This Side of Paradise (Penguin Hardback Classics) [Hardcover]

I recently read and absolutely loved Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, a fictional story about her marriage to F. Scott Fitzgerald told from Zelda's perspective. It covered the periods when Scott (as he is called in Z) was writing This Side of Paradise (his first novel) and I learned that it was the most commercially successful of all his books at the time of publication.

Let me tell you, there is a reason people still read The Great Gatsby and you never hear much about this one. It was truly awful! I have no idea how it was ever more commercially successful upon release than Gatsby.

There is no real plot, which is to be expected from a coming of age story, but you need fantastic characters and a strong sense of time and place to make this kind of book work (in my opinion). Paradise has neither. It portrays high-brow college life for men in the 1920's, but I never got a true sense of that world. The characters, especially Amory, are completely dislikable...pretentious twits, actually. And none stood out in my head - I actually can't remember a single character's name other than Amory's and his mother's.

The whole novel is completely frivolous and silly, but is written in overly stilted and serious language that strives too hard...a bizarre combination. It was painful to read, I tuned out large sections, and I couldn't wait to be finished with it. To be honest, this may be the worst book I've ever read.

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"This Side of Paradise" is the prototypical riches to rags story, where Amory begins his life in the bohemian indolence of the upper class, an exceptional boy, only to descend into mediocrity, and thus into poverty, while the narrative itself takes well deserved swipes at American culture, excesses, and foolishness.

Recently I went on a FSF reading binge; however I just have not yet been able to "get into" this one. I have put it aside for a while and will come back to it in a few months. I am disappointed in myself because I have loved his other books, and I will not give up on this one……. yet.

It's interesting to read F. Schott Fitzgerald's books in chronological order as they definitely reflect his progression through life. This man was a brilliant writer but lacked confidence in his abilities and very self destructive. His books are brilliantly written and brilliantly revealing.

This is typical Fitzgerald. You either like him or you don't. It is a study in character, or, perhaps I should say lack of character. Amory Blaine is not very sympathetic. But, then many of us aren't when we are college aged and know everything. His girl friends are frivolous. His relationship with the old priest was interesting and more could be drawn from the priest's love for Amory. His mother is a dolt and hypochondriac. Depressing, but well written.

Interesting characters in an interesting age. As much as we think things change, reading almost anything connected to the American experience since the beginning of the Country's history shows our struggles, concerns, issues don't seem to change.

Who wouldn't like F.Scott Fitzgerald's books? Set yourself back in time and enjoy the words streaming from your Kindle Fire HD when reading this book. At the "FREE" price, it's easy to catch up on the classics you probably wouldn't ever have purchased to read, or borrowed from the local library. Great Read...great price.

Plot less examination into a life of a lazy pseudo intellectual status seeking"taker". Probably not a good reviewer as I detest this type of personality. I kept going hoping someone would just punch Amory in the face and be done with it i. Great writing technically wrapped around a horrible self centered dilettante wit no plot.better ending would have been suicide or gang rape....Maybe Fitzgerald was just a one trick pony writing about the minority in the jazz age.can't believe this was the typical man of the era.

4 stars because it, like most books not written lately, it seems to have a bit more fluff than I've come to like. That said, I'd still recommend it. Fitzgerald is a Master story teller, we can all learn from him and you will learn a great deal about the era.

Some of the most beautiful literature I have read. There are lingering lines in this book that I think will stay with me forever. I would definitely recommend reading this debut novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald!

Of course it's well written, it's Fitzgerald. This book is also of course melancholy, expect to apply the most dismal parts to your trains of thought for days. The inability of the main character to crystallize their thoughts and intentions and their tendency to overthink is somewhat infectious. Overall I would recommend it but my significant other would probably rather I would lay off this author for awhile.

Would you expect less from Fitzgerald? I found passages in this book that made me put it down so I could ponder and absorb the prose. Not the most compelling story; certainly not as tight a narrative as Gatsby. Oddly enough, it reminded me of The Invisible Man by Ellison. I suppose the common threads are wandering and disillusionment. Worth the read for anyone going a bit beyond the "classics."

The first half was stronger than the second but man, what a writer. Hemingway may get more props for writing "clean" prose but Fitzgerald's talent transcends Hemingway's comparatively limited and far less touching style. Haunting in so many good ways. I will be reading it again. This book is very special.

If read taking into account the mentalities and context in which it was written I find his piece to hold Quite a bit of beauty in its use of language, contemplation and depiction of human internal struggle. I was in a contemplative and transitioning time of my life when I read it so maybe that's why I appreciated it's character descriptions touched by a drop of fantasy and the muted passion in its language style.

Although not as critically important as the tale of Jay Gatsy and the Roaring '20s, this look at a virtually autobiographical Fitzgerald is eloquent, poetic, charming and a little depressing, but written with truth and insight as only the masters can do.

The two stars refer to this articular edition of "Tender is the Night". If you are unfamiliar with Fitzgerald's works, don't start here. Start your travels with his short stories and "Gatsby". "Tender" is richly written with the Fitzgerald prose sparkling. However, the story is need of editing and sharpening. It is a great read for those who make the effort.

I ordered this edition because I wanted a hardcover edition of the book to read. However, this edition of the book is the size of a 4x6 index card. It is ludicrously small. I rarely if ever look at the actual physical dimensions of a book. Even if I had tried to find the size, it is not listed on this description.

Hence the two stars.

There may not exist a more compelling example of fading promise. For those who have seen their dreams diminish into routine, and must now reconsider a self image that has always served them well. A brilliant work.

Fitzgerald's style is gorgeous and I found the characters in this work more likable than in the other works of his I'd read (_Gatsby_ and _The Beautiful and the Damned_). Although parts of the work are depressing, the philosophical discussions are interesting and this is a lot less of a downer than _The Beautiful and Damned_.

Plot was difficult to follow. Characters were not clearly developed and were too numerous to make the novel easy to follow. The ending was weak and lacked a purpose. I will try to read another of Fitzgerald's to give him benefit of the doubt.

This Side of Paradise seems to be a thinly veiled autobiography of Fitzgerald's life. As the story unfolds, one begins to realize Fitzgerald was relating many of his experiences. Good read, but seems to drag on a bit.

Fitzgerald's style is gorgeous and I found the characters in this work more likable than in the other works of his I'd read (_Gatsby_ and _The Beautiful and the Damned_). Although parts of the work are depressing, the philosophical discussions are interesting and this is a lot less of a downer than _The Beautiful and Damned_.

Plot was difficult to follow. Characters were not clearly developed and were too numerous to make the novel easy to follow. The ending was weak and lacked a purpose. I will try to read another of Fitzgerald's to give him benefit of the doubt.

This Side of Paradise seems to be a thinly veiled autobiography of Fitzgerald's life. As the story unfolds, one begins to realize Fitzgerald was relating many of his experiences. Good read, but seems to drag on a bit.

the book is just fine, i haven't finished reading it, so i can't rate the story much but it's not one story, i believe it's about three different stories. and before you buy this book note the dimensions in the description, it's a pocket sized book. but the quality is very good and i'm happy with it.

Excellent character development as story progresses, and the story, not an unusual one, is presented nevertheless in such a skillful way the the reader is kept very interested. This, combined with a setting in Europe and the Mediterranean makes for compelling reading.

I started off with scepticism about this book after reading various reviews. I was disheartened that Fitzgerald's last book won't be like TGG. I was wrong. The end was touching, expressive, poignant, with minimal use of words. Of course, there are parts in the narrative where one gets bored with details., but one has to read through to get the gist of the work. The characters in the book inhabit worlds that are not commonplace, but their pain and emotions are universal. The book is a very Good Read..

This is a beautiful edition of a great book. Everything very carefully reproduced, it's especially nice to have the illustrations, which are lovely. I think this. Is Fitzgerald's deepest, most heartfelt book.