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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
This was an interesting story and lacked the 'Forrest Gump' nature of the movie. Simple story of a man who was born old in both body and mind and steadily grew younger throughout his lifetime. It was an interesting look at how women lost all value as they aged and how people regard others depending on how old they appear. Poor Benjamin's wife became completely useless to him as he became young and she became....45! She became so useless that she just moved to Italy one day. I thought it was strange that his mind went backwards with his age. A lot of our general knowledge comes with experience, so I would feel regardless of whether he had aged to age 5 or not he would still retain some memory of that, but considering the fantastical nature of the story in general I'm probably thinking on that a little too much.
Uneven, experimental, and quite enjoyable.
Gatsby is amongst my favorite novels of all time, but I'd never ventured into any other Fitzgerald. To be honest, I hadn't realized how many short stories he'd written. Some are quite raw, others just plain bland, but overall there's a lot to love. The characters were rich and relatable, and Fitzgerald's alcohol issues (and awareness of them) bleed through the pages.
He explores a variety of compelling topics, some of which he goes much deeper into in Gatsby, and some of which stood alone. His exploration of the limits (and absurdity) of infinite wealth in A Diamond The Size Of The Ritz was compelling and entirely valid still today. His telling of the variety of viewpoints during the events of the May Day Riots of 1919 in May Day was fascinating and would make for incredible film. His usage of absurdity in tales like The Camel's Back, Benjamin Button (the story I originally intended to read when I picked this up), and Jemina served to lighten the mood. Stories such as O Russet Witch! and The Lees of Happiness bring more serious discussions of love, responsibility, wealth, and grief.
To some extent, I think I really enjoyed these pieces because they're a window into the early years of the roaring twenties. They also served to give me a deeper understanding of the author behind one of my favorite books, and while deeply imperfect, (much like their author) made for a fine week of reading.
Gatsby is amongst my favorite novels of all time, but I'd never ventured into any other Fitzgerald. To be honest, I hadn't realized how many short stories he'd written. Some are quite raw, others just plain bland, but overall there's a lot to love. The characters were rich and relatable, and Fitzgerald's alcohol issues (and awareness of them) bleed through the pages.
He explores a variety of compelling topics, some of which he goes much deeper into in Gatsby, and some of which stood alone. His exploration of the limits (and absurdity) of infinite wealth in A Diamond The Size Of The Ritz was compelling and entirely valid still today. His telling of the variety of viewpoints during the events of the May Day Riots of 1919 in May Day was fascinating and would make for incredible film. His usage of absurdity in tales like The Camel's Back, Benjamin Button (the story I originally intended to read when I picked this up), and Jemina served to lighten the mood. Stories such as O Russet Witch! and The Lees of Happiness bring more serious discussions of love, responsibility, wealth, and grief.
To some extent, I think I really enjoyed these pieces because they're a window into the early years of the roaring twenties. They also served to give me a deeper understanding of the author behind one of my favorite books, and while deeply imperfect, (much like their author) made for a fine week of reading.
I enjoyed the curious case of benjamin button and the diamond story, but that's it unfortunately. The rest were just fine and mostly forgettable. The writing was very good, but the stories just weren't hitting me.
Perhaps a bit too madcap at moments, the weight of the age—particularly the insidious compromises of romance and reverie—lies heavy over these tales.
I particularly enjoyed "The Jelly-Bean", "Diamond as Big as the Ritz", and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."
Original Review at Journey to Nowhere: https://journey2nowhere.com/2019/11/14/review-tales-of-the-jazz-age/
My relationship with Fitzgerald is complicated. Aside from The Great Gatsby, I couldn’t make it through any of his novels. I found them to be boring, I hated the characters and the writing was often times too elaborate for my tastes. His short stories, however, I find to be superbly written and entertaining, and Tales of the Jazz Age was no exception.
Originally published in 1922, this vintage edition contains 11 short works that tell stories ranging the full spectrum of human emotion. They explore the mundane and the extraordinary and almost every single one was a great read.
The Jelly-Bean – A slow start to the collection, the short story tells that tale of a Southern man nicknamed “The Jelly-Bean” (real name Jim Powell) due to his lazy and dimwitted tendencies. Powell gets invited to a party and here he gains the attention of a free-spirited, upper class woman whom he fancies. Throughout the night they drink together and gamble together and she takes a liking to him. His dreams, however, are shattered when the next day he finds out she married the boring businessman who had been suiting her. What’s the point? Jim was prepared to change who he was for the love a woman from a different world, but in the end she did what society expected of her and broke his heart in the process. Not everyone gets a happy ending. The interesting part of this one is that Zelda co-wrote it with her husband, in particular the bits about crap shooting.
The Camel’s Back – A very humorous tale about a man who proposes to his longtime girlfriend, and then proceeds to get rip roaring drunk after she declines the proposal. As the story progresses he ends up as the front end in a camel costume and shows up at a party where, lo and behold, his now ex-girlfriend is having a great time. Hilarity ensues. I think the message here is that alcohol can lead to bad judgment. I didn’t need that reminder, but the story was a good time.
May Day – One of the more complex stories in the collection, this one tells multiple inter-twining tales that touched on ideas that I felt were still relevant today. Clashing political ideologies, soldiers’ trouble reintegrating into society, lost innocence, alcohol abuse and false friendships. Fitzgerald says he was trying to capture “the general hysteria of that spring which inaugurated the Age of Jazz” and I felt he was successful in this pursuit. The story was interesting and engaging and again, I was able to draw many similes with today’s problems. I would strongly recommend this one.
Porcelain and Pink – A one act play about a woman taking a bath. I’m sure it ruffled the feathers of some of the more religious and prude of the time. Comical, witty and classic Fitzgerald.
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz – More of a fun fiction than some of Fitzgerald’s other stories, this one follows a young Southern gent as he is brought to the home of a classmate. Upon arrival he is introduced to extravagance he has never even heard of and discovers the mountain the family owns is one large diamond, kept secret from the government and general public by imprisoning anyone who gets close to finding their secret. Good times (read: death and fear) follow as the secret is threatened once again and this young Southerner tries to escape with his life. Well written and pretty funny – one of the best stories in the collection.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Let me preface this by saying I never seen the film adaptation of this story, but knew the general premise going in. I was pleasantly surprised to absolutely love this story about a man who is born into old age and ages in reverse. Seeing life through his eyes as he gets younger and younger was an interesting commentary on what it means to live a meaningful life and what it means to be happy. The ending was both fitting and terrifying as he slowly forgets himself into the simple joys of childhood. A quintessential Fitzgerald story and probably my favorite in the entire collection.
Tarquin of Cheapside – A very short, confusing piece of “poetry”. The one piece in the collection I really didn’t like. I couldn’t tell you what it was about if I tried.
“O Russert Witch!” – My second favorite story in the collection behind Benjamin Button, this one tells the story of a man who works at a book shop and lives in a small apartment by himself. He is essentially a stand in for everyone who wants more out of life but is too afraid to do anything about it. At various points in his life, the man interacts with a mysterious woman and the story is told mostly through these various interactions, which span young adulthood into old age. His attraction to this girl, but fear of approaching her, represents his general approach to life. In the end he realizes the truth about the woman and who she is, which leaves him feeling regret over his life’s choices. He chose an easy, boring existence over passion and excitement and as it closes he realizes it is too late to do anything about it. Typical Lost Generation themes of regret, living life to the fullest and false illusions of happiness.
The Lees of Happiness – A story about a writer and dancer who get married and move to the countryside. After enjoying life for a short bit, the man has a stroke and is left a vegetable. The woman then spends the next few decade caring for him alone in their large country house. When he passes, she is left without purpose and eventually decides to open the house up as a boarding house. There was some commentary here about life’s purpose, regret and loss. It was a little boring, but worth the read.
Mr. Icky – An old man is abandoned by his ungrateful children in this short piece. It was okay.
Jemina, The Mountain Girl – A funny story about two warring clans of bootleg distillers in the mountains. Action packed along with humorously written mountain accents. It was an interesting choice for the end of the collection, but I enjoyed it well enough.
Overall, the majority of stories here were memorable and I took a lot away from this read. Everything I love about reading stories by Lost Generation authors is on display here – regret, loss, love and the purpose/meaning of life. Fitzgerald again proves himself a master of short fiction and I highly recommend this collection for fans of his work. As a final note, the cover of this edition is beautifully bound and I love the simple cover art.
My relationship with Fitzgerald is complicated. Aside from The Great Gatsby, I couldn’t make it through any of his novels. I found them to be boring, I hated the characters and the writing was often times too elaborate for my tastes. His short stories, however, I find to be superbly written and entertaining, and Tales of the Jazz Age was no exception.
Originally published in 1922, this vintage edition contains 11 short works that tell stories ranging the full spectrum of human emotion. They explore the mundane and the extraordinary and almost every single one was a great read.
The Jelly-Bean – A slow start to the collection, the short story tells that tale of a Southern man nicknamed “The Jelly-Bean” (real name Jim Powell) due to his lazy and dimwitted tendencies. Powell gets invited to a party and here he gains the attention of a free-spirited, upper class woman whom he fancies. Throughout the night they drink together and gamble together and she takes a liking to him. His dreams, however, are shattered when the next day he finds out she married the boring businessman who had been suiting her. What’s the point? Jim was prepared to change who he was for the love a woman from a different world, but in the end she did what society expected of her and broke his heart in the process. Not everyone gets a happy ending. The interesting part of this one is that Zelda co-wrote it with her husband, in particular the bits about crap shooting.
The Camel’s Back – A very humorous tale about a man who proposes to his longtime girlfriend, and then proceeds to get rip roaring drunk after she declines the proposal. As the story progresses he ends up as the front end in a camel costume and shows up at a party where, lo and behold, his now ex-girlfriend is having a great time. Hilarity ensues. I think the message here is that alcohol can lead to bad judgment. I didn’t need that reminder, but the story was a good time.
May Day – One of the more complex stories in the collection, this one tells multiple inter-twining tales that touched on ideas that I felt were still relevant today. Clashing political ideologies, soldiers’ trouble reintegrating into society, lost innocence, alcohol abuse and false friendships. Fitzgerald says he was trying to capture “the general hysteria of that spring which inaugurated the Age of Jazz” and I felt he was successful in this pursuit. The story was interesting and engaging and again, I was able to draw many similes with today’s problems. I would strongly recommend this one.
Porcelain and Pink – A one act play about a woman taking a bath. I’m sure it ruffled the feathers of some of the more religious and prude of the time. Comical, witty and classic Fitzgerald.
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz – More of a fun fiction than some of Fitzgerald’s other stories, this one follows a young Southern gent as he is brought to the home of a classmate. Upon arrival he is introduced to extravagance he has never even heard of and discovers the mountain the family owns is one large diamond, kept secret from the government and general public by imprisoning anyone who gets close to finding their secret. Good times (read: death and fear) follow as the secret is threatened once again and this young Southerner tries to escape with his life. Well written and pretty funny – one of the best stories in the collection.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Let me preface this by saying I never seen the film adaptation of this story, but knew the general premise going in. I was pleasantly surprised to absolutely love this story about a man who is born into old age and ages in reverse. Seeing life through his eyes as he gets younger and younger was an interesting commentary on what it means to live a meaningful life and what it means to be happy. The ending was both fitting and terrifying as he slowly forgets himself into the simple joys of childhood. A quintessential Fitzgerald story and probably my favorite in the entire collection.
Tarquin of Cheapside – A very short, confusing piece of “poetry”. The one piece in the collection I really didn’t like. I couldn’t tell you what it was about if I tried.
“O Russert Witch!” – My second favorite story in the collection behind Benjamin Button, this one tells the story of a man who works at a book shop and lives in a small apartment by himself. He is essentially a stand in for everyone who wants more out of life but is too afraid to do anything about it. At various points in his life, the man interacts with a mysterious woman and the story is told mostly through these various interactions, which span young adulthood into old age. His attraction to this girl, but fear of approaching her, represents his general approach to life. In the end he realizes the truth about the woman and who she is, which leaves him feeling regret over his life’s choices. He chose an easy, boring existence over passion and excitement and as it closes he realizes it is too late to do anything about it. Typical Lost Generation themes of regret, living life to the fullest and false illusions of happiness.
The Lees of Happiness – A story about a writer and dancer who get married and move to the countryside. After enjoying life for a short bit, the man has a stroke and is left a vegetable. The woman then spends the next few decade caring for him alone in their large country house. When he passes, she is left without purpose and eventually decides to open the house up as a boarding house. There was some commentary here about life’s purpose, regret and loss. It was a little boring, but worth the read.
Mr. Icky – An old man is abandoned by his ungrateful children in this short piece. It was okay.
Jemina, The Mountain Girl – A funny story about two warring clans of bootleg distillers in the mountains. Action packed along with humorously written mountain accents. It was an interesting choice for the end of the collection, but I enjoyed it well enough.
Overall, the majority of stories here were memorable and I took a lot away from this read. Everything I love about reading stories by Lost Generation authors is on display here – regret, loss, love and the purpose/meaning of life. Fitzgerald again proves himself a master of short fiction and I highly recommend this collection for fans of his work. As a final note, the cover of this edition is beautifully bound and I love the simple cover art.
I'm not a big fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald's short fiction so I originally purchased this audiobook to help me get through the reading of a print copy. I did manage to finish both the Penguin Classics paperback edition (which includes both of Fitzgerald's 1st and 2nd short story collections "Flappers and Philosophers" and "Tales of the Jazz Age") and this audiobook edition which includes only the 2nd book.
The audiobook reading was quite stiff with very little attempt to give a voice performance. The stories "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "O Russet Witch!" were some of the few exceptions with their minimal efforts at elderly voices. None of the other stories had a very dramatized reading. I noticed that a reference to Oscar Wilde's "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" was pronounced as "The Ballad of Reading Goal" i.e. as in football goal, so obviously no research was done to learn that "gaol" is an antiquated spelling of the word "jail".
I also noticed that, compared to the print edition, the sentence "It's very white of you." is censored to say "It's very nice of you." in the "O Russet Witch!" story. That seemed a bit odd in a book where the whole racist Shangri-La story of "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" is included verbatim.
At $1.95 for the member's price on Audible.com, this is definitely a bargain for a 10+ hour book. You get what you pay for though.
The audiobook reading was quite stiff with very little attempt to give a voice performance. The stories "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "O Russet Witch!" were some of the few exceptions with their minimal efforts at elderly voices. None of the other stories had a very dramatized reading. I noticed that a reference to Oscar Wilde's "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" was pronounced as "The Ballad of Reading Goal" i.e. as in football goal, so obviously no research was done to learn that "gaol" is an antiquated spelling of the word "jail".
I also noticed that, compared to the print edition, the sentence "It's very white of you." is censored to say "It's very nice of you." in the "O Russet Witch!" story. That seemed a bit odd in a book where the whole racist Shangri-La story of "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" is included verbatim.
At $1.95 for the member's price on Audible.com, this is definitely a bargain for a 10+ hour book. You get what you pay for though.
He wanted to be a poet. It shows. But in a brilliant way.
Fitz Flick'z
The Cut-Glass Bowl:
I randomly picked "The Cut Glass Bowl" and wow, F. Scott is just such a genius.
In as little as 25 pages he managed to demonstrate the greed and gluttony of the '20s and its contrast of the depression and World War and vividly throw them together to a tumultuous ending.
He uses a cutting glass bowl as the centrepiece for the story - following the objects key moments in a family; whilst using the families life, and the glass bowl, to mirror the fate of people during the time; and the contrast of their own gluttony playing a role in causing it.
The letter of news of her son in the war being in the bowl, and the bowl and the family ultimately ending at the same time, is an analogy of how the war brought about the end of that roaring 20's lifestyle. Really well done, and obviously some beautiful quotes in there too!
The Cut-Glass Bowl:
I randomly picked "The Cut Glass Bowl" and wow, F. Scott is just such a genius.
In as little as 25 pages he managed to demonstrate the greed and gluttony of the '20s and its contrast of the depression and World War and vividly throw them together to a tumultuous ending.
He uses a cutting glass bowl as the centrepiece for the story - following the objects key moments in a family; whilst using the families life, and the glass bowl, to mirror the fate of people during the time; and the contrast of their own gluttony playing a role in causing it.
The letter of news of her son in the war being in the bowl, and the bowl and the family ultimately ending at the same time, is an analogy of how the war brought about the end of that roaring 20's lifestyle. Really well done, and obviously some beautiful quotes in there too!