F. Scott Fitzgerald Books...

So I'm currently reading one of his books called The other side of paradise. Most would go for "the Great Gatsby" as that is his well known one but this is a book I loaned off a friend.

He's a good writer in all honesty. I'm enjoying it. At first I didn't as the main character called Amory is a pompous arrogant twit. He's like one of those nobles who is smart and has a superiority complex.

But it got more interesting, at first it felt super pretentious as he got into an ivy league school and starts looking up to superior authors so I was taking it super slow. Then he got involved in a card accident and a friend died and it finally got interesting.

He got bored of school and was out drinking constantly and flirting with girls and then one moment he has a haunting vision of his friend who died in the car. Now him and his school mates are being sent to war (it's set during the first world war) so I think the haunting of one friend is a precursor to insanity he's going to experience from war.

It's quite political, slamming war and many things and the character has scribbled poems at some points, he started irritating but I've connected with him XD I've only started "book two" (part two) which is the war so I'm hoping he goes mad.

So has anyone else read books by him such as The Great Gatsby? apparently his collection of works is quite short and he's a good author so feel free to discuss him here
I'll probably come back to give my end review of the book which should be by this week :)

 

i've read the book you're reading, it's actually quite good, unlike it's length though. You're right though, politics are important in this book, maybe you should try a new series other than him?

 

So far, the only one of his books that I've read was The Great Gatsby.

I can't say I was much of a fan of it though; it seemed to be lacking something that could have made the story more interesting.

Spoiler

That, and Gatsby's death at the end just seemed a bit too rushed to me.

But I guess I can't judge Fitzgerald on that book alone; overall, he seemed to be very concerned with the social system of his time and really strived to get it across as much as possible within his works.

 

Oh, I will be indeed. I just want to have that way of saying "I've read a whole authors body of work" if that makes sense?
I agree on length, he has his weaknesses but was so crucial for the political points.

I mean I was also reading Christopher Isherwood and you can tell what a self-centred man he is. The main characters are a fictionalisation of him and the other characters get insight but not much compassion.

But I'm enjoying Fitzgerald at the minute though :)

 

The Great Gatsby

I’ve read The Great Gatsby and think it’s a masterpiece. Fitzgerald’s writing is spectacular, the characters are flawed, engaging, layered, the plot is unexpected, and the entire novel is a grand metaphor for the American Dream. Besides that, it captures the Roaring 20’s perfectly, complete with the decadence, the ostentation, luxury and frivolity. It really lives up to its reputation of being a classic.

 

I am currently reading the Great Gatsby for English Literature. I like the style of writing but I haven't gotten very far yet but I love it so far, I look forward to analysing it to death xD

The book you have described sounds like my sort of book, I have no doubt that F. Scott Fitzgerald can write that story well as someone goes mad. I enjoy seeing how the writer makes them go mad and how the person is feeling and what they're thinking- all these things used cleverly as they are intertwined to form the persons mind. I will have to read that book at some point.

I'll come back to this thread when I've finished the Great Gatsby.

 

I had to read The Great Gatsby as a school assignment, like most people do. I absolutely loathed it, personally. From a literary standpoint, the characters were very well done and the whole extended metaphor for the decay of the American dream was certainly interesting. I do think Fitzgerald was a talented writer, his style may not have been my cup of tea but I respect it.

I just completely disagreed with how.. pessimistic it was, I suppose? I understand critiquing society and all but the book was just a constant smacking of "America sucks." I just thought that many parts of the book were very drawn out, while the interesting parts were rushed.

 

I was supposed to read The Great Gatsby for my American Novel class 2 years ago, but I just could not take it. I mean, it lost me so much. I finally just gave up after a while. I did that for a few of my books actually. Like Scarlet Letter as well.