F. Scott Fitzgerald: American Author Challenge

"And in the end, we were all just humans...Drunk on the idea that love, only love, could heal our brokenness."

"Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American fiction writer, whose works illustrate the Jazz Age. While he achieved popular success, fame, and fortune in his lifetime, he didn't receive much critical acclaim until after his death. Fitzgerald is now widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost Generation" of the 1920s. He finished four novels: This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, The Great Gatsby, and Tender Is the Night. A fifth, unfinished novel, The Last Tycoon, was published posthumously. Four collections of his short stories were published.
Fitzgerald died of a heart attack at age 44."

**This is part of our American Author Challenge 2018. This author will be read in December. The general discussion thread can be found right here:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/279501

As my final author of the year, I decided to go with a classic pick. He is not my favorite author, (and his name seldom pops up on LT, as far as I can tell) but after 5 years, of hosting the AAC, I thought it it would be appropriate to include Fitzgerald. I do think The Great Gatsby is a masterful novel. It has been many years since I have read it, so I plan on revisiting it for December. I also read Tender is the Night, but I remember nothing about it. I would also like to read This Side of Paradise, so I may try to bookhorn that one in, as well.

Anyone else have any thoughts on FSF? Thoughts on The Great Gatsby?

Your last author as a host for the AAC, Mark, a momentous occasion. I haven't read anything by Fitzgerald as far as I remember. I took The Last Tycoon out of the library, so will see how that goes.

>3 msf59: My records tell me I read The Great Gatsby---for the first time---back in 2010. I have never been properly drawn to the Lost Generation and its hopeless disillusionment with life, which is why it took me til my 50th year to actually read this novel. It is a masterpiece of fine writing. Although there are virtually no sympathetic characters in it, they were at least interesting, and their tragic story brilliantly told. It's a tight story of obsessive "love", pointless conspicuous consumption, and amoral living.

I have a collection of Fitzgerald's short fiction I'll be dipping into in December, and I may also read Tender is the Night.

I'm planning to give The Great Gatsby a go.

I didn't remember Fitzgerald was on this years list Mark. I have read The Great Gatsby 35+ times. It gets read most years now, it's my go to for fine writing, but in my experience most people shrug after the first reading, and wonder what all the fuss is about. But for some of us, the tickle to read it again occurs, and you see more of what is to be seen.

I will certainly read something for your final hurrah as leader of the AAC.

I've only read The Great Gatsby, and I remember writing a paper on the symbolism of cars in it for college freshman English. Wish I still had that paper so I could laugh at my pretensions....

I might pick up Tender is the Night.

I have BIG love for The Great Gatsby, and, like Caroline, had read it many times over the years. I plan on rereading that one and trying to squeeze in another.

I read The Great Gatsby and I am not a fan. It's the nihilism that gets to me. I am game to try another one. Not sure what yet.

I forgot to mention I started listening to Gatsby, narrated by the actor Tim Robbins, last week. I read it in high school and had a generally favorable impression though I didn't recall many details. The audio is quite good.

I gave Tender is the Night a start, but the style put me off, and the characters were uninteresting. I felt I could see where the story was going, and had no desire to follow along. Pearl-ruled. I'm going to dip into the short stories next.

>10 nittnut: >11 katiekrug: I downloaded one of the audio versions of The Great Gatsby. All editions were unabridged, but I downloaded the one with the shortest run time, and it was narrated by Anthony Heald. If I get into it and find I don't like the narration, I'll look and see if that one is available.

Well, I am in a bit of a reading funk, so not sure I am going to get to this. I want to though, as it's Mark's last AAC. I read Great Gatsby a few years ago and gave it 5 stars, so I would like to try another of his novels.

^I started my re-read of The Great Gatsby. It is working surprisingly well on audio. I like the timeless quality of this classic.

>11 katiekrug: I was unaware of this audio version. I think Robbins would be a perfect choice.

>14 banjo123: Come on, Rhonda! You can do it! Grins...

Last night I read "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". I have not seen the movie, but of course had the general idea of the story of a man who lives his life backward, being born at a great old age and getting younger as time goes by. It surprised me by being funny in spots. As a fantasy idea, it's intriguing, but Fitzgerald's rendition has a lot of holes in it; he simply skips over the tricky question of how a woman could give birth to a full grown man. In fact, Benjamin's mother does not enter into the story at all; she is never referred to as an individual, let alone by name, and only in 2 or 3 places as part of the collective "parents" or "the Buttons". Nevertheless, I enjoyed it, as its tone is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, and it was fun to see certain life situations set on their heads.

I finished an audio collection of short stories, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Stories. A different narrator read each story and they were all top notch. The collection includes "Babylon Revisited," "Three Hours Between Planes," "The Bridal Party," and "The Lost Decade." I thought the title story was the weakest in the bunch. More of a novelty than anything else. It reminds me of the kind of stories that Mark Twain wrote. The other stories have a melancholy tone. They all involve men renewing acquaintances with people or places after long absences. Some of the stories seem autobiographical, with the main characters coping with the effects of alcohol abuse and failed relationships with women. "Babylon Revisited" was the most heart-wrenching for me, about a recovering alcoholic trying to regain custody of his daughter.

I'm in the midst of listening to The Great Gatsby. I read it years ago. I don't love it as much as some do, but I thought I'd see if the audio brought a new dimension to it for me.

>19 thornton37814: I hope it is working better for you, in this format, Lori. I loved it on audio.

I finally finished my Fitzgerald book for this month. I chose The Last Tycoon which was the author's last book and unfinished. In his notes to the publisher he says it was more like The Great Gatsby than any of his other books. I agree. It was about an early Hollywood movie producer. Seeing the writer's process was an interesting part of this book.