THIS SIDE OF PARADISE, the novel that established F. Scott Fitzgerald as the voice of his generation, was written while he was in the army, extensively revised, ...
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THIS SIDE OF PARADISE, the novel that established F. Scott Fitzgerald as the voice of his generation, was written while he was in the army, extensively revised, and finally published in 1920 when he was only 23 years old. The young "romantic egoist" Amory Blaine--vain, shallow, and self-absorbed--whose progress from prep school to Princeton frequently parallels Fitzgerald's own life, is the quintessential youth of the postwar "Lost Generation." Fitzgerald's unsparing portrait of a young man who takes himself far too seriously makes THIS SIDE OF PARADISE one of his most endearing and entertaining books. Upon its publication, Fitzgerald became an instant literary superstar, and this early fame--and his inability to mature--helped bring about the downfall, only 20 years later, of a major American writer.
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Description: This Side of Paradise is the book that established F. Scott Fitzgerald as the prophet and golden boy of the newly dawned Jazz Age. Published in 1920, when he was just twenty-three, the novel catapulted him to instant fame and financial success. The s...
Description: New. No dust jacket as issued. Brand New ******may have light shelf wear, Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 352 p. Modern Library Classics (Paperback). Audience: General/trade.
"Ahhhh Mr. Fitzgerald. How you woo me with your lyrical prose and bore me with your philosophical shpeel. There were times during This Side of Paradise where I was overcome by what I was reading because it was just that amazing. And then there were times where I glazed over the philosophy with dry eyes and an annoying buzz in my ears. But looking beyond those parts, I have to acknowledge Paradise as Fitz's first novel, and therefore the good parts were made that much better since he had nothing Gatsby-like to live up to. The bits of genius were effortless and beautiful because they were the first of their kind, pure and innocent. Paradise seems like it was easy for Fitz. Fun. I feel like I can tell this is his first novel because it wouldn't be until later that the pressure of being a "good writer" would hit him. For that reason, I enjoyed this novel tremendously. This Side of Paradise revolves around Amory Blaine. There are many words to describe Amory: self-involved, self-indulgent, self-conscious. Overly dramatic, lost, found, curious, lonely, broken, bruised. Affected. Amory is a character. He's full of life but completely lost. He's a dreamer and an idealist and a realist all at the same time; he is one big hypocritical oxymoron, and he's completely overwhelmingly tragic. We begin Amory's life from whence all his issues started: Beatrice. Beatrice is dear old mother with her delicacy and indulgences, and her personality makes Amory into the person he is because of her eccentricities and failures. We follow Amory through school and his younger years (where he's disliked by his classmates because they don't get him), through his college years (where he's liked by classmates because they don't get him), vaguely through World War I, and always through his women, until we meet Rosalind - the beginning, end, and in-between of everything Amory wanted and could never have. Amory is always looking for himself, and never finding the person he wants. He loses himself in whatever he likes at the time, whether it be school, an idea, a place, or a person. He's never happy and never content for long. He wants to be remembered, but never sticks to anything long enough to be cause for remembrance. He's lost, and I feel sad for him. He never quite finds what he's looking for. The best description of Amory can be found on the twelfth page of the book: "It was always the becoming he dreamed of, never the being.""
This novel is excellent for Fitzgerald's first and it exerts an aura of beauty. It's language is very beautiful and colorful, very far from achromatic. I'd call it a "glitter" book. I was a bit surprised to find people of color in the book, however, they were simply a part of the scenery, the same level as an adjective almost, which is expected since it WAS written in the 1920's. The main character is likeable, yet complex. Romantic egotist is the perfect description of him. It seems as if he wants to acquire all the knowledge he can, but never seems to be satisfied with any aspect of life. If one were to think deeply on this concept, this book is rather depressing. Though this is my first Fitzgerald book, it is definitely not my last."
"Good read, took a while to read because of the way Fitzgerald writes however its good. The book itself is one of mystery. The main character, Amory Blaine struggles with 2 conflict's; One conflict dealing with himself and future and of course, the common conflict of almost all novels - the conflict of the world around him. The world around him is one he admires, a world of status(in the book himself, he claims to be an egotist). Although he is somewhat in a position he likes (attending a top school of scholars and business men etc) his identity is still a mystery to him and therefore so is his worldly status. Now Amory is a particular individual because in dealing with both these conflicts, he ultimately fails by his own doing. Towards the end he solves his internal conflict with realizing himself and he is alone, broke and loveless and with the death of his long time mentor; he finally realizes himself. The discovery of himself both solves the conflict of both his conflicts for the fact of his overall need conflicts related to himself and his image (this is the reason he is a self claimed egotist)."
"I just read this for the third time. I was in college when I first read it and I thought it captured the essence of self-discovery; the witty, all-night conversations, the pronouncements of absurdities and outrageous perceptions that pass for sudden wisdom. I re-read it around the age of 30 and it made me nostalgic for those days. It took me back to college; it evoked strong emotions. Until I re-read it again this week, I would have given it five stars and a rank near the top of my favorites. This time I found it unbearably pretentious, terribly self-indulgent and self-important. Few of the episodes in Amory Blaine's "coming of age" resonated, and those just barely. I could hardly get through it and felt no better for having read it - worse, in fact, because whatever magic it held for me previously is gone. What does that say about me?"
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