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If you read my Hemingway page, you already know how I feel. Hemingway writes as an artist, as sparse as possible to convey the thought and yet poetic. Fitzgerald's writing is stiff, often dull. Faulkner writes for an audience of Doctoral students, it seems.

Still, I feel that after having this site up in one form or another for well over 10 years, its time I give the devil his due and give him a page here. Besides, he does not totally suck.

Many, many consider this to be The Great American Novel. I personally feel that For Whom the Bell Tolls is a far better book. However, it takes place in Spain and Fitzgerald does a remarkable job of capturing America in the Twenties. So I concede that point, if you want the book to be about America and not merely by an American.

Gatsby himself represents so many things, including the best and worst of America. Gatsby comes from the most humble of Midwest backgrounds, and through nefarious means becomes one of the wealthiest men on Long Island; he certainly threw the biggest parties, no small thing in the mid-twenties. In a theme repeated by Fitzgerald, he ruins himself by the pursuit of an unsuitable woman; in this case, a woman above him in class if not in wealth. (Oh, she was married, also.) Our poor fellow overplays his hand and comes to an end worthy of Shakespeare.

Some find the plot contrived, I found it no more so than many other critically acclaimed novels. Its not so hard that a man could meet a woman like that in his relative youth and never forget her; most everyone has a person like that in their past, even if they are in a happy relationship. I enjoyed the story itself, and will leave it at that so you may enjoy the yarn if you have not been forced to read it yet.

It is interesting that the author had no idea of the regard in which his book would be held. I read somewhere that it sold seven copies the six months before his death. As I write this in early 2010, it is ranked #131 among books on Amazon. That is actually pretty amazing.

Again, its not that bad, and it is an American classic. You decide for yourself where it should rank and feel free to let me know your thoughts.

This book so closely parallels the authors own life as to be almost an autobiography.

Again I am reminded of Hemingway, who once said, "Write the truth, only better." He took his own advice, especially in True at First Light. Fitzgerald and Hemingway were both part of the expatriate gang in Paris, and perhaps Fitzgerald took the comment to heart.

As an aside, I ran across a statement that Hemingway and Fitzgerald were not that close. I feel they were, for a time. As many women do because they know how effective a burn it is, Zelda told Scott his "special male part" (as they say on the TV commercials) was inadequate; he discussed this with Hemingway. Now, who discusses something like that with someone not a close friend? (Hemingway told him to check out the statues at the Louvre, and our boy decided he was actually OK.) Fitzgerald started this book while in Paris although it was not published until 1934.

The three main characters in the book are Rosemary, a young actress; Dick, a psychiatrist; and his wife Nicole, his former mental patient. Rosemary and Dick become infatuated with each other; Nicole later says it was never the same between them after that. Dick became a drunk and loses interest in his work. Years later, he meets Rosemary again and discovers she is not really what he wants; he has ruined himself and his marriage over a stupid fantasy. He lost Nicole as she grew tired of his drinking and general laziness and found someone else.

Funny how she seemed to be cured all of a sudden. Maybe Fitzgerald believed that the institutions were doing Zelda harm just as they apparently kept Nicole from being cured. In any event, there is no doubt that Dick is Scott, and Nicole is Zelda. Rosemary? No clue, but none if fits exactly, just most of it.

I don't read romances, and this is the story of several. However, I enjoyed this book more than Gatsby, probably because some of the subjects hit a little close to home.

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All commentary on this page (except as noted) Copyright © 2010 by Lone Wolf Reviews Webzine and the author. Permission to quote for reviews or articles is freely given EXCEPT for Amazon.com source material; please contact them if you wish to use information from one of their reviews.