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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
1.5 DNF at around 45% or so. I really wanted to like this as the Great Gatsby is an all time favourite but I just couldn't. Fitzgerald's flowery laungage is in full force and for that it gets the extra .5. However while the language was used aptly in Gatsby to describe the decadence and foolishness of the American dream here it's used to describe some if the most painfully uninteresting characters I've had the displeasure of reading about. Maybe it's just me, character driven books are not my usual cup of tea but Anthony fucking Patch is just so painfully boring. He's flawed and at times vile but none of that compares to how just uninteresting he is as a book character and a human. He wanders through life aimless and adrift on his grandparents money, he thinks himself on the cusp of some greatness and yet does nothing to reach it. Now this could make for a good character, as could his cowardice and alcoholism but it all fails compared to just how BORING he is. For god sake man do something, say something, beyong polite conversation or half hearted literary discussion. Gloria I assume was also meant to be an unsympathetic character, with her frivolous buying, her 'selfishness' and the countless men she kisses, but honestly she kinda slays. She was the one redeeming ray of interest in this pile of filth. She kisses who she wishes and leaves when they bore her, and given the general standard of these male characters I don't blame her. I wish more time was devoted to her and less to Mr Patch.
There is also rampant sexism, (looking at you Anthony as you decide if you should beat Gloria into submission or kiss her better, fucking xhrist) and strange wording around how hot Gloria is because of how young she looks (or her milky white complexion ew). Also there is one scene in which Anthony is angered beyond reason because Gloria didn't call up to do laundry, and look, I know it's my modern view but like Jesus Christ it's not like either of these people are actually DOING the laundry just call the front desk Anthony you pig.
To be sadly honest though all of this was expected given it's age, but my modern view point had more of an issue brushing these issues aside and they became more and more disheartening to read as they went on.
All in all I may pick it up to finish again just for the sheer joy of watching Anthony collapse and fail as her deserves. However as of right now this book was rarely beautiful and continually dammed.
There is also rampant sexism, (looking at you Anthony as you decide if you should beat Gloria into submission or kiss her better, fucking xhrist) and strange wording around how hot Gloria is because of how young she looks (or her milky white complexion ew). Also there is one scene in which Anthony is angered beyond reason because Gloria didn't call up to do laundry, and look, I know it's my modern view but like Jesus Christ it's not like either of these people are actually DOING the laundry just call the front desk Anthony you pig.
To be sadly honest though all of this was expected given it's age, but my modern view point had more of an issue brushing these issues aside and they became more and more disheartening to read as they went on.
All in all I may pick it up to finish again just for the sheer joy of watching Anthony collapse and fail as her deserves. However as of right now this book was rarely beautiful and continually dammed.
I think of all the books I’ve read with an unlikable main character, this is definitely my favorite.
An interesting view of narcissism but very depressing and somewhat slow.
I feel like liking this makes me a bad feminist.
This was so good but so bleak and heavy - I genuinely feel a little more depressed having read it. Also was a little hard to ignore Fitzgerald’s casual racist and classist tendencies.
This was so good but so bleak and heavy - I genuinely feel a little more depressed having read it. Also was a little hard to ignore Fitzgerald’s casual racist and classist tendencies.
Just not in the mood for boring rich people moping about being bored and rich.
That was not what I was expecting at all, in a good way. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.
I've been wanting to read this book for a long while, and it didn't disappoint.
The Beautiful and Damned explores New York society and the American Eastern elite during the Jazz Age before and after the First World War and in the early 1920's. The novel follows the rise and fall of young artist Anthony Patch and his wife Gloria Gilbert, exposing the glittering excesses and partying at the dawn of the hedonistic Jazz Age.
The book is divided in three major parts with three chapters each. It was easy to follow and understand. However, it's far from being an easy read.
The loading Fitzgerald has for this society comes through like no ones' business. I saw a lot of him in Anthony, as both were alcoholics. Anthony's life starts out promising, but his view on life (not wanting to work) together with the influence of his wife and his brash decisions, set a course of events in motion that ultimately leads to their downfall. In the end, Anthony recovers his riches, but he's an alcoholic, Gloria lost all her beauty and has mental health issues. So, they might have the money, but there's a emptiness to their lives that is obvious to the reader. It really brings meaning to "money isn't everything."
A must-read for sure, especially for those who want a glimpse at Fitzgerald's work before "The Great Gatsby." Believe me, you'll find it very different.
I've been wanting to read this book for a long while, and it didn't disappoint.
The Beautiful and Damned explores New York society and the American Eastern elite during the Jazz Age before and after the First World War and in the early 1920's. The novel follows the rise and fall of young artist Anthony Patch and his wife Gloria Gilbert, exposing the glittering excesses and partying at the dawn of the hedonistic Jazz Age.
The book is divided in three major parts with three chapters each. It was easy to follow and understand. However, it's far from being an easy read.
The loading Fitzgerald has for this society comes through like no ones' business. I saw a lot of him in Anthony, as both were alcoholics. Anthony's life starts out promising, but his view on life (not wanting to work) together with the influence of his wife and his brash decisions, set a course of events in motion that ultimately leads to their downfall. In the end, Anthony recovers his riches, but he's an alcoholic, Gloria lost all her beauty and has mental health issues. So, they might have the money, but there's a emptiness to their lives that is obvious to the reader. It really brings meaning to "money isn't everything."
A must-read for sure, especially for those who want a glimpse at Fitzgerald's work before "The Great Gatsby." Believe me, you'll find it very different.
i dont want to do anything with my life either, just hang out
This book needed about half the pages. An editor could have cleaned this up and made it into something lovely like Gatsby, but I think Fitzgerald just dumped his brain into the pages and didn't edit. That said, the prose is often beautiful and the observations on the nouveau riche and the leisure class are sometimes solid. It's a little on the nose about jazz and liquor and immortality though.
emotional
reflective
sad
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
Fitzgerald's word choice is very precise and gorgeous. But besides the beautiful prose I really struggled through this read. I haaated Gloria who is only adored by men in the book because she is beautiful and purposefully, unapologetically selfish. And there was a strange vibe all through the book that the narrative voice also hated her. Her actual actions were never as bad as what the narrator described her to be. What I mean is I think I might have liked her alright if it weren't for how she was described. Anthony is pathetic and weak. Not because of his raging alcoholism but because he has no force of will, no character, and no sense of movement, which compells him to his drinking problem. I found the whole middle chunk outrageously boring. NOTHING happens. And I am all for happy marriages but they make ridiculously dull literature. I appreciate Fitzgerald's ability to capture the slow deterioration of their contentment and his message that love is an illusion rather than a true sentiment. (Not that I agree, but its fun to read about). I had to ponder the ending a while and I'm still not clear on the author's intent. I think it was the right choice for them to end up getting the money, not because they deserve it but because they are still worthless and unhappy with it. It doesn't solve anything, so may as well give it to them. But what happened to Dot?? Did she really turn up or had anything already gone crazy?? Guess we'll never know!