anii0's review against another edition
3.0
Although a short book, it took me almost a year to finish because of reading breaks and an unwillingness to continue. However, I finally determined to finish it. I think the only thing that made me continue with this rubbish, and the only thing that made me give three stars, is that Fitzgerald writes wonderfully. Damn, even the most boring parts read like sweet lullabies. I feel the only reason I continued on with this book is just to read more of Fitzgerald's words; they're quite good. But the story, "poor" Amory Blaine, are not good no matter how much Fitzgerald tries to impress on his readers the idea that Amory's maddening life is worth reading about.
milli3's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
adambwriter's review against another edition
3.0
Reviewed at:
http://classiclit.about.com/od/fitzgeraldfsco/fl/This-Side-of-Paradise-1920-by-F-Scott-Fitzgerald.htm
http://classiclit.about.com/od/fitzgeraldfsco/fl/This-Side-of-Paradise-1920-by-F-Scott-Fitzgerald.htm
libraryofthecurlyheadedlady's review against another edition
2.0
There were many interesting ideas presented in this book. It did make me think even though I didn’t really agree with any of them. This story was pretty depressing, and not the good kind. It left me with an heavy, empty feeling in my gut. Which is why it’s getting such a low rating. Definitely a very subjective rating:)
cewhisenant's review against another edition
3.0
"You're a slave, a bound helpless slave to one thing in the world, your imagination."
This semester I am doing a self-driven challenge: to read all of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novels (and a few short story collections if I have time). I read exactly ten pages of Fitzgerald a day, every day. This was my first read of the year and I can say that so far this idea is going well.
I read The Great Gatsby way back in middle school, but I can say this is the first of his books I have truly read. The way the author captures human emotion, both the beautiful and the ugly, is glorious and his word imagery is pretty much unparalleled. I adore the writing.
The main problem with this book was that it was so inconsistent. One minute, I was raptly devouring it, the next, rolling my eyes at yet another philosophical rant. Honestly. One page I was singing the praises of a flawless beauty with a choir belting harmonies and the next I was facepalming so aggressively my friends worried it was a form of self-mutilation. The same went for how I felt about Amory, our main man. I loved him, I hated him, I loved him, I hated him.
Overall, very much so reads like a debut novel: with struggles and promise all wrapped up in a bow.
This semester I am doing a self-driven challenge: to read all of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novels (and a few short story collections if I have time). I read exactly ten pages of Fitzgerald a day, every day. This was my first read of the year and I can say that so far this idea is going well.
I read The Great Gatsby way back in middle school, but I can say this is the first of his books I have truly read. The way the author captures human emotion, both the beautiful and the ugly, is glorious and his word imagery is pretty much unparalleled. I adore the writing.
The main problem with this book was that it was so inconsistent. One minute, I was raptly devouring it, the next, rolling my eyes at yet another philosophical rant. Honestly. One page I was singing the praises of a flawless beauty with a choir belting harmonies and the next I was facepalming so aggressively my friends worried it was a form of self-mutilation. The same went for how I felt about Amory, our main man. I loved him, I hated him, I loved him, I hated him.
Overall, very much so reads like a debut novel: with struggles and promise all wrapped up in a bow.
swrevolution's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kewlpinguino's review against another edition
2.0
I like this one better in retrospect than I did while I was reading it. It seemed like Fitzgerald was putting all his effort into writing a full book that he forgot to make a flowing narrative. He went on to fix his shoddiness, but this one feels more youthful than [b: The Great Gatsby|4671|The Great Gatsby|F. Scott Fitzgerald|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1490528560s/4671.jpg|245494].
harleighc's review against another edition
idk if it’s just me but F.Scott’s writing absolutely sucks the life out of me. I’m in 7th grade, so I think certain parts and words go over my head. Other than that I think the main thing is the way his characters interact, especially main characters and side characters. For example, Rosalind and Amory bump into each other accidentally and start a deep philosophical conversation?!?!! I really liked Amory and Tom as characters, but when a character wasn’t meant to stay long term you could tell and nothing they did felt real. I also feel like this book is was unnecessarily flamboyant, which I get is a stylistic choice, but smaller parts were also left out and nothing happened logically. I still have no idea who Amory’s dad is and it’s driving me crazy. I also think progression of time was very hard to tell but maybe that’s because I read this so slowly. Either way, I hated reading this book with the exception of a few select Amory moments that I related to. I did a report on F. Scott and Zelda as people in school and the more I learned the more this book began to sound like F.Scott writing down his rants and occasionally adding some plot.