The Beautiful and Damned (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)

A commentary on the wastefulness of youth with too much money, intertwined with details from Fitzgerald's life. Definitely not as good as The Great Gatsby or This Side of Paradise, but worth reading. The first 200 pages were slow reading, but the story picks up towards the end. I was left with a hollow and empty feeling after reading it - this book certainly does not inspire faith in humanity....more

A commentary on the wastefulness of youth with too much money, intertwined with details from Fitzgerald's life. Definitely not as good as The Great Gatsby or This Side of Paradise, but worth reading. The first 200 pages were slow reading, but the story picks up towards the end. I was left with a hollow and empty feeling after reading it - this book certainly does not inspire faith in humanity.    hide

Let's see. I adore F. Scott Fitzgerald, and enjoyed this book, though I definitely believe it could have been shorter. It deals with Fitzgerald's classic theme of the young, rich Americans who waste their lives in meaningless parties and frivolities. It definitely gets that point across, with well-rounded characters, but it could have been done in at least 50-100 fewer pages.

An interesting story, following a young couple of newly-weds, and their turbulent relationship and, ultimately, the tragic demise. Somewhat biographical for Fitzgerald, this is a good, long novel - however, in my opinion, not nearly as concise and sharp as The Great Gatsby, or Tender is the Night. Fitzgerald's prose is, as expected, masterful.

I like! I always wanted to read more Fitz, but put it off for years after being bored by his short stories. Books about vacant rich people always amuse me.