Scan barcode
ragnatela's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
A contradictory main character: vacuous, bewildered, self-confident, full of ideas and in search of ideals. Amory's behaviour annoyed me most of the time, then I realized I'm probably as incoherent as he is and maybe this is the exact reason I can't stand him.
The novel left me with a sense of confusion and incompleteness: maybe this was the author's goal, but I felt the need for a less indefinite conclusion.
(September 2024)
The novel left me with a sense of confusion and incompleteness: maybe this was the author's goal, but I felt the need for a less indefinite conclusion.
(September 2024)
jenntucci2's review against another edition
3.0
2 stars for boring, slow-moving, confusing plot. 4 stars for the gorgeous writing we expect from fitzgerald. This book had potential, I like the slow, dramatic downfall of the protagonist. He falls from his narcissism and loses almost everything.
deirdrecollins's review against another edition
4.0
a boy that praised himself on his appearance, knowledge, and beliefs. We see Amory grow up and while his beliefs change, they always go back to what he originally believed. he is so sure in his beliefs that while he is surrounded by people like Monsignor and Burne, he doesn’t feel the need to consider what they have to say seriously. at the very end he says that he only knows himself, that is all which i don’t even think is true. he knows the idea of himself, the creation of himself that he has made and deemed worthy to share to the world. his journey back to Princeton is evidence of this, that was his truest form and he wants to go back to a time when he felt secure in his identity when his life is currently falling apart around him. Princeton has stayed the same, boys trying to conform. he starts to acknowledge the hardships that he has been through but this is just the start. we leave him at the start of his journey of self actualization. it took him losing everything that he based his personality off of to realize who he was, a selfish child.
coffereads's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
mjs73's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs and Xenophobia
mahowarth's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
carolachiusi's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
travelling_bookworm's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
“I'm a slave to my emotions, to my likes, to my hatred of boredom, to most of my desires.”
---------------------------------
There is no one like Fitzgerald when it comes to giving the most glamorous, outrageous, jaded look to the 1920s, and his debut novel is no exception.
The whole book is essentially an existential crisis of a shallow, spoiled egotist and his quest to find himself a personality™. The fast, cutting dialogues between superficial yet deeply entertaining characters with their pseudo-sophistication, doing everything to fit in, are quite the treat. However (and this is a big however) there was entirely too much wanna-be-intellectual poetry recited for taste, with a strange 10 page rant about socialism for the big finish that came out of nowhere. It is a notable debut that no wonder put Fitzgerald on the scene, but it is not his best work (understandably so). It gets much, much better.
---------------------------------
There is no one like Fitzgerald when it comes to giving the most glamorous, outrageous, jaded look to the 1920s, and his debut novel is no exception.
The whole book is essentially an existential crisis of a shallow, spoiled egotist and his quest to find himself a personality™. The fast, cutting dialogues between superficial yet deeply entertaining characters with their pseudo-sophistication, doing everything to fit in, are quite the treat. However (and this is a big however) there was entirely too much wanna-be-intellectual poetry recited for taste, with a strange 10 page rant about socialism for the big finish that came out of nowhere. It is a notable debut that no wonder put Fitzgerald on the scene, but it is not his best work (understandably so). It gets much, much better.
champers4days's review against another edition
4.0
This Side of Paradise, with its witty, slightly incorrigible, yet clear and poignant writing style, had me completely enamored. Add to that the fabulously-written characters of Amory Blaine and his mother (how amazing is she!?!), and I was hopelessly smitten. I absolutely need to revisit this book again, and in the meantime, am going completely against the majority on this one and will state, for the record, that TSOP was more enjoyable and charming than The Great Gatsby!!!