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noirverse's review
5.0
This was an exhaustively detailed biography of Zelda that excelled on giving me the facts of her life. While Scott and Zelda's story often drives people to take sides on which person ruined the life of the other, Milford did a great job on presenting the facts of a deeply toxic and tragic relationship while leaving it up to the reader to draw their own conclusions. This gave a depth to Zelda that I haven't seen before, and I was fascinated to read about her as she became older and how she lived when Scott passed away.
pbraue13's review against another edition
4.0
I have always been fascinated by the Fitzgerald's namely Scott (for he was allowed to be the most prolific), but this book really made me appreciate the person Zelda was and really understand what a toxic/codependent relationship they had. It seems that Zelda either has the glamorous image of the "first flapper" or the crazy bitch who drove Fitzgerald into an early grave. This book shows that both were either embellishments or inaccurate lies as both Fitzgerald's fed into the myth of them in the 1920s, but Scott unintentionally stoked the fire of the opinion of Zelda as a disturbed talentless writer (which she was not as this book proves including unpublished excerpts of her work and her letters/personal notes). She was a woman who deserved better and this book left me pondering so many "what if" scenarios where the end of these people's lives could have been different. It's a give and take. 4.5/5 stars on this one. The half taken away is for where the book slowed down, but I kept reading (even if the analysis of certain passages seemed unneeded).
shanaries's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed Nancy Milford's well-researched bio of Zelda. I found the oft-lengthy discussions of Zelda's writings quite tedious at times, though I suppose they're relevant for the most part. Sadly, the author references many more photos of Zelda et al than are included in the book, though perhaps permissions were not granted her.
krobart's review against another edition
4.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2018/04/26/day-1208-zelda/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2018/04/26/day-1208-zelda/
smjohns91's review against another edition
3.0
I bought Zelda on a whim when I was caught downtown one evening near Barnes and Noble with a little time to kill. So naturally, I started reading the book right there at the store and after purchasing it, took it home and continued to read it. It chronicles the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, from the beginning to end, with a huge lull in the middle that deal with her illness. I didn't know before reading this book that she too was a novelist and writer, I had always assumed that she was the golden child of the roaring 20s, along with being the wife of F. Scott.
The book was enlightening and more in depth than I was expecting - I was hoping for a more general overview of her life, and somewhat of a lighter read. Either way, it was interesting even though it took me a while to get through it. First published in 1970, the book has gone through a few editions since, and I found the book very informative.
The book was enlightening and more in depth than I was expecting - I was hoping for a more general overview of her life, and somewhat of a lighter read. Either way, it was interesting even though it took me a while to get through it. First published in 1970, the book has gone through a few editions since, and I found the book very informative.
tracyk22's review against another edition
4.0
The legendary story of Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald is laid out in this biography of the troubled girl from Alabama. Between Zelda's mental instability and Scott's excessive drinking, no one, not even them, was really sure which came first. Did Scott's drinking make Zelda go crazy or did Zelda's unpredictable behavior cause Scott to drink? What is for sure is that Mrs. Fitzgerald provided a lot of material for Mr. Fitzgerald's novels at times even copying whole passages from her journals.
The biography itself was well written and well researched. Some may find it too in-depth, especially the parts where Zelda's novel and a couple of Scott's are detailed for a number of pages. Though I think Nancy Milford was showing the parallels between their lives and their writing. A must read for literature students.
The biography itself was well written and well researched. Some may find it too in-depth, especially the parts where Zelda's novel and a couple of Scott's are detailed for a number of pages. Though I think Nancy Milford was showing the parallels between their lives and their writing. A must read for literature students.
sarahsayre22's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of my favorite books and sparked my interest in the Fitzgeralds
maryehavens's review against another edition
1.0
Calling it on page 183.
I keep finding myself going to other books that have a much quicker pace.
The bottom line is that I just don't care to do that much of a deep dive on Zelda, Scott, or anyone really. I only stuck around this long because it fulfilled a Reading Challenge category (Title that starts with Z, X, or Q) and even that isn't enough for me to continue.
Milford definitely did her research but it's just a bunch of correspondence - which, yay for primary sources but I'm personally just not that interested in her life. I got so disgusted so many times with Zelda and Scott's self-destructive natures. That kind of desperate attention that's fun for a little while and then trainwreck tragic with no redemption arc.
If you are super into the Fitzgeralds, the Jazz Age, the Lost Generation, or any of that, you will probably love this deeper dive. I find the whole thing a bit disgusting, actually. I did really like seeing where The Great Gatsby came from but I think I would have been just as happy to read a paragraph or magazine article on that. Spoiler alert: Daisy is Zelda, Gatsby is Scott, and Daisy's husband is all of Zelda's paramours combined. Nick is likely one of Scott's sane friends.
I keep finding myself going to other books that have a much quicker pace.
The bottom line is that I just don't care to do that much of a deep dive on Zelda, Scott, or anyone really. I only stuck around this long because it fulfilled a Reading Challenge category (Title that starts with Z, X, or Q) and even that isn't enough for me to continue.
Milford definitely did her research but it's just a bunch of correspondence - which, yay for primary sources but I'm personally just not that interested in her life. I got so disgusted so many times with Zelda and Scott's self-destructive natures. That kind of desperate attention that's fun for a little while and then trainwreck tragic with no redemption arc.
If you are super into the Fitzgeralds, the Jazz Age, the Lost Generation, or any of that, you will probably love this deeper dive. I find the whole thing a bit disgusting, actually. I did really like seeing where The Great Gatsby came from but I think I would have been just as happy to read a paragraph or magazine article on that. Spoiler alert: Daisy is Zelda, Gatsby is Scott, and Daisy's husband is all of Zelda's paramours combined. Nick is likely one of Scott's sane friends.