Even in his first work he sure have the most beautiful language I ever encountered in literature.

This book is like a good material badly shaped. It has some really good moments and also some bad ones. I would say I liked the first 50 pages and the last 50 ones as well, but in between I struggled

Fitzgerald didn’t established his style yet in this book so it’s clear that he was trying many different ideas her which made the work lose coherence. That “play” style chapter at the beginning of the second part was very out of place in my opinion. And also trying to mention famous figures politicians and writers just to show us how well informed he was is annoying

Still the introduction to the protagonist in the start and the school + university parts were enjoyable. His interactions with Rosselda and Elenor were also good

I would recommend reading it for those who like Fitzgerald works and for the sake of his beautiful prose .

This book was hard. I am probably not intellectually mature enough for this, or, if I try not to be so self-depricating, it seems like Fitzgerald wraps his ideas in circling words that never quite make their point. I'll concede probably the former and not the latter. In other words - you guys, I don't get it! But it had some pretty moments -

Here's a very relevant one:
" 'Fifty years after Waterloo Napoleon was as much a hero to English school children as Wellington. How do we know our grandchildren won't idolize Von Hindenburg the same way?'
'What brings it about?'
'Time, damn it, and the historian. If we could only learn to look on evil as evil, whether it's clothed in filth or monotony or magnificence' " (p153)

Here's a pretty one:
"There is no more dangerous gift to posterity than a few cleverly turned platitudes" (p162)

Here's a feel-good one:
"No, sir, the girl really worth having won't wait for anybody" (p216)

And here's another relevant one:
"For the first time in his life he rather longed for death to roll over his generation, obliterating their petty fevers and struggles and exultations" (p245)

Let's close with that, since I have naught else to say.


P.S. Fitzgerald wrote this novel when he was 23, and that's how old I am.

“I know myself,’ he cried, ‘but that is all.”

This was Fitzgerald’s first novel and the one the catapulted him into fame and riches at the young age of 23. Whilst I don’t like it quite as much as I do The Great Gatsby, this still holds all the depth and details that I love in Fitzgerald’s work.

In this book we follow Amory Blaine throughout his young years, growing up and going to Princeton, and his young adult life trying to find his way. We see his many attempts at love and his failings and we see him try to understand himself as he learns more and more about the world and the way it all works. Fitzgerald really captures that sense of the unknown when you are in your early twenties and trying to figure out the path you want to carve in life. This book is pretty satire and Fitzgerald’s witty and lyrical prose is a pleasure to read.
His usual themes are present; wealth, doomed love, faith, society and even socialism. I must say I did find it a little jarring at times as the way the story is written changes and various intervals. There are pages of poetry, letters, even a segment written like a play. But overall it ended up just showing his merits and skill as an author.

I do hope to read all of Fitzgerald’s novels this year as he is one of my favourite authors. I can’t wait to experience some of his other stories.

(3.25/5) Reminiscent of the jazz age which I'm familiar with solely due to the film "Midnight in Paris", this book was Fitzgerald's debut novel.
A combination of Catcher in the Rye with Dead Poets Society, the first half was wonderful. I loved the character of Amory, full of himself but somewhat endearing and entertaining but the novel meandered endlessly in the second half. I grew bored of the shallow monologues and unnecessary lyrical chapters. I was restlessly waiting for it get over soon. Nevertheless, F. Scott's exciting and exaggerated life has always felt very interesting to me and this book helped me gain a closer insight into the author's personality as it was loosely inspired by himself.

Amory Blaine was always a selfish, unsympathetic child. He grows up to be a fine egotist, attending Princeton Academy and always becomes a victim of love in the end.

I am in love with F. Scott Fitzgerald's writing. I have been ever since I read The Great Gatsby. I would kill to be able to write like him.
His descriptions, his flow, are so beautifully executed that it takes some of the attention away from a boring and non-active story.
Okay, in my last status update, I said this book was amazing. Literally, right after that page, it slowly deteriorated into something like 'meh'.
If I had stopped at page 224, I would have probably given this book five stars. But those last forty pages...I could not make sense out of them. Maybe because I was tired but I wanted to finish it last night, that it just didn't make sense to me. But lordy, was that difficult to follow. The ending was disappointing and I almost wish he had ended it on page 224, because that was beautiful.

About around page 157 is where the book picks up and sweeps you into a heartbreaking love and the tragedy of lost love. After page 224, it's still interesting but kind of, I don't know, odd? Okay fine, up till page 234 was alright too but THEN, then it got goddamn confusing.
Fitzgerald starts to get far too political and I couldn't make odds or ends of it. Mind you, I was trying to read very intently, in order that I could understand what the heck they were talking about.

Anyway, the first 150 pages are pretty slow and at times, admittedly, confusing. But it is still a great book. Some of the things Amory and his friends spoke about could relate perfectly to what is going on right now, in modern time and culture. Even though it was written in the early 20's, so much of it can be connected to things happening now.

It's a story that shows being selfish and an egotist gets you nowhere, in life and in love. For you will know yourself very well and admire yourself, but that is all. That is all you would know.

Equal parts loathed and loved this book by America's most beloved author. I loved the dreamlike quality and the switching of verses from the standard novel, stories, poetry, play, and even a section drafted in Q&A format. Original and provocative, especially given that Fitzgerald was only 23 when he wrote this book. I could feel the greenness of his life, and how frightened he must have been of what the world had to offer.

I hated the arrogance and conceited attitude of the main character Amory Blaine- for I can't think of another protagonist that I hated as much I hated Amory. I also tend to hate novels filled with philosophizing and seemingly meaningless ramblings. For those things noted, I had to veer to three stars for this one.

Great debut novel featuring a highly intelligent, if somewhat lackadaisical, young man who's off to figure out his life. It's not so much meandering in form, but it is written to be episodic in nature, and this approach may turn some readers off to the complete experience. I quite enjoyed it, however, and I was otherwise floored by the technical excellence of Fitzgerald's writing. Every line was ingenious and descriptive, while somehow feeling buttery and smooth. Sometimes the sentences were so perfectly structured you could just roll them around in your mouth a while. It's savory.

Just as well, I did come away from the book having enjoyed Amory's character. He's a bit of a dandy, but Fitzgerald did well to communicate the growth of a young man who has to try and fail repeatedly to discover that he doesn't need all of the things he had expected to. Through trial and error, Amory learns to brush off and discard the lesser aspects of his character. It's a coming of age story that you don't need to be a part of the smart set to fully appreciate.

It builds steadily to an appreciably bracing conclusion, and that last sentence summed up the spirit of the entire work. Definitely worth picking this one up if you feel so inclined.

One of the things I loved about this book was the character development. We first encounter the protagonist Amory Blaine as a privileged young boy and we accompany him on his journey to prep school, university, and early career. Essentially, this is a coming-of-age novel featuring all of the customary rites of passage.

From the beginning, Fitzgerald describes Amory as a romantic egotist. Only in the last chapter does the egotist evolve into a personage, as he achieves self-understanding. One of the most fascinating elements of the maturation process is that Amory, whose first letter is a juvenile response to an invitation to a children's apple bobbing party, gradually becomes more sophisticated in his ability to communicate. Fitzgerald's ability to capture this linguistic evolution in all its subtlety is one of his singular achievements as an author.

Another fascination that the book has for me is its depiction of Princeton University (my alma mater) before, during, and after World War I. In the period of pre-war innocence, Amory was drawn to Princeton "with its atmosphere of bright colors and its alluring reputation as the pleasantest country club in America." Little did he suspect that his classmates would soon be marching in uniform in the gymnasium and shipped off to war in Europe.

The chapter describing his arrival on campus is called "spires and gargoyles." Amory is a dreamy, undisciplined student and social climber who wanders the campus in a daze and eventually pays the price for his lassitude by failing a class in solid geometry. He is still a dreamer upon graduation, but at least one who is better read than when he arrived.

As much as Princeton has changed since Fitzgerald's day, some of the campus traditions described in the book still exist. For example, ambitious students still try out for the Triangle Club (a musical group that tours the country over the holidays), the chairmanship of the Daily Princetonian (the student newspaper known as "the Prince"), and the eating clubs of their choice. Incredibly, reunions were already being held (the author recounts the quiet presence of a class that graduated shortly after the Civil War). Already back then, previous university president Woodrow Wilson had failed to abolish the eating clubs in an effort to raise Princeton's academic standards. However, Wilson did not entirely fail. He left behind two legacies: an undergraduate senior thesis requirement and discussion classes known as "preceptorials." Nevertheless, as far as traditions and some perceptions are concerned, the cliche still fits: plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

At the end of the book, having hit rock bottom in work and romance, a chastened Amory returns to campus--itself now transformed by the war just ended--because he considers it to be his real home. More than that, it represents a mecca and source of inspiration. Fitzgerald captures Amory's mood:

"Long after midnight the towers and spires of Princeton were visible, with here and there a late-burning light--and suddenly out of the clear darkness the sound of bells. As an endless dream it went on; the spirit of the past brooding over a new generation, the chosen youth from the muddled, unchastened world, still fed romantically on the mistakes and half-forgotten dreams of dead statesmen and poets. Here was a new generation, shouting the old cries, learning the old creeds, through a revery of long days and nights; destined finally to go out into that dirty gray turmoil to follow love and pride; a new generation dedicated more than the last to the fear of poverty and the worship of success; grown up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought, all faiths in man shaken..."

n  "It was always the becoming he dreamed of, never the being."n

Thinking back in time, I believe that I must have had ADD as a kid because when I was presented with all of the classics in school, I just didn't appreciate them like I am now, with the exception of Poe. Since I finished reading Of Human Bondage, I have had a thirst for devouring the classics and lucky me: it's like an extended Christmas since there are so many!!

When deciding on which classics to read my mind went first to F. Scott Fitzgerald, but not because he is considered one of the greatest novelists of all time, but because he settled for a time in North Carolina (my home state), while his wife Zelda was in an institution for schizophrenia. He stayed in Asheville at the Omni Grove Park Inn in room 441, which has not been remodeled since his time there and people can rent this room out to this day and feel the presence of Fitzgerald himself. I have actually had dinner here where you can eat on a veranda that overlooks the mountains and at one time could view the hospital where Zelda once was before it burned down taking her life with it. Enough about that though and on to the book...

This is a story told from the POV of Amory Blaine. It starts out when he is an adolescent and ends when he is a young man. As with many of the classics that I have been reading lately, this is mainly character-driven and he seems to be on a quest to understand his place in the world and to understand life itself. Of course, as with the other classics, this leads to deep introspection once he fails first at love, career, and convention. Once he is stripped of these things it leads him to finally think:

n  "I know myself, but that is all."n

That one sentence really packs a punch and narrows down the entire book. What I loved far more than the story or the characters within was Fitzgerald's poetic prose and I am not one for saying such things.

n  For a minute they stood there, hating each other with a bitter sadness. But as Avory had loved himself in Eleanor, so now what he hated was only a mirror. Their poses were strewn about the pale dawn like broken glass. The stars were long gone and there were left only the little sighing gusts of wind and the silences between...but naked souls are poor things ever, and soon he turned homeward and let new lights come in with the sun."n

Also as with most of the great classics there is the philosophy that decorates the pages and this one wasn't short of them,

n  "Sentimentalists think they want to be in the pure, simple state they were in before they ate the candy. They don't. They just want the fun of eating it all over again. The matron doesn't want to repeat her girlhood-she wants to repeat her honeymoon. I don't want to repeat my innocence. I want the pleasure of losing it again."

"To hold a man a woman has to appeal to the worst in him." That was the thesis of most of his bad nights...n

I love reading stories about the rich, or so Amory was in the beginning, that just wander the Earth looking for introspect. They tend to get heavy at times, but I love to read the rattlings of their minds.

Someone needed to tell F. Scott Fitzgerald to stop writing poetry and including it in this book as the work of his characters. You have to read it, because it's freaking F. Scott Fitzgerald and you don't skim the man's work, but honestly this was insufferable.

There were passages in this book that I loved, and parts that I couldn't put down: but overall the work seemed uneven. The plot structure wasn't really there. The whole focus of the book is simply one character's development as a person from childhood to mid-twenties, and that development isn't always believable.

That said, there was a lot of playfulness in this book that made it fun to read. Midway through, you suddenly have three chapters that are written entirely in play format. Towards the end you enter Amory Blaine's head with a series of questions and answers he's asking and answering for himself, followed by a page of stream of consciousness. These deviations, while abrupt, give effective, fascinating glimpses into the characters' lives that traditional prose could not deliver.

Recommended kinda!

Just when you think this novel is going to make up its mind to go somewhere or decide to be about something, it decidedly doesn't.

Our protagonist is a sort of upperclass everyman, brought up indulgently, then socialized and educated with others of his own set. His advantages rob him of personal vision and of any ambition other than to be admired (but not to earn admiration through effort or accomplishment). The whole book is wistful and crowded with short sentences: a sort of steady romantic drizzle overswept periodically with cold sleet.

About 15% of the text is devoted to lovely phrases, both keen observations and descriptions, and to poetry authored by the characters, some rather nice but none having much bearing on the story. This makes for pretty trim and, along with the sleeting sections that seemed about to flush a story out of the wet rambling melancholy, kept me reading. Unfortunately the good writing is counterbalanced by surges of name-dropping, especially of other authors (primarily Fitzgerald's contemporaries and immediate predecessors) and figures thought notable at the time; the vast majority of these persons no longer enjoy the relevance they apparently had then, so any power invoking them may have had at time of publication was wasted on me.

The whole book leads up to a punch-line ending with which the reader cannot agree, as there is no supporting evidence for it in all the preceding text. Fitzgerald may want us to think the protagonist believes it; if so, he's written a novel in which a bland, dispirited, and fundamentally uninteresting protagonist experiences mildly negative character growth, and has nobody to fault but himself (and possibly his parents).

took me entirely too long to finish when i could’ve done it it two days. i liked some parts. there was good analysis of the transition from teenage to adult years that i could relate to, but overall i was not very engaged or impressed.