Reviews

The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

racnew88's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

nabend23's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad

3.5

elizabethwillett's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

jinnywithaj's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

dwilcip's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

dansrobinson's review against another edition

4.0

I don’t think I’ve disliked every single character in a book before.

Read this in a transatlantic accent and listen to jazz to feel fully immersed

jazose's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

ryanteston's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

mark_kivimaki's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-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

3.5

This is clearly an earlier attempt by Fitzgerald at the themes that he famously covered in Gatsby. There is a lot of really beautiful prose in this book, but it drags towards the end and wraps up in a not all too satisfying way.

thewickedwitchofthemidwest's review against another edition

3.0

When I first started reading this book my thought was, “interesting writing style, boring story.” When I’m finished I have come to the conclusion this was Fitzgerald’s point. It’s just a life portrait of a couple. In my opinion it’s no great literary work, but it is thought provoking. Watching the lives of the protagonists unfold throughout the story was what kept me interested. It had this blatant honestly which appealed to me and Fitzgerald probes into the inner beings of the characters. You can see how their story will progress from the beginning, but you still feel the tragedy when you come to the end.