Reviews - This Side of Paradise

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1.37k reviews for:

This Side of Paradise

F. Scott Fitzgerald

3.48 AVERAGE

irodori_megu's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

To be honest, I got lost many times while reading this book, I was confused, and it took me many months to finish it. However I think it is brilliant for a debut novel and still quite contemporary in the sense that the aspirations and character of the youth is still unchanged, and some social reflections are still relevant. If you are familiar with Fitzgerald's writing I recommend it, also because it's his most autobiographical book.

vbayman's review against another edition

3.0

challenging medium-paced

georgiaswad's review against another edition

4.0

saved from 3/5 stars purely by my soft spot for fitzgerald’s gorgeous prose and personal tendency to enjoy the fictional internal musings of people i would avidly avoid were i to meet them in person. not a touch on gatsby (duh) but interesting for context of fitzgerald’s development as a writer and chock-a-block of (at times questionable but consistently entertaining) poetry

eddy84p's review against another edition

3.5

dark informative 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

literary_bub's review against another edition

4.0

Perhaps I gave this a higher review than I would have a few years ago or a few years from now. Besides the sexism, racism, and classism, I found this book to be quite enjoyable simply because it is rather relatable. I'm also a sucker for fiction written in this time period.

kchuu8's review against another edition

the writing of this is actually immaculate it is ridiculous. 23 years old!!!!!!!! What the hell. there are passages in this that brought me to a halt because they were soooooo insanely good.

i didn't expect much from this as i had seen other reviews that weren't too crazy over it - plus i had no particularly strong feelings towards tender is the night (maybe at the time, but having letting it sat with me, nothing is really in my heart about it) - but this one is good fun. a mixture of all things literature (literally!!!) from prose to poetry to plays. and all of those things, fitzgerald does with such a clear artistry.

v v v delicious to read. like dining at the world's best restaurant run by the world's best chef. even if you don't like what's on the menu, you know you are in for a brilliant time.