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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
Man ekki eftir miklu nema stemningunni í bókinni. Það var reyndar ein frábær sena þar sem aðalsöguhetja bókarinnar namedroppar sjálfan sig í samtali og viðmælandinn kannaðist ekkert við kauða. Bókin fékk mig ekki til að þyrsta í meira eftir sama höfund. Aldrei meira en þristur.
I think I liked this one better than Gatsby because while that one is arguably tighter I enjoyed the direct satire and criticism here than being told through the lens of tragedy. While Gatsby leaves you with an event to read into, you can only reach This Side of Paradise feeling very lost.
2 stars for boring, slow-moving, confusing plot. 4 stars for the gorgeous writing we expect from fitzgerald. This book had potential, I like the slow, dramatic downfall of the protagonist. He falls from his narcissism and loses almost everything.
Not going to lie, it was a tough book to get through, but worth it. It's sad because Amory is troubled and you might not even realize it until the end. It's a deep read for sure.
DNF. Normally I like Fitzgerald, but I could not drag myself through this.
it was pretty good - a beautiful story about self discovery :) there was just not a lot happening. I do like Amory as a character though, which made the book better. I cannot read a book if I don’t like the main character.
The main plot/organization/character development in This Side of Paradise seems to largely revolve around this haphazard myriad of flapper-esque girls that Amory meets throughout his college years and his twenties. But out of every character he meets, I think Amory seems very much more in love with himself than any woman. The book as a whole is filled with unsatisfying interactions between Amory and women; he seems to either belittle their character, reduce them to material desires, or claim that their beauty/magic is simply a manifestation of his brilliant, "genius" mind. But then again, maybe this is what Fitzgerald wanted, and I do think he's very aware of how he presents Amory and gender dynamics in the novel.
On a more holistic level, I really enjoyed reading This Side of Paradise (especially after finishing The Great Gatsby last month). In fact, I think it's possible I liked it even more, which is odd because I'm generally a sucker for organized storylines and plots, and This Side of Paradise certainly didn't have that. I think that Fitzgerald's adopted stream-of-consciousness format allowed a more elaborate, decorative prose and writing style, which is really where this book shone.
On a more holistic level, I really enjoyed reading This Side of Paradise (especially after finishing The Great Gatsby last month). In fact, I think it's possible I liked it even more, which is odd because I'm generally a sucker for organized storylines and plots, and This Side of Paradise certainly didn't have that. I think that Fitzgerald's adopted stream-of-consciousness format allowed a more elaborate, decorative prose and writing style, which is really where this book shone.
I found this really quite difficult to like. The plot was thin and the 'protagonist' really quite annoying!
Though I did enjoy the inclusion of poetry and script woven alongside the prose, this didn't quite make up for the nothing-y plot.
Very decadent and elegantly descriptive, it would seem that I desire more from a novel than the description of a young man's failed romances and quest for money. That being said, I much prefer Gatsby...
Though I did enjoy the inclusion of poetry and script woven alongside the prose, this didn't quite make up for the nothing-y plot.
Very decadent and elegantly descriptive, it would seem that I desire more from a novel than the description of a young man's failed romances and quest for money. That being said, I much prefer Gatsby...
In most books, the author builds the story, matures the main characters, and develops the plot. Gradually and deliberately, the author will take these aspects and over the course of the book will set the stage for a grand resolution. However, in This Side of Paradise, I felt like Fitzgerald was aimlessly laying out random thoughts, guiding his characters through a depressing process of deterioration. The story was crumbling pointlessly into oblivion; the characters were solidifying their way along a path for fools; the plot was lacking having been mysteriously missing from any part of the book. I finished it wondering if there was any point at all to anything I had just read.
The story is about a young man by the name of Amory. He’s an egotist. To make things more interesting, he’s a self-proclaimed egotist. He is lazy, prejudiced, and immoral, though he is also well-spoken, somewhat philosophical, and charming. And as can be assumed by his self-proclaimed title, he’s very prideful. Originally, I was thinking this was going to be something like Pride and Prejudice, guessing that through love or some other enlightening experience he would change his ways and be conformed for good. Nah, it didn’t up that way. He stayed basically the same conceited fellow throughout the whole story, except for a short-lived period where he fell in love with a special girl, Rosalind—a relationship with whom didn’t last long. Mere pages away from the end of the book, it says of Amory: “He was his own best example ... a human creature of sex and pride...” In conclusion, he never got anywhere, never improved at all! Also, another major element was that unfortunate circumstances were again and again befalling him (due to his laziness and vanity). By the end, he’s worse off than ever: without much money, without a job, without a reputation, without love, and without many friends. From the start to the finish, everything just gets worse. It seemed hopelessly pointless to me.
Because of the cover of the book (observe the cover), I expected this to be a romance. But no, it’s not. Amory gets together with several girls, yes, but works for nothing but a kiss or two to satisfy his pride as a superior being. Then, he splits with them admitting that he never really loved them. The one exception to this was Rosalind who he somehow for some unexplained reason actually fell in love with. But that, as I must repeat, didn’t last.
The flow of the book was rather inconsistent as well. It began with a third-person POV from the perspective of Amory. Then it had a brief interlude of letters. Then it had a whole part in the format of a script for a play. Then it changed perspectives to that of Rosalind for a short bit. Then it continued with Amory’s perspective. It was as if Fitzgerald couldn’t decided how he wanted to style the book while writing it.
On a more optimistic note, one thing I really did enjoy with This Side of Paradise was the description and some of the poetry. It really showed Fitzgerald’s gift with words, maybe not storytelling but words for sure.
So, as a final note, I’d say that it was an interesting window into the Jazz Age, but a not so well done story. As far as classics go, this may be one of the strangest ones I’ve read.
The story is about a young man by the name of Amory. He’s an egotist. To make things more interesting, he’s a self-proclaimed egotist. He is lazy, prejudiced, and immoral, though he is also well-spoken, somewhat philosophical, and charming. And as can be assumed by his self-proclaimed title, he’s very prideful. Originally, I was thinking this was going to be something like Pride and Prejudice, guessing that through love or some other enlightening experience he would change his ways and be conformed for good. Nah, it didn’t up that way. He stayed basically the same conceited fellow throughout the whole story, except for a short-lived period where he fell in love with a special girl, Rosalind—a relationship with whom didn’t last long. Mere pages away from the end of the book, it says of Amory: “He was his own best example ... a human creature of sex and pride...” In conclusion, he never got anywhere, never improved at all! Also, another major element was that unfortunate circumstances were again and again befalling him (due to his laziness and vanity). By the end, he’s worse off than ever: without much money, without a job, without a reputation, without love, and without many friends. From the start to the finish, everything just gets worse. It seemed hopelessly pointless to me.
Because of the cover of the book (observe the cover), I expected this to be a romance. But no, it’s not. Amory gets together with several girls, yes, but works for nothing but a kiss or two to satisfy his pride as a superior being. Then, he splits with them admitting that he never really loved them. The one exception to this was Rosalind who he somehow for some unexplained reason actually fell in love with. But that, as I must repeat, didn’t last.
The flow of the book was rather inconsistent as well. It began with a third-person POV from the perspective of Amory. Then it had a brief interlude of letters. Then it had a whole part in the format of a script for a play. Then it changed perspectives to that of Rosalind for a short bit. Then it continued with Amory’s perspective. It was as if Fitzgerald couldn’t decided how he wanted to style the book while writing it.
On a more optimistic note, one thing I really did enjoy with This Side of Paradise was the description and some of the poetry. It really showed Fitzgerald’s gift with words, maybe not storytelling but words for sure.
So, as a final note, I’d say that it was an interesting window into the Jazz Age, but a not so well done story. As far as classics go, this may be one of the strangest ones I’ve read.
“I know myself,’ he cried, ‘but that is all.”
This was Fitzgerald’s first novel and the one the catapulted him into fame and riches at the young age of 23. Whilst I don’t like it quite as much as I do The Great Gatsby, this still holds all the depth and details that I love in Fitzgerald’s work.
In this book we follow Amory Blaine throughout his young years, growing up and going to Princeton, and his young adult life trying to find his way. We see his many attempts at love and his failings and we see him try to understand himself as he learns more and more about the world and the way it all works. Fitzgerald really captures that sense of the unknown when you are in your early twenties and trying to figure out the path you want to carve in life. This book is pretty satire and Fitzgerald’s witty and lyrical prose is a pleasure to read.
His usual themes are present; wealth, doomed love, faith, society and even socialism. I must say I did find it a little jarring at times as the way the story is written changes and various intervals. There are pages of poetry, letters, even a segment written like a play. But overall it ended up just showing his merits and skill as an author.
I do hope to read all of Fitzgerald’s novels this year as he is one of my favourite authors. I can’t wait to experience some of his other stories.
This was Fitzgerald’s first novel and the one the catapulted him into fame and riches at the young age of 23. Whilst I don’t like it quite as much as I do The Great Gatsby, this still holds all the depth and details that I love in Fitzgerald’s work.
In this book we follow Amory Blaine throughout his young years, growing up and going to Princeton, and his young adult life trying to find his way. We see his many attempts at love and his failings and we see him try to understand himself as he learns more and more about the world and the way it all works. Fitzgerald really captures that sense of the unknown when you are in your early twenties and trying to figure out the path you want to carve in life. This book is pretty satire and Fitzgerald’s witty and lyrical prose is a pleasure to read.
His usual themes are present; wealth, doomed love, faith, society and even socialism. I must say I did find it a little jarring at times as the way the story is written changes and various intervals. There are pages of poetry, letters, even a segment written like a play. But overall it ended up just showing his merits and skill as an author.
I do hope to read all of Fitzgerald’s novels this year as he is one of my favourite authors. I can’t wait to experience some of his other stories.