Review: This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Jess G. Reads

Jun 2, 20212 min read

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Title: This Side of Paradise

Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Genre: Classic / Fiction

Author Info: He / Him

Setting: Multiple locations in the US (Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, New Jersey, Maryland)

Month Read: May 2021

Book Type: Hardcover

Publication: 1920

Pages: 275

*May Books and Brews Classics Book Club Pick

TRIGGER WARNING-

Depression / Death / Substance Abuse / Animal Abuse

"I'm not sentimental--I'm as romantic as you are. The idea, you know,

is that the sentimental person thinks things will last--the romantic

person has a desperate confidence that they won't."

No Spoiler Summary:

This Side of Paradise is a coming of age novel about a boy named Amory Blaine, and his growing up during the Jazz Age and after WWI. The book is set up in 3 different parts, each cataloguing a different part of Amory's life.

From a young child being sent all over the US before landing at Princeton, to the war, to post war living on the East Coast- each book also gives the reader a record of Amory's romantic interests- from Isabelle to Rosalind and everyone in between.

Amory believes he is meant for more in the world (in both opportunity and love) but without the capitol needed to make those connections, Amory finds himself heartbroken again and again.

Review:

I am notoriously a sucker for F. Scott Fitzgerald, and this novel is actually my favorite of his. Amory is at best, an unlikeable character, but the prose in this novel is absolutely gorgeous. The language is perfectly flowery, and love escapes off the pages.

The novel also has some really wonderful moments for it's female characters- Rosalind, in particular, I adore. I recommend everyone read this book, especially because this was Fitzgerald's debut, and also because this book was written for Zelda in return for her hand in marriage. (It's also SO DIFFERENT from Gatsby. Leagues away.)

Have you read This Side of Paradise? What are your thoughts? Let me know!

Recommendation:

The Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

"Why don't you tell me that 'if the girl had been worth having she'd have waited for you'? No, sir, the girl really worth having won't wait for anybody."