The Beautiful and Damned is a Naturalist novel that recounts the slow dissolution of Anthony Patch, heir to a large fortune, and his charmingly immature, hedonistic, and impulsive wife Gloria.

There's something a little "off" in this novel--even saying the title out loud requires an odd caesura. The plot has a feeling of artificial inevitability. Early on, it's easy to sympathize with Patch, even to root for him, but at times his thought processes and actions are so maudlin that one wants him to just *fall* already. Gloria is a fine and interesting character, but by and large the peripheral characters are closer to caricatures.

The book's strength is its prose, natural and authoritative, never self-consciously clever to an annoying extent. Fitzgerald's pacing is steady; occasional meandering narrative passages are fished quickly out of the water with dialog and plot events.

All in all it's a fairly good book, worth a read if you're NOT looking for the near-great Gatsby.

I enjoyed this book immensely and wished it was required reading in high school. What originally attracted me to want to read this book was Fitzgerald's reputation as a talented author who wrote "The Great Gatsby." I didn't want to start of with his most recognizable title, because in my mind that may set the bar too high by the sensitive hype placed on the book. (Don't ask me to explain that last sentence if you don't understand it. I simply mean reading Gatsby first could place a judgement barrier for me on his other books.)

The book was very well written, interesting, and very entertaining. It's difficult for me to read a large portion classic novels because of the older syntax, grammer, and slang used to write them, but with this book I could easily understand it and get involved with what's going on. As much as it can be said to be a love story it also, to me, is a life story. It's Anthony's life experience of finding love, not simply falling in love. I enjoyed this book very much, but must give it a 4/5 star rating. (You know the old grading technique - never give a perfect grade unless you know for sure it takes the cake and nothing can top it!)

By no means his best novel (as others here suggest) but highly underrated. Often one hears of Great Gatsby as his best, Tender is the Night as his labored over lost classic, This Side of Paradise as his promising and famous debut, and The Love of the Last Tycoon as the classic that never was, but Beautiful and Damned is never mentioned. In my opinion this is the book that best describes the hedonistic society I have read of called the Roaring Twenties. As the reader watches all the characters lose their dreams and fall into a depraved, hollow existent based on alcohol I am reminded too fondly of my college years.

If you are a Fitzgerald fan read this one after This Side of Paradise. If you are someone with a passing interest in the Twenties read this. If you are someone with just a passing interest in Fitzgerald then read this one last, after any of the other Fitzgerald novels.

The Great Gatsby is a true classic, which you will enjoy is you are a fan of books containing love and tragedy. The book is very well written, and I loved The Great Gatsby because the story held my attention. The setting for The Great Gatsby is outside New York City, in the 1920s. The story is told by Nick Carraway, who is visiting his cousin Daisy Buchanan and her husband Tom. When you read the book, you have something in common with most of the characters. At the beginning of the story, no one knows who Gatsby even is. That is a mystery everyone is trying to find out, and once you solve the mystery of Gatsby, you uncover a new mystery. This mystery includes Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan. To solve these mysteries, you should read The Great Gatsby. F. Scott Fitzgerald did an excelent job with details. Everything that is described in the book, you can easily form a mental picture of; especially such things as Gatsby's house and Mr. Wilson's Garage. The Great Gatsby, somewhat, reminds me of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Both Books involve the return of a long lost love, which was slightly secretive. Wuthering Heights is a little harder to follow then the Great Gatsby, but I enjoyed both of them. I recomend reading The Great Gatsby if you enjoy books that are exciting, suspensful, amusing, and tragic. What more could you ask for in a book.

Jay Gatsby's life plays out like out like a biography on F. Scott Fitzgerald because it is. The Great Gatsby is a better book because the author experienced everything that went on during the twenties. In fact, if Fitzgerald had wrote this book today it would be a plot line on Days of Our Lives. I didn't know this book would be so entertaining. Jay Gatsby is a millionaire with a wonderfully mysterious past. He is madly in love with his old girlfriend Daisy who rejected him because of his poor beginnings. Now, Gatsby is back with an extravagent life and an obsession with Daisy. Only problem is, she's married to the rich and jealous Tom Buchanan. Gatsby throws crazy parties(a reflection of the decade)hoping that one day Daisy might stumble back into his arms. Nick Caraway, Daisy's distant cousin, moves into next door to Gatsby and soon the inevitable happens:characters start getting tangled up in each other's lives. This book was satisfying in all aspects:love, scandal, suspense and humor. And will you look at that: all before major motion pictures. Screenwriters didn't make this stuff up.

If you could pick any type of book, what kind of book would you like to read? Great Gatsby is a book that I would highly recommend to others. It maintains a readers interest, and also tends to be a thought-provoking book. The characters throughout the novel seemed to be almost as real people. With the plot fulfilling everything you could ask it to be, and with an unexpected twist. The author F. Scott Fitzgerald developed the novel thoroughly throughout the entire novel. The way in which he utilizes every aspect of the book to keep the attention of the audience is remarkable.

As you can tell I admire the author's writing gift, with each and every character having characteristics that are possible to relate to people in real life situations. The main character was Nick Carraway, and he seems to be a very studious, and intelligent person. Along with this main character, the author added in many other characters to help makeup his cast. The main focus of the book was Nick's wealthy neighbor, Jay Gatsby. He is a mystery to many of the people around his area, and everyone wants to know, or find out about him. The other characters that the author develops are all of an authentic and credible nature. The writer explains each character with just the perfect amount of information, and in a way in which the reader can feel as if he understands how each character thinks.

Along with the creative nature that he introduces, and maintains his characters throughout the story the author makes the plot thicken with wonderful ploys. The author made very unique descriptions of everything, no matter how large or small throughout the scheme of the novel. He manages to seduce your thoughts by keeping the story running through your mind, even after you sit the book down for a minute. This way of writing was very elaborate and tended to make an obvious impression on the reader.

The author manages to keep the readers interests in the plot and develop the story very elaborately. Throughout the development of the book, there are new things being entered into your mind, which tend to keep you thinking. This makes the reader stay on his heals, and wonder what may occur next. Even until the end of the book you wonder what will occur next.

I would definitely recommend this book to others. It will make you want to keep reading, and even think about the book after you put it down. This is the kind of book that will keep you coming back for more. I would give this book a try; who knows, you may even find a new favorite author.

I read Tender is the Night soon after completing a somewhat haphazard survey of a selection of Fitzgerald's earlier stories and novels. The first thing that struck me about that book was the sophistication and maturity of the storytelling. The gossamer thin plot neither unfolds nor plods. Rather, it drifts through the life of Dick and Nicole Diver spanning five years. If I do have a criticism of the book it's that there is so little plot. It has elements of a romance, of a mystery, and of a tragedy, but defies most of the essential characteristics of each. The reader is instead left with a rich yet curiously oblique portrait of a couple falling out of love. Ironically, that's also the book's saving grace. Where traditional plot lines tend to dramatize with thick, clear lines, Fitzgerald's light and poetic prose paints with a more refined brush. You get to see Dick's decline with the same sad pity as his wife, and in the end are left with a better understanding of his downfall. More of a psychological study than a true drama, it's not a book that will leave you caring about the characters or wrapped up in the action.

When I critique a literary work, I often consider the same elements that any other critic may: plot, theme, diction, style, etc. However, it is a rare occurrence when someone reads a story to which he/she can absolutely relate. After all, literature is best at providing a person with a way in which to be entertained, yet learn something about him/herself. In my case, I read Tender Is The Night during a period when I was breaking up with my girlfriend. If it were not for this situation, I would not have appreciated this work, but due to my circumstances, I became especially interested. I found that I could relate to many of Dick Diver's emotions, while at the same time I realized the genius with which Fitzgerald writes this novel. I knew that a person could learn a lot about him/herself through reading since literature can act as a mirror which people can see themselves, but I never knew that reading could create such an intimate experience that would hit me so close to home. Nevertheless, this book is one of the greatest literary works that I have ever read, and I would suggest that this would be a great novel for anyone who enjoys tragic human behavior.

The renowned success of The Great Gatsby (also an exceptional book) often overshadows the brilliance of Tender is the Night. The later being Fitzgerald's semi-autobiographical masterpiece that gives the reader a glimpse into the writer's frame of mind and personal struggles. "Tender" is a true testament to the author's talent and arguably is his most important literary effort.

Dick Diver is a young psychiatrist; a follower of Freud and Jung who is working his way up in the field of mental health medicine. He is intelligent, handsome, altruistic, and an overachiever. Dick falls in love and marries the beautiful, wealthy Nicole Warren who also happens to be his patient. Dick and Nicole start out living the high life. They travel to exotic locations and mingle with aristocrats. All the while Dick establishes a successful private practice with the help of Nicole's money and becomes a well-respected and sought-after physician. But soon the happy front the Diver's display to the world crumbles. Nicole's mental problems begin to resurface and Dick becomes involved with a young Hollywood starlet. These events trigger a domino of disappointments and downfalls.

Anyone who has studied F. Scott Fitzgerald the man will no doubt see that Tender is the Night mirrors his own life with his wife Zelda. Fitzgerald, a perfectionist in his own career worked tirelessly to establish himself. Meanwhile, he and Zelda traveled the globe, attended parties, consumed alcohol, lived extravagantly, and carelessly spent all their money before Zelda slipped into insanity leaving Scott to pick up the scattered pieces of his broken life. The character of Dick Diver grows to become cynical and is left feeling he is a failure. Sadly, six years after the publication of this book, Fitzgerald himself died prematurely believing he was a failure and destined for literary obscurity.

It would be impossible for me to do justice in describing the splendor of Fitzgerald's prose. His passages are emotionally sweeping and his words strum along as rhythmically as fine music. If you have time for only one book this year, make a wise choice and consider Tender is the Night.

In "This Side of Paradise," Fitzgerald recounts Amory Blaine's journey from childhood to adulthood, a journey that he himself was just starting in the writing arena. "This Side of Paradise" has moments of brilliance that rival some seen in his later works but it is missing something that makes the later works truly memorable and classic. I recomend this book if you are trying to gain a complete understanding of F. Scott Fitzgerald and his life, but if you only read occasionally, one of his other books or his short stories would be more enjoyable.

I was about to pass this book up in order to buy The Great Gatsby, but someone reccomended me to read this one first before I got to read the other books by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I have to say it was a excellent introduction to the author; I've also been told that this book is one of Fitzgerald's less accomplished works, and I did find it a bit lacking on something, I don't know what, but I enjoyed it anyway. Amory Blaine, although richly described, is not a particularly likable character, but he is certainly bright and his capacity for self analysis is amazing, though his little why-is-everyone-but-me-an-idiot attitude can grate in your nerves sometimes. Oh well, I guess that can be forgiven, considering his age; I also believe (sometimes) that at my ripe old age of nineteen I already know all I'll ever need to know about pretty much everything. Speaking of which, I loved that line, "I know myself, but that is all", I think it about sums up the whole story. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Written when F. Scott was a mere 23 years of age, This Side of Paradise elevates itself as a seminal and ground-breaking semi-autobiographical novel that inexplicably remains vastly underappreciated as of today. Amory Blaine manifests himself as a veritable study of egotism, romanticism, idealism, and intense disillusionment. Amory proves to be an endearing and highly affable young protagonist. The prep school and Princeton years of supercilious and pretentious egotist hedonism abound immensely in energy, innocence, and vitality.

Through the despair of his failed love with Rosalind et al, his disenchantment with his advertsing job, and the inseparable gloom and despair of WWI, Amory enters into a reproachful state of disillusionment and cynicism subsequent to "The Great War". Fitzgerald, the acclaimed golden boy of his aptly named Jazz Age, emodies in Amory "a new generation grown up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought, all faiths in man shaken."

Amory undergoes a catharsis of sorts in purging his tragic loss of innocence due to the war with his heavy drinking and nihilistic behavior. Nonetheless, he regains a semblance of his former confidence and intensity at the conclusion of the book, "yet the waters of disillusion had left a deposit on his soul." Is Amory the same romantic egotist that we witnessed at the onset of this powerful work? Not by any stretch of the imagination. However, through his despondent adversity, his intellectualism survives as well as his somewhat frayed, yet repaired sense of hopeful idealisism for the future - whatever it may bring. A strikingly similar ending to Hemingway's later masterpiece The Sun Also Rises, n'est-ce pas?

this is a very informative and helpfull book

For those who like F. Scott Fitzgerald, this is a really good book; for those who for their own reasons dislike him, here they are going to find more of the same.

In this book are contained around five or so of Fitzgerald's stories; in them, his writing style seems as being youthful: more 'This Side of Paradise' and playful than contrived. The title story is clever and more-or-less a fairy tale; for every echo of Maugham that you can find in some of these stories, there are two or three echoes hinting that Fitzgerald grasped a lot of the wicked strangeness of the world and class more like J.D. Salinger....

This is a really good book.... and for ..., if you haven't read it, buy it in company with another book to save on shipping....

This is a great piece of literary criticism, Lehan does a great job. I used a specific chapter, "Seeing and Misseeing: Narrative Unfolding" in an essay of mine.

This book was excellent in my opinion. It contained love, lust, undying devotion, betrayal, and every other element that makes for a good love story. But it was more than that, meaning can be found in each and every character. Some characters such as Daisy represented the times (the 20's), as she was dependent upon her husband and was nothing more than the vision her husband held in his eyes. While a character such as Gatsby represented the struggle that we shall face until the end of time. The struggle I speak of is one of the heart. If you are at all romantic, I suggest this book to you, and if you are not I suggest it to you because of its intrigue and content.

Fitzgerald's Gatsby is an outstanding book for study. The more one examines it, the more interesting the book becomes. On the surface it is enjoyable to read, with odd and funny characters and some surprising plot twists. Look deeper and you'll find a very interesting commentary on the values of rich American society in the 1920's.

The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald is definitely one of the better novels I have ever read. The emphasis on the era of the 20's gives the novel an unique and interesting spin. Fitzgerald makes every single character come to life, and allows the reader to understand their thoughts and emotions. The reader sympathizes with Gatsby who is obsessed with the past and is constantly living his life through his dreams. Fitzgerald displays the perfection of Daisy and as the novel develops it is evident that Gatsby will never get his ideal woman, Daisy Buchanan. In this novel Fitzgerald works several different angles which captivate the reader.

The book was kind of boring. It wasn't very interesting reading about Hollywood back in the thirties. Adults may get into it more, because they will be a little bit more familiar with the time period. But for teenagers-not very interesting to read. There are alot of names to remeber throughout the book, and you don't know how it really ends, because it is unfinished. You may want to know if one of the characters will get rid of his boring liferstyle, but you never find out. I have not read any other books by this author, but by reading this one first, I don't think I'll read any more of his books.

The Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald was more than just another depiction of the Jazz Age. Fitzgerald's theme, corruptive wealth is also present in The Last Tycoon. Even in this unfinished work Fitzgerald portrays the spirit of the age well at the smae time critizes the values of our society.

Fitzgerald's last unfinished novels is one of his best in that his style has evolved from his cluttered previous novels into a clean and unfettered one. Every event that occurs is absolutely vital to the plot. He masters the mood and atmosphere of Hollywood. His protagonist has the same rags to riches story, same charisma, and same leadership qualities as his other characters, Gatsby and Dick Diver. However, Stahr is the more developed character. Even unfinished, this tragic tale has a clear theme and style.

I really tried to get into the letters of Scott and Zelda. I thought it would broaden my knowledge of this artistic couple and help me to understand their work. I tried. I failed. I just could not get interested in Zelda's shallow world of parties and dances. I tried skipping to the meatier stuff later in her life; still could not quite muster up the empathy needed to relate to this woman. Her life was no doubt tragic and sad, but I was not moved. Perhaps it is heresy to say, but I still am not convinced F Scott is the great American novelist he is marketed to be; the letters in this book did not keep my attention long enough to desire to get to know them better.

This is a vivid, moving portrait of a marriage told in the couple's own words to one another. While biographer and commentators on the Fitzgeralds and their period have provided their own interpretations of the most famous exemplars of the Jazz Age, Breyer and Barks have chosen to let the protagonists speak for themselves and to each other. The result is a look at two human beings struggling to find their identities, define their relationship, and establish their place in the world relative to one another. That they only partially succeeded but never stopped trying is what makes this collection of their letters compelling reading.
Highly recommended for anyone who wants to know what the world looked like to those living in, and often trapped in, its confines.