sarahsayre's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of my favorite books and sparked my interest in the Fitzgeralds
blakehalsey's review against another edition
4.0
Good biography--the last part of Zelda's life, she is in and out of mental hospitals, so the book gets a little monotonous toward the end. Still, she and Scott lived a fascinating, if not sad, life.
solspirit01's review against another edition
I kept falling asleep reading the book and I thought it would be paced faster. It’s for sure not that!
kricketa's review against another edition
5.0
So fascinating! I had read an awful lot about Scott & Zelda during the 20s, but this is the first thing I've read that really touches on Zelda's mental illness. Completely heartbreaking, but so eye-opening and well-written.
ladyofthelakes's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
mjsteimle's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
My main takeaway from this biography is that Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald were both hot messes! I do have some sympathy for Zelda because she truly suffered from mental illness.
After some initial success as a novelist and writer, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald became the hot young things living a carefree (or more acurately, careless) life of glamor in New York. It seems like there was a very performative aspect to their lives at this point. Scott was constantly worried about his writing, and they soon left the city for what was supposed to be a quieter life in a more rural area. This started a pattern of constant moving; whenever anything wasn't working in the lives of the FItzgeralds, they ran away.
Scott based all of his novels on Zelda and their life together, which I found vampiric. Scott wanted Zelda to have ambition and to make something of herself, and yet when she found any measure of success, he would get jealous and cut her down. When she tried to write, also basing her writings on their lives, he would fly off the handle.
It seems to me that Scott and Zelda were one of those couples who couldn't live with each other, but they also couldn't live without each other. Zelda felt the need to compete with Scott. Her interest in ballet developed into an obsession, and this is when her mental illness started to affect her life. Scott's drinking really bothered Zelda, and yet he adamatly refused to cut back on or give up alcohol. Scott is the picture of a self-important "artist." Zelda spent about half her life in sanitoriums in Europe and the US.
This novel was informative, but it did more reporting than analyzing. There were long (pages-long) passeges quoting Zelda and Scott's letters and journal entries. I don't like authors of biographies to be too heavy-handed in asserting their opinions, but in this case, I would have appreciated a bit more analysis.
My main takeaway from this biography is that Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald were both hot messes! I do have some sympathy for Zelda because she truly suffered from mental illness.
After some initial success as a novelist and writer, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald became the hot young things living a carefree (or more acurately, careless) life of glamor in New York. It seems like there was a very performative aspect to their lives at this point. Scott was constantly worried about his writing, and they soon left the city for what was supposed to be a quieter life in a more rural area. This started a pattern of constant moving; whenever anything wasn't working in the lives of the FItzgeralds, they ran away.
Scott based all of his novels on Zelda and their life together, which I found vampiric. Scott wanted Zelda to have ambition and to make something of herself, and yet when she found any measure of success, he would get jealous and cut her down. When she tried to write, also basing her writings on their lives, he would fly off the handle.
It seems to me that Scott and Zelda were one of those couples who couldn't live with each other, but they also couldn't live without each other. Zelda felt the need to compete with Scott. Her interest in ballet developed into an obsession, and this is when her mental illness started to affect her life. Scott's drinking really bothered Zelda, and yet he adamatly refused to cut back on or give up alcohol. Scott is the picture of a self-important "artist." Zelda spent about half her life in sanitoriums in Europe and the US.
This novel was informative, but it did more reporting than analyzing. There were long (pages-long) passeges quoting Zelda and Scott's letters and journal entries. I don't like authors of biographies to be too heavy-handed in asserting their opinions, but in this case, I would have appreciated a bit more analysis.
saraklem's review against another edition
4.0
My knee-jerk reaction is to rate this book one star because, like, what the shit, F. Scott Fitzgerald? I give your LIFE a one-star rating.
But alas, Nancy Milford did a wonderful job of portraying Zelda and Scott's absolutely fricked-up, codependent, abusive relationship and for that I commend her. She was detailed with her sources and citations, some might say to a fault, as some chapters did drag on, though ultimately I've decided it was fun to pick and choose which aspects of her life I'd like great detail on and which could be skimmed over.
The first half is cautiously entertaining - Zelda was wild and funny, but in a way that makes you cringe because you know she's on the precipice of a total breakdown. Then, needless to say, it takes a turn for the truly dark and leaves you feeling utterly dead inside. It's cool though, I enjoyed it.
But alas, Nancy Milford did a wonderful job of portraying Zelda and Scott's absolutely fricked-up, codependent, abusive relationship and for that I commend her. She was detailed with her sources and citations, some might say to a fault, as some chapters did drag on, though ultimately I've decided it was fun to pick and choose which aspects of her life I'd like great detail on and which could be skimmed over.
The first half is cautiously entertaining - Zelda was wild and funny, but in a way that makes you cringe because you know she's on the precipice of a total breakdown. Then, needless to say, it takes a turn for the truly dark and leaves you feeling utterly dead inside. It's cool though, I enjoyed it.
asteries's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced