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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The ending felt pretty sad, in a way. All that perceived greatness, gone to waste (in Dick). His chief purpose of self became Nicole so early in his life and career, overshadowing and sidelining his psychological pursuits. Yes, he did willingly agree to help her, but there was obligation there too. She so severely and wholly became his focus of attention and energy, it was very unhealthy. And when, finally, the "case was closed," along with the love held, Dick had nothing of his own self on which to stand. He was lost and could not hold himself up.
At the same time, though, Nicole changed so drastically herself, but for the better. She found the strength of self she needed to face life as an individual. Dick's decline came in such sharp contrast to Nicole's ascent. This is seen, too, in Rosemary. She starts off needing Dick too, but she strongly stands on her own two feet as time presses on. It seems at first that the women need Dick, but by the end, it's clear that Dick needs to be needed to have any purpose. So in a way, the ending is incomplete for Dick, but that's the point. Overall, it came together nicely.
At the same time, though, Nicole changed so drastically herself, but for the better. She found the strength of self she needed to face life as an individual. Dick's decline came in such sharp contrast to Nicole's ascent. This is seen, too, in Rosemary. She starts off needing Dick too, but she strongly stands on her own two feet as time presses on. It seems at first that the women need Dick, but by the end, it's clear that Dick needs to be needed to have any purpose. So in a way, the ending is incomplete for Dick, but that's the point. Overall, it came together nicely.
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I admit, I may have approached this book with a certain apprehension. After my unpleasant experience with D H Lawrence, and also being a self-proclaimed critic of the Modernists in general (even you, Virginia Woolf, even you), I wasn’t too keen on starting this one. Truth is, I really should have been.
Tender is the Night is, at first, a little creepy, if you’re familiar with Fitzgerald and his married life. His wife, Zelda, was schizophrenic, and made his life a living hell. The poor guy did the only thing he knew he could do and wrote about it to deal with the stress, immortalizing her as the turbulent, mad Nicole Diver. All well and good there, kind of creepily autobiographical, but it’s fine.
But then there’s an extra layer of creepy because holy shit wait her husband used to be her therapist??????
Isn’t this why we have ethical laws?!
The premise of the story is simple enough: Dick Diver, married to Nicole, is in an unhappy marriage with a woman who is incredibly mentally ill. Dick, who seems to have a serious thing for younger women, has an affair with a film star who’s only just turned eighteen. The rest of the story is the deterioration of both Dick and his marriage, as Nicole somehow seems to come out of the whole thing stronger. As one of my old literature professors used to say, Dick is a diver, he goes down, while Nicole goes up. She’s like a parasite, taking all his happiness from him to fuel her own life.
The novel is easy to read and follow, a stark difference from Women in Love, which you will all remember I actually despised. The characters might not be incredibly likable, but they’re very real characters with very real worries. I loved reading this, immersing myself into the world of 1920s psychology and the upper class worries of the time. By the end of the book, I was almost sad to see the characters go, which speaks volumes about the way Fitzgerald can write a believable and likable cast of characters.
Kudos there, mate.
Final rating: 4/5. Any literature nerd has to read this.
Tender is the Night is, at first, a little creepy, if you’re familiar with Fitzgerald and his married life. His wife, Zelda, was schizophrenic, and made his life a living hell. The poor guy did the only thing he knew he could do and wrote about it to deal with the stress, immortalizing her as the turbulent, mad Nicole Diver. All well and good there, kind of creepily autobiographical, but it’s fine.
But then there’s an extra layer of creepy because holy shit wait her husband used to be her therapist??????
Isn’t this why we have ethical laws?!
The premise of the story is simple enough: Dick Diver, married to Nicole, is in an unhappy marriage with a woman who is incredibly mentally ill. Dick, who seems to have a serious thing for younger women, has an affair with a film star who’s only just turned eighteen. The rest of the story is the deterioration of both Dick and his marriage, as Nicole somehow seems to come out of the whole thing stronger. As one of my old literature professors used to say, Dick is a diver, he goes down, while Nicole goes up. She’s like a parasite, taking all his happiness from him to fuel her own life.
The novel is easy to read and follow, a stark difference from Women in Love, which you will all remember I actually despised. The characters might not be incredibly likable, but they’re very real characters with very real worries. I loved reading this, immersing myself into the world of 1920s psychology and the upper class worries of the time. By the end of the book, I was almost sad to see the characters go, which speaks volumes about the way Fitzgerald can write a believable and likable cast of characters.
Kudos there, mate.
Final rating: 4/5. Any literature nerd has to read this.
This book has taken me on a journey along the Riviera and through the mountains of Switzerland. Fitzgerald writes about the tormented Doctor Diver in such a way that you can feel the agony yourself, yet I didn't seem to be able to fully grasp the how and why Diver acted in the way he did. This is in any way not a negative remark on the book - I think it adds to the empathy you can feel for each character in the book, for Dick, Nicole, Tommy, and Rosemary.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I struggled to finish this- I found the writing adequate and the plot boring and uninteresting.