The first half or so of this book was truly captivating and held my attention firmly.

However, as the story progressed and Zelda's mental condition took a turn for the worse, to the extent that she had to be hospitalized, it became rather wearisome.

Regrettably, there was no effective treatment available for her during that time, which meant that her prospects of significant improvement were slim.

Adding to the woes, Scott was also in a pitiful state, almost a basket case. This whole situation got a bit frustrating.

It is truly disheartening to think about the vast amount of talent that both of them possessed but had to go to waste.

It is indeed a very sad tale that leaves one with a sense of惋惜 and a feeling of what could have been.

Overall, while the beginning was promising, the latter part of the book was a rather melancholy exploration of the tragic lives of Zelda and Scott.

Reading Zelda by Nancy Milford has truly "flashbacked" me. It has made me catch the scent of something that I began to follow way back in our newlywed years more than fifty years ago. Back then, we were reading authors like Hemingway and Fitzgerald. We thought they, along with their wives and lives, were GLAM. Especially Zelda and Scott, who were the complete opposite of the frumpy, dumpy, and grumpy "grown-ups" we had grown up with. But the truth was, we hadn't grown up and didn't want to!

We were like Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, singing "I Won't Grow Up." We reviled those who were duty-bound and disappointed. Our goal was to play as hard as we worked and keep the passion burning. In other words, we were aiming straight for the kinds of trouble that the Lost Generation faced as they sipped absinthe in Paris. And like them, we did meet our share of demons eventually.

In the meantime, I met someone who had worked at the psychiatric hospital where Zelda had been a patient. She knew Zelda! And she said there was nothing glamorous about her by then. Her wild and wonderful days were long gone. Sadly, she died when Highland Hospital burned down, taking nine women with her, six of them trapped on the top floor. When we visited Asheville recently, we took a trolley tour that stopped at the site where Highland Hospital had once stood. Now, only a few stone steps remain. That was the closest I ever got to Zelda, until Milford's biography brought back the forgotten ways in which I had resonated with her way back when.

Like Zelda, I had chafed against the emotional restraint of my family and believed that anything done moderately was better left undone. I also identified with her desire to avoid becoming one of the legion of unhappy women, burdened by domesticity. And just like Scott and Zelda, my husband and I had our own height difference. A close friend's description of Scott as "nasty when drunk but charming when sober" also rang true for us. We both drank a lot, but like them, we were excessive at times.

As I read this book, I kept saying "me too." There were so many parallels with Zelda that I felt like an echo of her. She and Scott had started out with a jaunty confidence in life and in each other, and once upon a time, that was us too. We were so flagrantly determined to be like them, "a couple of nuts." But unlike them, we were pulled out of the swamp of alcoholism by a few of the Friends of Bill W. Reading this book was like seeing the BEFORE and AFTER of our lives. It made me appreciate even more that what had happened to them didn't happen to us. The author captured it well when she described the Fitzgeralds as "dazzling youngsters, charmingly self-promoting, with a cache of youth and stamina to rescue them." But then, life happened, and there were issues and illness. Zelda needed peace, calm, and reassurance, but Scott couldn't give what he didn't have. All of that could have been true for us, and it nearly was, more than once. For Zelda, marriage was full of fighting, but she still danced, with the help of God. And for me, it has been about singing, also with the help of God. Now, my goal is simple: to not silence the song.

This book holds a certain charm. It was copyrighted in 1070, and my used paperback version was printed in 1971. It achieved the status of a #1 bestseller, which I suspect was the driving force behind my decision to buy it when I chanced upon it in a used bookstore. The Zelda in the title, of course, refers to Zelda Fitzgerald.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part delves into her childhood, her courtship with Scot, and their life in the 20's as the quintessential Jazz Age couple, enjoying themselves in the U.S. and France. During this time, I didn't feel particularly sympathetic towards either Zelda or Scott. She struck me as frivolous, and he had a tendency towards alcoholism, which, combined with their socializing, hindered his writing.

However, the second part, which constitutes about 2/3 of the book, focuses on her mental breakdown and how he coped with it. This was when I began to empathize with them. Primarily through their letters, they revealed their vulnerabilities, and they became real people with serious problems in my eyes. Although theirs was a true romance, it was ill-fated, and their mutual exacerbation of each other's problems was frustrating.

Also of great interest to me was their connection to Wilmington and Baltimore. Scott's family hailed from Maryland, though he grew up in St. Paul, MN. His full name is Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, and I happen to live in FSK country. They rented a manor house along the Delaware River for a while, and I was able to look it up and discovered that its location was where the du Pont Edgemoor Plant was situated, where my dad worked when I first moved to Wilmington. Much of Zelda's treatment took place at Johns Hopkins, so they lived outside Baltimore (near where the Mitchells live) for a long time. I will be recycling this old paperback.

Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald is a beautiful enigma, and there is so much to learn about her.

All things related to Fitzgerald have always been fascinating to me. However, this particular perspective on Zelda has been quite enlightening. The book about her is not an easy read by any means. It has a scholarly tone and often feels somewhat clinical. But despite that, I found it to be well worth the time and extremely engaging.

It delves deep into Zelda's life, her relationship with F. Scott Fitzgerald, and her own artistic endeavors. It shows the complex and often tumultuous nature of their marriage, as well as Zelda's struggles with mental illness and her attempts to find her own identity in the shadow of her famous husband.

Reading this book has given me a new appreciation for Zelda and has made me realize just how much of an impact she had on the Fitzgeralds' lives and on the literary world as a whole. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the Fitzgeralds or in the history of American literature.

Bit of a slog this one. Milford bases her biography on an exhaustive trek through Zelda's letters to Scott and Zelda's attempts to establish herself as an author in her own right. The story is filled with Zelda's mental illness and Scott's rather controlling behavior, which is intertwined with his alcoholism and angst about writing. It's rather like a train wreck that persists and persists with no end in sight. Of course, there is an end to both their lives, and an early one at that. It's a slow spiral into oblivion. Co-dependency, schizophrenia, alcoholism, you name it. The party at the beginning must have been enjoyable at the time, but the payoff is not so great.

Zelda's letters provide a unique perspective into their complex relationship. Her attempts to become an author in her own right were overshadowed by Scott's dominance. His alcoholism and angst about writing added to the turmoil. Zelda's mental illness only exacerbated the situation. The two seemed trapped in a cycle of self-destruction.

Their story is a cautionary tale about the dangers of excess and the importance of mental health. It's a reminder that even the most glamorous lives can be filled with pain and suffering. Despite the difficulties, however, their story has endured and continues to fascinate readers today.

I need a moment to sift through after reading this.

This statement implies that there is something that requires careful examination or analysis.

It could be a complex text, a set of data, or a situation that demands a more in-depth understanding.

By taking a moment to sift through, one can better process the information and make more informed decisions.

It allows for a more thorough evaluation, considering different perspectives and details.

This process of sifting through can lead to a deeper comprehension and a more accurate assessment.

It is an important step in gaining knowledge and wisdom.

So, whenever faced with something that seems overwhelming or in need of further exploration, it is essential to take that moment to sift through.

It can make all the difference in how we approach and deal with various matters in our lives.

2.5 stars

My main takeaway from this biography is that Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald were both hot messes! I do have some sympathy for Zelda because she truly suffered from mental illness.

After achieving initial success as a novelist and writer, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald became the hot young things, living a carefree (or more accurately, careless) life of glamor in New York. It seems there was a highly performative aspect to their lives at that time. Scott was constantly preoccupied with his writing, and soon they left the city for what was intended to be a quieter life in a more rural area. This initiated a pattern of constant moving; whenever something wasn't working in the Fitzgeralds' lives, they fled.

Scott based all of his novels on Zelda and their life together, which I found vampiric. He wanted Zelda to have ambition and make something of herself, yet when she achieved any degree of success, he would become jealous and undermine her. When she attempted to write, also basing her works on their lives, he would lose his temper.

It appears to me that Scott and Zelda were one of those couples who couldn't live with each other, yet they also couldn't live without each other. Zelda felt the need to compete with Scott. Her interest in ballet developed into an obsession, and this was when her mental illness began to impact her life. Scott's drinking greatly bothered Zelda, yet he adamantly refused to reduce or give up alcohol. Scott is the epitome of a self-important "artist." Zelda spent approximately half her life in sanitoriums in Europe and the US.

This novel was informative, but it focused more on reporting than analyzing. There were long (pages-long) passages quoting Zelda and Scott's letters and journal entries. I don't prefer biographers to be overly forceful in stating their opinions, but in this case, I would have welcomed a bit more analysis.

No tinc paraules.

Una biografia icreiblement realitzada.

I had already entered the Fitzgeralds' marriage through their collection of letters, but this book... Zelda Zelda... if I was already in love with you when I read your love letters to your husband... now, knowing your whole story and all that you had to go through... you have won me over.

Nancy Midford manages to make the biography completely centered on the figure of Zelda: the extreme dependence (both emotional and economic) that she has on Scott; the frustration she feels for not being able to fulfill herself as an artist; the irrational envy she has of Scott and his work as a writer; her sick mind in which there seems to be nothing but madness... but above all the love for her husband and for her daughter.

A side of Scott is also shown that is not shown anywhere else. A completely drunk Scott is seen, insecure, frustrated and sometimes manipulative.

Really, Nancy Midford is completely objective: she doesn't want us to choose a side, and it's true that doing so would be a mistake. With the letters that the two lovers sent each other, it is already seen that the problem lies with both of them in different ways; but if anyone still wasn't clear about it, Midford makes it clear. Both Zelda and Scott are aware of their guilt and their shortcomings... and they are also aware of the shortcomings of their partner. It is clear that they had a toxic, destructive marriage... my question is... can there be love in this type of relationship? Was it love that they felt for each other? Or was there an extreme obsession on both parts?

What they felt for each other we will never know; only the letters they sent each other remain, the testimonies of their immortal love. If I had to answer the question posed earlier, I would say that yes, they did love each other. The letters are not at all flowery; they are one of the most honest things I have ever read: the highs and lows of the relationship, the withdrawals, the quarrels... and the love they felt are clearly seen in them. I think it is one of the most passionate and sincere loves that I have read and will ever read. In no way do I want to romanticize a relationship of this kind, but I like what this story represents: that love is not always beautiful, that sometimes it is destructive. Love cannot do everything.

I am currently re-reading Nancy Milford's ZELDA. The first time I delved into this remarkable book was during my very first honeymoon in 1985. I was lying stretched out on a chaise lounge, luxuriating in the gentle embrace of the early morning sun outside our hotel room in Aruba.

Tiny green lizards scurried along the lawn beneath my feet, adding a touch of liveliness to the scene. In the distance, the horizon of the ocean loomed, just visible over the gentle hump of the beach. To my left, on a small round white table, sat an enormous white cup of thick, cool coffee. This was the only cup brewed especially for any of the guests, prepared with care by one of the hotel workers, a fact that, much to my amusement, riled my jealous husband to no end.

It was in this idyllic setting that I began my journey with ZELDA. I had embarked upon reading it for a similar reason as when, just a year or two before, I had taken a course on racism as a mythology at WESU. My aim was to deconstruct my passionate love for Fitzgerald and view him, his novels, and stories in a more rational light, rather than with the blind adoration that had consumed me from the moment I first started reading his works.

As it turns out, F. Scott's wife Zelda was far more than just an inspiration or a crazy literature fan who could party with the best. She was an artist in her own right, grappling within the constraints of her marriage and the times, the 1920s and 1930s, in a quest to "find herself." This struggle paralleled my own in the mid-1980s when I read the book and had just entered into an uncertain marriage with a man I wasn't entirely sure I loved. Sadly, my marriage didn't endure, but my pursuit of self-discovery did, and my appreciation for this outstanding biography has stayed with me ever since.

Milford's ZELDA remains, to this day, the finest book about Zelda Fitzgerald and her marriage to F. Scott. It is a book that I have read and re-read, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to others. Regardless of your age, if you are a woman, you are sure to find echoes of yourself within its pages.

It's truly a challenge to review "Zelda" without delving into my thoughts on Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald and their intense, codependent relationship. However, I simply can't find any flaws in Nancy Milford's work. The fact that such a lengthy biography could maintain my interest from start to finish is quite remarkable, and that's why I'm awarding it five stars.

I first became acquainted with Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald a few years ago when I attempted to read several of Scott Fitzgerald's books. I couldn't bear the main characters in any of those books, and learning that they were semi-based on the Fitzgeralds in real life made me believe that they must be some of the most dreadful people ever. I read snippets about the turmoil in their relationship but didn't know much more, yet I was somewhat intrigued by how the fictional characters Scott created differed from the real people that many compared them to. It wasn't enough of an interest to prompt any in-depth research until I read Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast" and learned about his encounters with the Fitzgeralds. They sounded fascinating, which motivated me to read "Zelda," which had been sitting on my bookshelf for approximately a year.

So, I suppose I should now get to the actual review. My apologies. Milford briefly touches on Zelda's childhood, but the majority of the book focuses on her life after she meets Scott. I'm certain this has a lot to do with the fact that the latter part of her life is better documented. Milford is a talented biographer with a knack for keeping the reader engaged in the story she's telling. This isn't quite a biography of Scott, but it's difficult not to include his story while讲述 Zelda's, so you end up learning quite a bit about Scott along the way.

Zelda's story is incredibly sad, at least in my opinion. She isn't always a sympathetic character - sometimes she's downright unlikable - but I couldn't help but feel sorry for her as her husband borrowed liberally from her life for his writing, including using her journals and letters, and blamed her for almost every misfortune that befell him, both professionally and sometimes personally. At times, it seemed as if he even blamed her for her own mental illness. Reading about Zelda's highs and lows and her visits to mental health facilities was as heartbreaking as reading her plaintive letters to Scott after their relationship finally fizzled out, and her difficulties in connecting with her daughter, Scottie.

"Zelda" is just a truly SAD book, so I can understand why it wouldn't appeal to everyone. However, it does provide great insights into the lives of the couple behind the books I read (and surprise! I think I would dislike them just as much in real life, in their prime, as I did the characters in the books), and it offers a small window into how mental illness was treated approximately seventy years ago. It's a fascinating look into a complex life, if you can endure the melancholy and inevitable end.

(BONUS! I have now realized that I'm terrible at reviewing biographies. Yay?)

I have long been a partisan of Scott's, but I was truly surprised by how much I liked this. Somehow, I had become convinced that it would be a strident blamefest, demonizing Scott for having ruined his wife's life. However, in reality, it is a very balanced telling of a very unbalanced life. Zelda comes across as more sympathetic here, if not more comprehensible, than in most of the many Fitzgerald biographies I have read. Mitford begins by informing us of what is fairly obvious now (since the book has a 1970 copyright): that Zelda was misdiagnosed as schizophrenic when in fact she was bipolar. Against this background, I found it easier to accompany Zelda through her extraordinary journey.

This book is a must-read for Fitzgerald scholars and fans alike. Understanding the marriage, both its good and bad aspects, is an essential element in understanding the works of both Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. It provides a unique perspective on their complex relationship and how it influenced their creative output.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Fitzgeralds and their literary legacy. It offers a fresh and engaging look at a well-known story, and it will surely leave readers with a deeper appreciation for both Zelda and Scott.

4 stars.

This is an in-depth exploration of Zelda's life. It chronicles her journey from childhood all the way to her final days. The relationship she shared with Fitzgerald was a complex and toxic one, marked by jealousy, hate, and a love that seemed more centered around the idea of each other rather than their true selves. Zelda's story is a tragic one, filled with highs and lows. Reading about her life has given me a greater appreciation for Fitzgerald's works, as well as a better understanding of the women who often remain in the shadows. It's important to shine a light on these overlooked figures and recognize their contributions. I'm glad I took the time to read this and gain a deeper insight into the world of Fitzgerald and Zelda.