Fitzgerald, F. Scott

Average customer rating:

The Decaying of the American Dream?
Summer read!
The most important work of fiction ever
Decline of the American Dream
A realistic portrait of the descent of the American dream.

The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0743273567

Product Description

Great Gatsby

Amazon.com

In 1922, F. Scott Fitzgerald announced his decision to write "something new--something extraordinary and beautiful and simple + intricately patterned." That extraordinary, beautiful, intricately patterned, and above all, simple novel became The Great Gatsby, arguably Fitzgerald's finest work and certainly the book for which he is best known. A portrait of the Jazz Age in all of its decadence and excess, Gatsby captured the spirit of the author's generation and earned itself a permanent place in American mythology. Self-made, self-invented millionaire Jay Gatsby embodies some of Fitzgerald's--and his country's--most abiding obsessions: money, ambition, greed, and the promise of new beginnings. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter--tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning--" Gatsby's rise to glory and eventual fall from grace becomes a kind of cautionary tale about the American Dream.

It's also a love story, of sorts, the narrative of Gatsby's quixotic passion for Daisy Buchanan. The pair meet five years before the novel begins, when Daisy is a legendary young Louisville beauty and Gatsby an impoverished officer. They fall in love, but while Gatsby serves overseas, Daisy marries the brutal, bullying, but extremely rich Tom Buchanan. After the war, Gatsby devotes himself blindly to the pursuit of wealth by whatever means--and to the pursuit of Daisy, which amounts to the same thing. "Her voice is full of money," Gatsby says admiringly, in one of the novel's more famous descriptions. His millions made, Gatsby buys a mansion across Long Island Sound from Daisy's patrician East Egg address, throws lavish parties, and waits for her to appear. When she does, events unfold with all the tragic inevitability of a Greek drama, with detached, cynical neighbor Nick Carraway acting as chorus throughout. Spare, elegantly plotted, and written in crystalline prose, The Great Gatsby is as perfectly satisfying as the best kind of poem.

Customer Reviews:

The Decaying of the American Dream?.......2007-06-24

When I read "The Great Gatsby" a few years ago I confess that I didn't really care for it very much. This summer I gave it another chance, and I'm glad that I did because it has given me a whole new perspective on the classic novel. Reading it as an eighteen-year old, I was annoyed by how the book seems to be a frivolous glimpse into the foibles of frivolous characters living in the fashionable society of 1920s New York. Reading it as a twenty-five year old, however, made me catch on to what those seemingly frivolous characters are meant to represent and how their fates seem to make a bleak statement about the future of the American dream, and of society in general. Other reviews have delved into Gatsby's themes pretty well, so I will spare you from yet another interpretation; what I will implore readers to do is this: for those of you who have disliked Gatsby in the past, give it another chance and look closer this time. You might be surprised by what you see. For those of you who are going to be reading Gatsby for the first time, soak it in - don't just give this book a distracted look-through at the beach. If you don't you may find yourself in the former group a few years down the road. I sure did.
Grade: A

Summer read!.......2007-06-20

This book is a perfect summer read - I know, a bold statement to make about such a classic book. But I discovered The Great Gatsby in the beginning of a lazy, hot summer when I could identify with Fitzgerald's irony and disenchantment with young, wealthy partygoers. The book itself takes place during the summer, and many times throughout the book, the oppressive heat and atmosphere are palpable. I know many people read this book in school on required reading lists, but I invite you to pick it up (again!) and discover it in a new light!

The most important work of fiction ever.......2007-06-18

This story is by far the greatest piece or fiction ever by an American writer. I am a high school English teacher and as such have read many novels, none however, compare to this work.

The characters are interesting, they come alive off the page. The story is compelling, so much so that you will be tempted to read the book cover to cover in one day. It also made a great movie.

This book will stick with you for years to come.

Decline of the American Dream.......2007-06-12

The American Dream. It is something which Americans have always vied for. Perhaps not as significantly in recent years, but it is still an important facet of our culture. It is the idea that everyone and anyone can attain prosperity and wealth in this country, even if you are penniless. This dream, however, does not hold as validity as it used to. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald sharply criticizes a materialistic society by juxtaposing the lavish lifestyle of Gatsby and the more commonplace existence of the character of Nick, illustrating the decline of the American Dream.

Along with his current extravagant living arrangements, Gatsby's original rise to fortune also contributes to Fitzgerald's social criticism. Gatsby is first introduced as what may seem to be the paragon of American prosperity--living in complete and utter opulence. However, as the novel progresses, it is revealed that Gatsby, in an attempt to win the heart of Daisy, had become prosperous by bootlegging alcohol and by trading stolen securities. Prosperity is the epitome of what the American Dream can amount to, and, while most accomplish their objectives through hard work and integrity, Gatsby illegally finds his way around to immediately gain that elite status. Fitzgerald illustrates Gatsby's illegal rise to fortune as a reflection of the American mindset of that time, sharply criticizing society of cheating its way towards fortune. Nick advocates Fitzgerald's beliefs of American society through his judgment of the higher class. Nick is always the bystander of the social scene, as he is Gatsby's neighbor and watches the festivities from his own home, suggesting him to be more of the everyman than the decorated man. It is Nick who notices the socialites are ruthless in their undertakings to attain fortune, and it is also Nick who criticizes them for it, asserting that it is their doing that the American Dream has diminished in integrity. Gatsby and Nick both characterize the common American mindset of the 1920s. Where Gatsby is depicted as the end result, however, Nick is more of the everyman who judges socialites for their lavish behavior and ultimately exposes the decline in the integrity of the American Dream.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is often dubbed as the great American novel and has been considered a classic for many generations. After reading it, I can surely see why. Many of the books that we are required to read for school are easily dull and hard to interpret. The Great Gatsby, however, is an interesting read and more importantly, it is interesting to read again and again. While it can easily be deemed a period piece, reflecting upon 1920s society, the major theme of the novel can greatly be relevant to today's materialistic culture. I have always interpreted the American Dream as being the concept of working hard and doing whatever it takes to achieve prosperity. Perhaps now, you don't need to work hard. With corruption, politics, and immoral actions in today's society, many people only have their eyes on the prize, and not on what it takes to get there. Fitzgerald only saw the start of an ongoing downfall when he forecasted of the decline of the American Dream.

A realistic portrait of the descent of the American dream........2007-06-12

A portrayal of the glamour and superficiality of the Roaring `20s, The Great Gatsby focuses on the tragic love story between millionaire Jay Gatsby and young beauty Daisy Buchanan. Narrated by Daisy's cousin, Nick Carraway, the first half of the tale traces Gatsby's past--how he met Daisy, left to serve overseas, and how she married harsh but practical Tom Buchanan in the meantime. The book traces this event as the inspiration for Gatsby's wealth: we witness his numerous, lavish parties thrown in vain attempt to attract the attention of Daisy, who lives in a different sector of New York. He resents the fact that Daisy feared marrying him due to his financial status. We learn that he obtains his money through shady means, thus underscoring the values of a goal-oriented society. Gatsby, with the help of Nick, is eventually reunited with Daisy, yet Tom grows suspicious of their close relationship, leading to Gatsby's tragic demise.

Throughout the novel, the reader sees the extravagance and excessiveness of Gatsby through his reckless lifestyle, yet as we look closer we see a certain emptiness pervading it. For example, although he lives in a gigantic mansion, only a few people live with him. At his funeral, only four people show up, and Daisy is not included in that number.

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby in order to illustrate the American dream as a vain, empty journey without progress, exposing the tragic flaws of an achievement-oriented society. Fitzgerald is essentially criticizing society's tendency to concentrate on the goals, rather than the new experiences and learning we ought to gain from the journey. Thus, he asserts that the entire point of the American dream--freedom, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness--has been lost to the new cynicism, extravagance, and greed that now characterize it. Gatsby, though a seemingly friendly and gracious individual, undergoes his downfall due to his lack of integrity in his pursuit of wealth.

We can see that The Great Gatsby mirrors Fitzgerald's own tragic love story with his lover, Zelda. In his state of disillusionment after losing Zelda, Fitzgerald wrote the book in order to emphasize the decline of the American dream; Gatsby's willingness to cheat and swindle his way to riches marks a shift in the American dream in the 1920s from integrity and individualism to extravagance and greed. Though he tried to hide his past from Daisy, it eventually caught up to him, establishing another of the book's themes: the inescapability of the past.

Although this novel does not make for the most entertaining or action-packed read, I completely recommend it to everyone. The characters, in truth, are not at all likeable, yet this is exactly what Fitzgerald was aiming for: flawed individuals. From first-hand accounts, he has tremendous insight into the faults of humans in a goal-oriented society. There is also abundant symbolism, allowing for a very in-depth analysis of the novel's purposes. I advise any potential readers to fully chew and digest this novel for full enjoyment, as it is no hollow work.

Average customer rating:

Very poor audio rendition
gatsby dvd audio
Tim Robbins Narrates "The Great Gatsby" Brilliantly
Gatsby comes alive
The most banal narration ever...

The Great Gatsby CD
F Scott Fitzgerald
Manufacturer: Caedmon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0060098910

Book Description

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald's portrait of the Jazz Age in all its decadence and excess, is, as editor Maxwell Perkins praised it in 1924, "a wonder." It remains one of the most widely read, translated, admired, imitated and studied twentieth-century works of American fiction.</p>

This deceptively simple work, Fitzgerald's best known, was hailed by critics as capturing the spirit of the generation. In Jay Gatsby, Fitzgerald embodies some of America's strongest obsessions: wealth, power, greed, and the promise of new beginnings.</p>

The recording includes a selection of letters written by Fitzgerald to his editor, Maxwell Perkins, his agent, Harold Ober, and friends and associates, including Willa Cather, H.L. Mencken, John Peale Bishop and Gertrude Stein.</p>

Performed by Tim Robbins</p>

Customer Reviews:

Very poor audio rendition.......2007-06-19

I have listened to only a few tracks of this book-on-CD, and maybe I should wait for a while before posting a review, but here is what I can already say. First, while Scott Fitzgerald is clearly a great writer, he writes about characters who are so far from who I am and I care about that I wonder if I will ever really like his novels. I have read "This side of paradise" before listening to this one, and found it equally uninteresting. Almost everyone seems to be an obnoxious and spoiled character. There is way too much aristocracy, money and privilege, and I find all characters rather fake. BUT, what is worse about this CD is... Tim Robbins. He reads mostly with an annoyingly low, dreamy voice, playing all women with a terrible fake-feminine voice which really seems to come from a drag queen. I will never understand why so many men have to read women's voices as if words were spoken by a transexual. Overall, this is a pretty bad audio book.

gatsby dvd audio.......2007-05-14

Tim Robbins does an excellent job reading this book! Well worth the purchase.

Tim Robbins Narrates "The Great Gatsby" Brilliantly.......2007-04-04

Tim Robbins does a first rate job narrating "The Great Gatsby." I am not much of fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald, but for me Gatsby is by far Fitzgerald's best book. Tim Robbins makes this a powerful story.

I have two minor criticisms. First, the chapter designations are left out of the narration. Since my son and I were reading this book as a school assignment, we needed to know what chapter we were listening to. Second, the tracks on the CD were too long, generally 10 - 18 minutes. Tracks every 3 - 4 minutes are far more useful. But these are minor complaints, and I loved the book and the way it is read.

Gatsby comes alive.......2007-01-10

Tim Robbins, what talent. He became each of the characters, it was great. Enjoyed it immensely, drove beyond my destination to finish listening. Haha, never occurred to me that we have a stereo at home!!!! The last disc with F. Scott's letters was amazing, really cool.

The most banal narration ever..........2005-09-15

Even George Bush can fake a better southern accent! Lest ye be fooled by the acclaimations that Robbins has been awarded for his acting/directing: A narrator he is not. Makes me wonder if he had ever read the book before embarking on this job. The main character/voice of the book is read so fast that details are lost, and every voice in the book has about as much personality as a chirping prairie dog. I couldn't even sit through the whole thing it was so tedious. To think that an audio book would be more tedious than actually reading a book. Stick to movies Mr. Robbins and hopefully you will never ruin another American classic! I recommend skipping this one.

Average customer rating:

Fitzgerald's most personal novel
I love books and this one is just bad...
Fitzgerald would give anything for a happy ending?
The Madness Behind the Mask
Portentous Tale Cries Out -- Personally? [28][62]

Tender Is the Night
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 068480154X

Amazon.com

In the wake of World War I, a community of expatriate American writers established itself in the salons and cafes of 1920s Paris. They congregated at Gertrude Stein's select soirees, drank too much, married none too wisely, and wrote volumes--about the war, about the Jazz Age, and often about each other. F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, were part of this gang of literary Young Turks, and it was while living in France that Fitzgerald began writing Tender Is the Night. Begun in 1925, the novel was not actually published until 1934. By then, Fitzgerald was back in the States and his marriage was on the rocks, destroyed by Zelda's mental illness and alcoholism. Despite the modernist mandate to keep authors and their creations strictly segregated, it's difficult not to look for parallels between Fitzgerald's private life and the lives of his characters, psychiatrist Dick Diver and his former patient turned wife, Nicole. Certainly the hospital in Switzerland where Zelda was committed in 1929 provided the inspiration for the clinic where Diver meets, treats, and then marries the wealthy Nicole Warren. And Fitzgerald drew both the European locale and many of the characters from places and people he knew from abroad.

In the novel, Dick is eventually ruined--professionally, emotionally, and spiritually--by his union with Nicole. Fitzgerald's fate was not quite so novelistically neat: after Zelda was diagnosed as a schizophrenic and committed, Fitzgerald went to work as a Hollywood screenwriter in 1937 to pay her hospital bills. He died three years later--not melodramatically, like poor Jay Gatsby in his swimming pool, but prosaically, while eating a chocolate bar and reading a newspaper. Of all his novels, Tender Is the Night is arguably the one closest to his heart. As he himself wrote, "Gatsby was a tour de force, but this is a confession of faith."

Book Description

Published in 1934, Tender Is the Night was one of the most talked-about books of the year. "It's amazing how excellent much of it is," Ernest Hemingway said to Maxwell Perkins. "I will say now," John O'Hara wrote Fitzgerald, "Tender Is the Night is in the early stages of being my favorite book, even more than This Side of Paradise." And Archibald MacLeish exclaimed: "Great God, Scott...You are a fine writer. Believe it -- not me."

Set on the French Riviera in the late 1920s, Tender Is the Night is the tragic romance of the young actress Rosemary Hoyt and the stylish American couple Dick and Nicole Diver. A brilliant young psychiatrist at the time of his marriage, Dick is both husband and doctor to Nicole, whose wealth goads him into a lifestyle not his own, and whose growing strength highlights Dick's harrowing demise. A profound study of the romantic concept of character -- lyrical, expansive, and hauntingly evocative -- Tender Is the Night, Mabel Dodge Luhan remarked, raised F. Scott Fitzgerald to the heights of "a modern Orpheus."

Download Description

"Published in 1934, Tender Is the Night was one of the most talked-about books of the year. ""It's amazing how excellent much of it is,"" Ernest Hemingway said to Maxwell Perkins. ""I will say now,"" John O'Hara wrote Fitzgerald, ""Tender Is the Night is in the early stages of being my favorite book, even more than This Side of Paradise."" And Archibald MacLeish exclaimed: ""Great God, Scott...You are a fine writer. Believe it -- not me."" Set on the French Riviera in the late 1920s, Tender Is the Night is the tragic romance of the young actress Rosemary Hoyt and the stylish American couple Dick and Nicole Diver. A brilliant young psychiatrist at the time of his marriage, Dick is both husband and doctor to Nicole, whose wealth goads him into a lifestyle not his own, and whose growing strength highlights Dick's harrowing demise. A profound study of the romantic concept of character -- lyrical, expansive, and hauntingly evocative -- Tender Is the Night, Mabel Dodge Luhan remarked, raised F. Scott Fitzgerald to the heights of ""a modern Orpheus."" "

Customer Reviews:

Fitzgerald's most personal novel.......2007-06-21

In a Swiss sanatorium above lake Zürich, Dr Richard (Dick) Diver meets a fascinating young patient, Nicole Warren. Nicole suffers from Divided Personality at its acute down-hill phase which translates in her fear of men because she was the victim of incest after her mother's death.

Nicole's state improves after some time at the clinic and Richard marries her. They move to the French Riviera where they live in the glamour provided by Nicole's family money but soon their luck runs out.

This novel is Fitzgerald's most personal one if one considers that his own wife Zelda became increasingly troubled with mental illness in the 1930s and so the story of Dick Diver and his schizophrenic wife Nicole shows the pain that the author went through himself. It is the moving account of the collapse of a marriage and an attempt to diagnose the sickness and destruction that money breeds. Dick's final loneliness in the novel reflects Fitzgerald's own dive into drink and despair.

I love books and this one is just bad..........2007-04-22

Boring, outdated ex-patriate story of life in Paris between the wars, focusing on a young American actress, a psychologist Dr. Diver and his wife, an American baroness with issues. Lots of drinking and gossip.

Fitzgerald would give anything for a happy ending?.......2007-04-16

Why does Nicole and Dick's marriage disintigrate? The obvious answer is that Dick compromised his integrity marrying Nicole for her money and that Dick is an egomaniac, needing to be needed.

The deeper more true answer is that Nicole and Dick didn't have a partnership. She was sick and couldn't give very much back to Dick--to the relationship. And it gets tiring or boring always doing the same things for the same person to save them from themselves over and over again. Co-dependent relationships don't work.

Although a lot of the discussions about mental illness are extremely dated, some of the descriptions are painfully accurate. I identified with Nicole's sister who could only stop worrying about Nicole if: 1) Nicole married a Doctor to take care of her, and 2) if Niole lived near a sanitarium.

This is what it is like to have a loved one who is mentally ill:
"It was necessary to treat her [Nicole] with active, affirmative insistence, keeping the road to reality always open, making the road to escape harder going. But the brillance, the versatility of madness is akin to the resourcefulness of water seeping through and over and around a dike. It requires the united front of many people to work against it".

Too bad there are no organized ways of providing an organized front in our culture to help the mentally ill.

Perhaps Fitzgerald (FSF) would have swapped his well being for Zelda's--a prayer, "Lord, take my sanity but give Zelda back hers. Unlike Nicole, Zelda didn't get better.

I loved the description of the Rivera and Switzerland in the 1920s. I wish i could have been a part of it. The first part of the book is like watching the movie "To Catch a Thief" with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. You just love the ambience.

I liked this book better than _The Great Gatsby_ because I cared more about the characters and because it is autobiographical, and because I have had a loved one who is mentally ill.

The Madness Behind the Mask.......2007-04-06

High flying, fast living F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) attained great commercial and critical fame early in life--and then began a rapid fall into a ferocious alcoholism. In 1925 THE GREAT GATSBY, now regarded as his masterpiece and often described as "the great American novel," was published to only mildly enthusiastic reviews and sold poorly; in order to fund the lifestyle to which he had grown accustomed, Fitzgerald set aside his next book length project and turned to short stories and the occasional bout of "writing for Hollywood."

Although Fitzgerald began to formulate ideas for TENDER IS THE NIGHT as early as 1925, the project was slow to take form and was not published until 1934--by which time it had become a reflection of Fitzgerald's stormy marriage to the equally high flying, fast living Zelda Sayre, who gradually sank into insanity and was permanently institutionalized by the early 1930s. Originally published in serial form in Scribner's Magazine, it received mixed reviews, and when it was published as a novel it did not prove the great commercial success Fitzgerald hoped. It was the last novel he completed before his 1940 death.

The story is set in Europe, where the Fitzgeralds themselves lived through much of the 1920s, and begins with Rosemary, a very young woman who has recently jolted to fame and fortune as an actress in silent film. Beautiful but in many respects innocent, Rosemary vacations on the Riviera--where she makes the acquaintance of Dick and Nicole Diver, an incredibly wealthy, exceptionally attractive couple who seem to be the height of all the modern era has to offer. Rosemary quickly subcums to Dick Diver's immeasurable charm and falls in love with him, but Nick is determinedly bound to Nicole, as much from responsibility as love. Nicole's apparent flawlessness is a facade. Dick is a psychiatrist; his wife, Nicole, is also his patient. She is insane.

Fitzgerald was often accused of writing about rich and pretty but trivial people. In one sense this is true, but in Fitzgerald's work the shiny surface is precisely that, a false front that the characters present to the world in order to maintain both their social standing and self-image. As the novel moves back and forward in time, we see how Dick has been "bought" by Nicole's family and how he is repeatedly torn between love for Nicole as a husband and care for her as a patient so that--even as Nicole begins a final recovery--he begins his own destruction, sucked dry by the endless personal and professional compromises required of him. Increasingly dark in tone, TENDER IS THE NIGHT is not so much disillusioning as it is ultimately, painfully nhilistic.

Fitzgerald seemed to regard TENDER IS THE NIGHT as both his most personal and his favorite work, and there are few who would not regard it as a masterpiece. Even so, it is very much a flawed masterpiece, occasionally problematic to a point at which it snaps the reader out of the very reality it attempts to create, most often due to Fitzgerald's own authorial self-indulgence. That said, the characters and their situations are not always as convincing as one could wish and the structure of the novel is occasionally muddy. And yet--

Even with these glaring issues running throughout the novel, TENDER IS THE NIGHT is the sort of book that you think you will not finish and then suddenly find yourself on the last page. Whereas THE GREAT GATSBY tended to focus on the mask, TENDER IS THE NIGHT focuses on the face beneath it, and the result is uniquely powerful. You care about the Divers and even though you sense their ultimate fate you, like they themselves, fight against it. It has moments of brilliance as powerful and often more so than any other novel of the first half of the 20th Century. Strongly recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Portentous Tale Cries Out -- Personally? [28][62].......2007-02-19

Written in the 1930's after Fitzgerald's wife had suffered a nervous breakdown and was institutionalized in Zurich, this book about a young aspiring psychiatrist and a young beautiful patient whose relationship commences in a Zurich sanitarium -- a story which eerily rings of Fitgerald's portentous relationship with his wife, Zelda.

The up-and-down relationship of the Divers resembles the Swiss mountain's furnicular - the cable car which has the ascending car counterbalance the descending car. As Dick Diver's character descends from a glorious future to an alcoholic future, his wife's (Nicole) character ascends from insanity to normalcy. By 40, Dick Diver is a ruined man. At 44, Fitzgerald died after having never returned to the heights of "Gatsby" and "Tender" -- which were amazingly finished in his 20's and 30's.

How autobiographical this depressing tale is may never be fully known. But, it definitely recites many of the realties which he and his European expatriate hob nobbers assuredly lived. The most troublesome events being Dick Diver's descent to alcoholism, something which personally plagued Fitzgerald and which equally plagues the easily loved Diver. Only when he drinks does his tongue spew venomously, and unfortunately too often to those closest and fondest of him.

What I love most about Fitzgerald is that pretension belies the characters, not his writing. He hides no hard-to-read symbols within his text. He is a master story teller, who infuses rich dialogue with the magnificent story to make his writing great -- 70 years later.

This is a classic novel written by a classic novelist.

The Great Gatsby: Complete and Unabridged (Audio Editions)

Average customer rating:

A Monument in Audio Book History
Maybe Gatsby wasn't great, but the story is...
Heartrending
What it means to be an American
Thought Provoking

The Great Gatsby: Complete and Unabridged (Audio Editions)
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Manufacturer: The Audio Partners
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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Classics | Literature & Fiction | Books on CD | Formats | Books

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ASIN: 1572702567

Book Description

The mysterious Jay Gatsby embodies the American notion that it is possible to redefine oneself and persuade the world to accept that definition. Gatsby's youthful neighbor, Nick Carraway, fascinated with the display of enormous wealth in which Gatsby revels, finds himself swept up in the lavish lifestyle of Long Island society during the Jazz Age. Considered Fitzgerald's best work, The Great Gatsby is a mystical, timeless story of integrity and cruelty, vision and despair. Now available unabridged on CD, Alexander Scourby delivers Fitzgerald's story in “one of the finest readings ever recorded” (The New York Times). “[Fitzgerald's] talent was as natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on a butterfly's wings.” — Ernest Hemingway

Customer Reviews:

A Monument in Audio Book History.......2005-09-29

Scott Fitzgerald, a monumental talent who only occasionally got things working right, made Gatsby great by the extraordinary invention of Nick Carraway. Carraway as narrator provided the exact perfect pitch: more awestruck than he would admit, more moral than it was fashionable to reveal -- always objective and distanced and subtle and charming, genuinely decent and impeccably well mannered, a little dangerously smitten himself by the lovely but corrupt Jordan Baker.

Alexander Scourby, one of the greatest reading voices of his era (overlapping Fitzgerald's enough to know and feel it all) here does Carraway in a way that cannot, therefore, again be quite equalled. Imagine having a recording of a great contemporary actor reading Ahab's speeches in Moby Dick, and one begins to appreciate the gift that we only now have in recorded sound, something we are already quite casual about. But there is much more here than historical accuracy. Scourby's voice wraps around every phrase of Fitzgeral's text with both an actor's professionalism and a good reader's care, making it not only uncannily his own monument but also a monument in audio book history. It sets the bar, and anyone interested in the recorded voice as an art form should own this for repeated learning.

Maybe Gatsby wasn't great, but the story is..........2004-09-28

There is a reason why this is required reading in advanced literature classes throughout the country. This is without a doubt one of the best tales ever told. It should be used as an example to any aspiring writer of what great writing can be. The thing that makes it so great is Fitzgerald's ability to formulate characters, both large and small, and his ability to have them interact in a manner that is at once both imaginative and realistic. This makes the story, which in and of itself is not more amazing than other books, more amazing because you are compelled to believe the plausibility of a story that is incredible. Even if you are not a literature student you will find this book an enjoyable read that is intellectually stimulating, yet easy reading for those reading to relax. Many have copied this story directly and indirectly because of the lesson it teaches (that in the story about life and that about creating a story) and many will continue to do so in the future.

Heartrending.......2003-01-26

I listened to this book over a few nights with my wife, after having read it first some sixteen years ago. It is a masterpiece, and known widely as such, but what surprised me on hearing it was how the book I'd remembered as terribly romantic was actually rather clear-eyed and dark. My wife, who had never read it, listened spell-bound, and at the end burst into tears at the sadness of it. A word about Scourby as reader - he is restrained but emotional, captures the personality of each character with a slightly different tone, and - most importantly for me - brings out the fact that the closing pages, which are often quoted out of context as deeply romantic, are in fact painfully cynical, a voice of disenchantment about the cost of America, not its promise. A masterpiece on the page and on tape. Can't recommend it too highly.

What it means to be an American.......2002-10-28

After living abroad in the Middle East for a year and traveling through more than twenty-five countries, I recently re-read The Great Gatsby, seeking the familiarity of America. The Great Gatsby captures what is different about Americans and the American experience. At its most basic, America represents endless striving for greatness. Whether in business, science, athletics or world affairs, Americans imagine and seek the best. Though we often stumble and fall short; though we often cut corners to achieve our dreams - striving for greatness is the essence of America. In Gatsby, we feel what it is like to want something so badly, to succeed in reaching it and to ultimately fail. How many of us have not shared these experiences in some way or another? American writings today, such as David Ebershoff's Pasadena (2002) and Scott Gaille's The Law Review (2002), continue to explore Gatsby's central theme of obsession with greatness. In this time of global uncertainty, we can get back in touch with what it means to be an American by reading such books.

Thought Provoking.......2002-08-27

This was a book that stayed with me long after hearing it read. I found Gatsby to be a very intriguing character because of his singleminded passion. I enjoyed understanding the thoughts and ideas of Carraway. The writing provided vivid imagery of a time gone by and yet it was a timeless story. Highly recommend.

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All the Hollywood hypocrites
Incomplete is incomplete
Betrayal of a Demigod
There will never be another F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Last Achievement

The Love of the Last Tycoon
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Tender Is the Night (Penguin Modern Classics)
The Beautiful and Damned
This Side of Paradise (Barnes & Noble Classics)
The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Crack-Up

ASIN: 0020199856

Book Description

The Love of the Last Tycoon, edited by the preeminent Fitzgerald scholar Matthew J. Bruccoli, is a restoration of the author's phrases, words, and images that were excised from the 1940 edition, giving new luster to an unfinished literary masterpiece. It is the story of the young Hollywood mogul Monroe Stahr, who was inspired by the life of boy-genius Irving Thalberg, and is an exposé of the studio system in its heyday. The Love of the Last Tycoon is now available for the first time in paperback.

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All the Hollywood hypocrites.......2005-06-30

The book edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli is a work in progress, left with various kinds of incompletion at F. Scott Fitzgerald's death. The narrator, Cecilia Brady, is on planes frequently. She attends Bennington. She is the daughter of a producer. Monroe Stahr is someone who was born sleepless. He has no talent for rest. Pat Brady, Cecilia's father, and Monroe Stahr are partners. Wylie White, one of the travelers on the plane, is a writer.

There is never a time when the studio is absolutely quiet. There are always technicians present. There is an earthquake and a small water main bursts. Stahr's work is secret in part, devious, slow. He seems ready to shelve a work the writers have labored over to bring to the screen. He notes that when he wants a Eugene O'Neill play he will buy one. If a director disagrees with Stahr he does not advertise it. The writers are people who are employed because they accept the system and manage to stay sober.

Stahr sees a girl who resembles his deceased wife. He has her found in order to see her. He has difficulty explaining his interest to her and she is troubled by people fawning for reason of his power and, in general, the notoriety of being seen in his company. Sustained effort is difficult in California it is asserted. It is Monroe Stahr's ability in this area that accounts for his success.

F. Scott Fitzgerlad chased ghosts, evanescence. Stahr pursues a girl, Kathleen Moore, because she is the image of his dead wife. The author pursued the following idea obsessively--when did his life derail. The Kathleen Moore character shares some of the attributes of Sheila Graham. She lived in England previously and was tutored in classical literature by her live-in companion.

It is reported that Fitzgerald had a life-long capacity to hero-worship. A writer character in the novel compares Monroe Stahr to Lincoln carrying on a long war on many fronts. At the end of the volume there are working notes and a brief biography. Revisiting the bright, shining world of F. Scott Fitzgerald, even with the melancholy features, is lots of fun.

Incomplete is incomplete.......2005-06-06

I have no doubt that The Last Tycoon would have warranted at least one more star if Fitzgerald had lived to finish it. But like it or not, we have no way of knowing what he would have written and can only judge the merits of what he did write. And that, in any case, is still pretty good. It is definitely a departure from his earlier works, and a tantalizing taste of what he might have continued to do with his talent later on. The images of Southern California back when it was a nice place to live are wonderful, as is the behind-the-scenes look at the movie industry during its golden era.

This is also the only Fitzgerald work I know of in which the narrator is a woman, and it's defnitely fascinating to see how he went about that exercize. Cecilia Brady is just about as egotistical and cynical as most of his other protagonists, but her innocence is refreshing. Also, telling the story through the eyes of one just outside the loop of the movie industry (she's the daughter of one producer, and hopelessly in love with another) was a very clever move. It allowed the plot to develop around the personal life of Cecilia's crush, Monroe Stahr, with only a bit of the bitterness from his work-related troubles seeping through.

But the sad truth is that that plot had only begun to develop. We know far more about Monroe Stahr from the notes and sketches Fitzgerald never intended for publication than we do from the "finished" part of the novel (which wasn't entirely finished either). If nothing else, though, this was a great start. As long as you don't expect more than that, it's worth reading.

Betrayal of a Demigod.......2005-04-02

Fitzgerald's last novel--left unfinished due to his heart attack--presents darker themes than his masterpiece, The Great Gatsby. Told by Cecelia, the 18-year-old daughter of a studio hotshot,and alternately by an omniscient narrator, this story depicts the glory days of the Hollywood studio system, where producers were America's new royalty. Egos collide, budgets quail and the earth quakes at the dawn of the Forties, when the country was threatened by the red menace of Communism. Not even Hollywood was immune from the birth pangs of unionism and pre- McCarthy era political paranoia over the secret revolution of the masses.

The protagonist is 44-year-old Monroe Stahr, a successful and powerful producer whose insight re movie-going America usually proves correct. Having a hopeless crush on this associate of her father's Cecelia gradually realizes that her workaholic idol has fallen in love with a mysterious lady--a British Cinderella raised completely outside the glittering purviews of starlets and gossip columnists. The tragic affair between the mogul and the lovely Kathleen (who resembles his beloved dead wife) is doomed by her prior commitment to an American man, her humble past and Stahr's own failure to take decisive action at critical moments in their poignant relationship.

The completed storyline may be deduced from Fitzgerald's extensive notes for each chapter,plus his conversations with associates. Health concerns plagued both Stahr and ultimately Cecelia--presaging the author's own private medical battle. How frustrating for him (and his alter-ego) to be snuffed out while yet so productive and mentally alert. It would be curious to see how contemporary Hollywood might finish this story if made into a movie. Like rats caught in a maze of their own devising, the characters are trapped by weakness and vanity, while naively convinced of their own personal or business power. As evil schemes corrupt backstage Hollywood, filth and crime trickle down to ultimately contaminate even the once idealistic Stahr. Tragically he did not live long enough to impress the man on the beach: that movies Were worth attending. THE LAST TYCOON proves a starkly grim but gripping tale of searing emotions at the end of the Depression era.

There will never be another F. Scott Fitzgerald.......2003-03-09

No other author in history has so astutely penned such profound and sublime novels with such amazing social insight as has Scottie(as his contemporaries called him) - all the while doing it with such amazing and unparalleled grace and lucidity. While The Love of the Last Tycoon may not be finished, I can easily discern that F. Scott was well on his way to achieving his goal -penning a novel on the level of The Great Gatsby and not as "depressing" as Tender is the Night.

What makes this so amazing, yet so painful, is the extraordinary potential that this work exudes. The Last Tycoon does seem to be like Gatsby moreso than any other Fitzgerald work in its endearing and sympathetic characters such as the self-made Monroe Stahr, the young Cecilia, & tragic Kathleen. As usual, Fitzgerald recreates and tells of his life experiences - this time of his tumultuous years in Hollywood as a screen writer. Although hardened somewhat at this stage of his career, Fitzgerald, like his hero Stahr, still purveys his characteristic idealism laced with a latent hint of foreboding tragedy inevitably awaiting on the horizon. Stahr, like Fitzgerald, is forever viewed as a boy wonder, despite being a seasoned veteran at this stage of his career, due to his overnight success at age 23. So, Fitzgerald, who had the splendid This Side of Paradise published at age 23, and who also was known for his propensity to turn a sickly pale white just as Stahr does, ingeniously incorporates himself into his work one last time.

The incredibly insightful notes, outlines, and revisions written by Fitzgerald shown at the conclusion of the book open an amazing new world of intropection to the reader. I give it 5 stars not for what it is, but for what it would have been. I just finished reading all of his works chronologically and I must say, unequivocally, that this very well could have eclipsed his other works of fiction, all of which are truly sublime.

"It is an escape into a lavish, romantic past that perhaps will not come again into our time." - F. Scott on The Last Tycoon

The Last Achievement.......2002-06-03

This work derives part of its importance from what it says about Fitzgerald at the untimely end of his career: fans of his earlier work will be pleased to see that this final tome showed all the hallmarks of becoming another masterpiece. By 1940, when "Tycoon" was written, FSF hadn't written a book in six years. But the familiar voice, though muted, had not been lost.

The lapse provides welcome proof of the endurance of Fitzgerald's talent over time. We can only imagine what biting, incisive insights he would have come up with if magically sent to chronicle the 1990s.

Fitzgerald's "Unfinished Symphony" is presented in this Scribner paperback edition in a way that will appeal to both casual readers and serious students. Leading Fitzgerald expert Matthew Bruccoli has assembled the fragments of this book into a gripping and highly readable narrative, and the publisher has included a detailed preface exploring FSF's thoughts at the genesis of the work, as well as a selection of working notes which will delight writing students looking for some insight into the workings of a great mind.

This book tells the story of Monroe Stahr, an early Hollywood producer who makes his mark on the industry almost at its very inception. Stahr's word is law within his studio, and a single order from him is enough to reshape, delay or outright kill a film in process. Since the death of his wife, actress Minna Davis, Stahr's job is his life - a life that illness and overwork threaten to cut short. But a chance sighting of englishwoman Kathleen Moore brings back a flood of old memories and new desires. Stahr's pursuit of Moore leads him briefly into the world outside the studio, and then her actions leave him reeling from the blows just when his rivals gang up against him.

Amazon.com

Fitzgerald's first novel, reprinted in the handsome Everyman's Library series of literary classic, uses numerous formal experiments to tell the story of Amory Blaine, as he grows up during the crazy years following the First World War. It also contains a new introduction by Craig Raine that describes critical and popular reception of the book when it came out in 1920.

Book Description

This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald's romantic and witty first novel, was written when the author was only twenty-three years old. This semiautobiographical story of the handsome, indulged, and idealistic Princeton student Amory Blaine received critical raves and catapulted Fitzgerald to instant fame. Now, readers can enjoy the newly edited, authorized version of this early classic of the Jazz Age, based on Fitzgerald's original manuscript. In this definitive text, This Side of Paradise captures the rhythms and romance of Fitzgerald's youth and offers a poignant portrait of the "Lost Generation."

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There was, also, a curious strain of weakness running crosswise through his make-up ... a harsh phrase from the lips of an older boy (older boys usually detested him) was liable to sweep him off his poise into surly sensitiveness, or timid stupidity ... he was a slave to his own moods and he felt that though he was capable of recklessness and audacity, he possessed neither courage, perseverance, nor self-respect.

Customer Reviews:

Autobiography of Fitzgerald? Probably [91].......2007-06-17

Some novels are great stories. Some novels are stories greatly written or told. And, in rare instances, some novels are greatly written great stories. This is one of those rare novels.

This novel closely follows the prepubescent Amory Blaine through his 20's. In the beginning, he is a spoiled boy whose father is distant and mother is a great but disturbed woman. With cash in their pockets, Amory and his mother, Beatrice, enjoy one another as best of friends. Home schooled, he is little boy Fauntleroy during the turn of the century America.

Things change, step by step, with Amory's character increasing while his bank account is decreasing. Fitzgerald calls Amory the Egotist in Book One, and then dons the title "Personage" for that same, but now grown, Amory in Book Two.

This is very autobiographical. Amory, an Irish Catholic (like Fitzgerald), lives his high school years in St. Paul (like Fitzgerald) then attends prep school (like Fitzgerald) as he is a privileged youth (like Fitzgerald) and later attends Princeton (like Fitzgerald) where he becomes part of Princeton's Triangle Club (like Fitzgerald) and follows Princeton for the Army (like Fitzgerald). Book One, in fact, was written while Fitzgerald was attending Princeton.

What makes this novel more interesting than other Fitzgerald novels are the different - and somewhat raw - items within it pages. Scribner initially rejected the book because of it being raw. The rawness is evidenced by numerous poems tossed about within it - great stuff. There are added poems from girls he adored - more great stuff. The letters are also great and pithy. And, in the "Debutante" chapter of Book Two, he writes in playwright form the Amory wooing of beautiful Rosalind. In his short novel there is poetry, prose and a play. Although somewhat disjointed, it works. And, works magnificently.

The ending really shows you something about the young man. He preaches Russia's Socialism to a fat capitalist who kindly gives the Princetonian a ride. Ayn Rand (the Russian born writer who immigrated to America) almost rebuts this portion of the book with her 1957 "Atlas Shrugged." Remember, Stalin and the ugly head of Soviet Socialism did not exist at the time of "This Side fo Paradise." Rand, and her people, lived through some of the Red Terror and by 1957 had learned much more about how Russian implementation of Socialism seriously deviated from the ideology espoused by Marx and his peers.

Fitzgerald is a great writer. Maybe America's greatest of the 20th century. And, this close-to-home rendition of thought and emotion, may be the most poignant depiction of what the author felt and feared. If you have any interest in Fitzgerald, this novel is for you.

The book that launched a thousand ships.......2007-05-07

It's not Fitzgerald's best (Gatsby and The Beautiful and Damned share that distinction), but if you love modern American literature, then you are lucky to have this document of the youthful enthusiasm, exuberance, self-assuredness, and early blossoming of one or our greatest most tragic writers. This is Fitzgerald's foray and kickstart into the world of glamorous literati that he longed for and attained in this first novel. We should all marvel at that accomplishment and rejoice with Amory Blaine's own cocky venture into life's jaunt.

Apparently misunderstood.......2006-09-06

For all the reviews that mention how egotistical and arrogant Amory is, well, that's the point! The book deals with how he goes from being so egotistical to finding out that there's more to life than his self-indulgence. He learns a great deal, and is faced with moral choices that he must deal with. He feels so guilty in places that he mentally projects the devil staring him down, which is a heck of a way to learn your moral stance on something. Fitzgerald admits Amory's arrogance throughout the book and never makes Amory unaware of it, either. But look at it as Amory's life lessons and get swept away in the magical quality of the prose, which for a young man writing his first novel is astounding in parts. Also, for those who find it corny, etc., try to remember that it was published in 1920. Lots of perfectly serious things from that time would seem corny today.

Read this F Scott novel last.......2006-08-12

F Scotts first novel really should be the last thing you read,as it is a pot pourri of the themes and styles F Scott used to mesmerizing effect in his other novels and many short stories.
I felt that,had this been my first encounter with F Scott;I wouldn't have come back for more.It starts off like a witty Oscar Wilde tale,then heads into meloncholy and philosophy,and at times tries to be too literary for its own good.
But I found 'This side' hugely important and enjoyable having read his 3 other completed novels;Pat Hobby and the benchmark of all short stories,the wonderful "Diamond as big as the Ritz".(Only Richard Yates' 'The Builders' or 'Liars in Love' can be said to have reached that mark-but please list others you feel are as good;I can't read everything and appreciate pointers!)
'This side' is a great slice of history and F Scott displays his many writing gifts throughout.That 'This side' doesnt quite run smoothly or consistently is ,I admit, a trivial criticism.F Scott was just 23 when this was published and helped change the style of the novel.

from the master of poetic prose.......2006-05-22

As much as I would love to give F. Scott Fitzgerald's first novel five stars, the fact that it is a mere shadow of "The Great Gatsby" (my all time favorite novel) holds me back.
It amazes me to think that he wrote this when he was only twenty-three years old, and yet the vanity and arrogance expressed by Amory Blaine and his generation is suggestive of youth and the ideas of invincibility.
Without doubt this is a smartly written, witty novel yet also highly indicative of how truth and experience are blindsided by youth, beauty, and the hauteur of the newly educated. Perhaps the best aspect of the novel, for me as a diehard Fitzgerald fan, is his signature of wonderfully poetic prose. There is something about the way he crafts a sentence that allows for every sense to be involved. You can not only hear and see what he says, but smell and touch it as well. Despite the intellectualism involved in his writings, it is his poetic honesty that speaks to me on a visceral level. He is simply a genius in this respect. In reading this work, one can only consider "The Great Gatsby" as a natural progression of the privileged wealth and leisure demonstrated here. And on another note, there is also a great deal of recognizable autobiography going on in the text which adds to the authenticity of the story.
And lastly, this is the book that "sealed" the marriage between F. Scott and Zelda...perhaps the most tragically romantic marriage to date, at least in my opinion.
And with this, I will leave you with a quote from the book:

"While the rain drizzled on, Amory looked futiley back at the stream of his life, all its glittering and dirty shallows. To begin with, he was still afraid--not physically afraid anymore, but afraid of people and prejudice and misery and monotony. Yet deep in his bitter heart he wondered if he was after all worse than this man or the next. He knew that he could sophisticate himself finally into saying that his own weakness was just the result of circumstances and environment; that often when he raged at himself as an egotist something would whisper ingratiatingly--'No. Genius!'"

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Tender is the Night
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Manufacturer: Recorded Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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ASIN: 0788707272

Product Description

When F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote Tender is the Night, he captured all the sophistication and elegance of the 1920s. And he revealed the dark brutality lying just beneath the surface in this civilized, glittering society. As his last completed work, this haunting tragedy is one of the great American novels. On the rosy sands of the French Riviera, a radiant young American film star, Rosemary Hoyt, falls in love with a handsome doctor of psychiatry. But as the dazzle of their perfect summer fades, their adulterous affair casts long shadows over their lives. Dr. Divers fragile relationship with his wealthy but unstable wife disintegrates as his career and reputation dissolve in rounds of cocktails. Both a compelling story of passion and a searing commentary on dependency, Tender is the Night resonates with Fitzgeralds finely-tuned language. Although the autobiographical ties are clear: alcoholism, mental illness, the ennui of luxury, Fitzgerald crafts these elements into a brilliant parable of an age.

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F. Scott Fitzgerald on Authorship
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Manufacturer: University of South Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1570031460

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