beautiful women, going to parties, hanging out with rich people and getting drunk in his mature life.
4702450
This book changed everything I thought about F. Scott Fitzgerald.  My reverence and fascination for his talent and words,
his work............ Why?  Because it wasn't really him -- it was Zelda.  He took her thoughts and words -- her diaries, letters,
conversations, observations and claimed them as his own. He stole them.  I wondered why she let him do it?  Did he tell her they were a team? Did she do it "for the family" (barf!)  or because she wanted him to be great or she couldn't see the value of her creativity?

No wonder she was so troubled. She allowed Fitzgerald to see her soul and he claimed it as his own while telling her she couldn't be a writer.  Zelda wasn't just a muse, she was ALL of it.  Thank you Sally Cline for vindicating Zelda.  She was troubled for sure but  her life would have been so much better had she been able to pursue her own ends.
2462515
A thoroughly enjoyable read.  Wolfe is the F. Scott Fitzgerald of our generation.  My only criticism is that I wish he had altered his style a bit.  Bonfire of the Vanities, A Man in Full, and now Charlotte Simmons are all cut from the same cloth.
271739
The Great Gatsby is Fitzgerald's third novel and his best novel. It is better than any of his short stories even though he is a better short story writer than a novelist. The novel focuses on the lives of young and shallow rich people .Nick Carraway is the narrator who provides the perspective and the main focus is on the title character Jay Gatsby who is fabulously wealthy. Gatsby invites many people to his grand parties but none of them are his friends as future developments in the novel show. He has a fake life which he creates to win the hand of Daisy Buchanan, a woman he loved in hiss youth but could not obtain because of his poverty. Gatsby gains wealth in illegal and immoral ways and when he has an affair with Daisy,her husband investigates Gatsby's past and exposes him destroying the affair and eventually destroying Gatsby. The novel is how wealth without character is worthless pleasure without purpose is worthless and using money to buy friends without developing ones relationships so that friendship is not dependent on money is also a worthless way to live. Fitzgerald clearly sees the pointlessness of the young and wealthy of his era who live primarily off the inheritance from their parents but  his life in many ways would end up becoming like those he criticized partly because of the unstable alcoholic he married who enticed him to join in her self destructive lifestyle. After Gatsby, Fitzgerald's writing declined but the magnificent dialogue and descriptive phrasing plus his keen and compelling insight into the hollowness of a live driven by wealth and the desire for pleasure make this a great American novel
3643259
Amazing story and the writing style of Amor Towles is truly wonderful. Engaging read and the imagery that he is able to create is great. Will be a book that I re-read throughout my life.
2625987
Having read some of F. Scott Fitzgerald's books and listening to my mother and her sisters talk about the "jazz age," images and words predisposed me to a strong desire to read about Fitzgerald's wife, Zelda. Growing up in the deep South, certain actions were expected by a young woman. Zelda was having none of this before she met Scott and had even less of it after meeting him.

Zelda was full of fun, somewhat brazen, unconventional, and felt little fear at the prospect of defying the norm in Montgomery, Alabama. I read Zelda's story and wish in 1965, at Zelda's age, I possessed the courage to be different, to step outside the box, to follow my dreams. No matter how reckless they seemed to others.

And this is what Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald did. At times, their marriage seemed vitriolic. Yet the two could not seem to survive alone. Dependent, co-dependent, they mirrored the marriages and lives of many creative geniuses -- Ernest Hemingway, Henry Miller, Dashielle Hammett and others.

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip through the lives of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Although they moved about the country and world, every scene instills a bit of Zelda's Southern heritage -- languorous movements, hints of mint julep in the air, the softening of words -- and her determination to be her own woman retaining that Southern heritage while fighting against it.

Fowler has done her research well, especially into the years abroad and the persons met and socialized with during those years. She also is specific in her descriptions of Zelda's dark times with respect to treatments in mode during the 1920-30s.

Definitely, we'll never know who brought down whom, but I can assure you when you turn the last page of Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, you will be begging for more.

* * *

My Recommendation:

Lovers of historical novels will find Theresa Anne Fowler's work on the Fitzgeralds' story one worth reading. But don't start it if you have some work to do, because your work will quickly be forgotten. This is a page-turner replete with images of glitzy, fringed flappers, gin mills, and drugstore cowboys.