The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1923)

My Prior Posts on F. Scott Fitzgerald 

Prior to this reading, my last encounter with The Great Gatsby was in February 2009, shortly before I began The Reading Life.  I also read it maybe forty years ago.  I remember in 2009 being completely enthralled by the sheer magnifice of the last ten pages.  Everyone who writes about the experience of reading The Great Gatsby says something along these same lines.  On this reading somehow I felt this from the very start. I was much more impacted on this reading than on my last.   The Great Gatsby is a supreme work of art.

The Great Gatsby is on most short lists for tne  "Great American Novel".  It is very widely taught in American schools.  

It seems like a simple story about a semi-shady character who got rich by mysterious means but it is so much more.  Most of the male characters served in World War I and  this is very important.  I really feel right now inadequate to convey the wonder that is The Great Gatsby in a blog post. You really have to ponder it line by line, savory it as you can.   I have it In my read in 2016 collection on my E Reader.  

                          

Mel u

Tender Is The Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Tender Is The Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1934, 392 pages)


To me, the last ten or so pages of The Great Gatsby are among the very most beautiful prose I have ever read.   I last readThe Great Gatsby (1925) just before I began my blog in July of 2009.   I liked the  last few pages of the book so much that I read them at least five times before putting the book down. 

The last work by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896 to 1940-USA) I read and posted on was his short story "Babylon" which I think is considered his best short work.    I bought a copy of  the last of his four novels, Tender Is The Night, right after I finished The Great Gatsby and have at last gotten around to reading it.

I am just going to write a very short post on the book (you can find a good plot summary Here).    This book did not live up to The Great Gatsby.  There are some very good turns of phrases and some really cute side stories. There is a minor character who has been working for many years on what he is sure will be the definitive book on armadillo skulls.   He submits it to the primary publisher of scientific treatises and he expects to be considered the leading authority  on armadillo skulls in the world when it is published.   Imagine his shock when he gets a rejection letter saying they already have a book longer and better than his set to be published very soon.   I hate to say it but  this was the highlight of  the book for me.  

I am not saying this is a bad book, just not as good as The Great Gatsby.   I did not find the characters terribly interesting and I admit a prejudice against alcoholics in literature.    (This is my only complaint on Raymond Carver!)  This is not a moral judgement,  just a personal one which may or may not be valid.

I am glad I read this book but I do not really endorse it strongly and I would not buy it again.

Mel u