Sad and haunting, this book shows the emotional maturity Fitzgerald developed after his experience with earlier success. The extended period it took to write this is a result of his struggles with alcoholism and his wife Zelda' s mental illness, both of which are part of the novel. ( )

Classic

Bibliophilie rouge

Fitzgerald's tale of rich Americans in Europe between the two world wars is also a tale of Dick Diver, a psychiatrist in the early years of the profession, perhaps too weak to refuse temptation, or too eager to be 'good' to protect himself and others from their obsessions. The writing itself can be exquisite, and the story loops back and forth between the central present and the events that make it what it is. There's a lot of Fitzgerald and Zelda in this, but it's not actually their story. Money, alcohol, the recent destruction, all weigh on these sometimes beautiful people. ( )

The novels and short stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald seem to vary much in quality. I also wonder whether different readers favour different works. For instance, I loved The beautiful and the damned and This side of paradise, but I hated most short stories, and The last tycoon. Unfortanately, Tender is the night joins the works that I dislike.

While superficially the novel seems to be well-written, no story emerges in my mind. I cannot follow the story from page to page, nor from chapter to chapter, and the structure of the book remains a mystery to me. I couldn't even tell what the book is about. ( )