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A review by mslenakay
Call Me Zelda by Erika Robuck
4.0
I read this shortly after reading [b:Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald|15994634|Z A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald|Therese Anne Fowler|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1360236506s/15994634.jpg|21763986] so I found it very interesting to compare these two different views of Zelda Fitzgerald's life, though they were both fictional.
In [b:Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald|15994634|Z A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald|Therese Anne Fowler|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1360236506s/15994634.jpg|21763986] the story is told from Zelda's point of view and it covers the "good years" (the parties and the fame) and goes into the painful years, but not quite as much. It focuses a lot on Scott meeting, courting, then marrying Zelda, as well as the period of time when he tries to make a name for himself, living in New York and Paris. This book is from a nurse's perspective, who worked for the Fitzgeralds after the "good years", when Zelda was admitted into psychiatric care. Although I did like the book I didn't like it as much as the other books I've read about these people and the Roaring Twenties, mostly because I don't like just how painful this time seemed. After reading "Z" I came out thinking that they weren't good together and both needed help, but reading this only increased that thought. It was almost painful to read about this period in their lives, which I suppose is a good thing in a way, because the author was trying to show how painful it must have been for Zelda to live through.
While I did find it painful to read I'm really happy that the author managed to explain mental illness in an understanding and sensitive light that not only wouldn't have existed then, but still doesn't to this day. She could have easily been insensitive about this and gotten away with it because of the period she was writing about, but she didn't and I really appreciated that.
Great read over all. My only other comment is that I suggest others not read this unless they have read other books about Zelda Fitzgerald first. Some of the background information would have been really lost on me had I not read [b:Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald|15994634|Z A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald|Therese Anne Fowler|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1360236506s/15994634.jpg|21763986].
In [b:Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald|15994634|Z A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald|Therese Anne Fowler|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1360236506s/15994634.jpg|21763986] the story is told from Zelda's point of view and it covers the "good years" (the parties and the fame) and goes into the painful years, but not quite as much. It focuses a lot on Scott meeting, courting, then marrying Zelda, as well as the period of time when he tries to make a name for himself, living in New York and Paris. This book is from a nurse's perspective, who worked for the Fitzgeralds after the "good years", when Zelda was admitted into psychiatric care. Although I did like the book I didn't like it as much as the other books I've read about these people and the Roaring Twenties, mostly because I don't like just how painful this time seemed. After reading "Z" I came out thinking that they weren't good together and both needed help, but reading this only increased that thought. It was almost painful to read about this period in their lives, which I suppose is a good thing in a way, because the author was trying to show how painful it must have been for Zelda to live through.
While I did find it painful to read I'm really happy that the author managed to explain mental illness in an understanding and sensitive light that not only wouldn't have existed then, but still doesn't to this day. She could have easily been insensitive about this and gotten away with it because of the period she was writing about, but she didn't and I really appreciated that.
Great read over all. My only other comment is that I suggest others not read this unless they have read other books about Zelda Fitzgerald first. Some of the background information would have been really lost on me had I not read [b:Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald|15994634|Z A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald|Therese Anne Fowler|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1360236506s/15994634.jpg|21763986].