This is the first time
I read anything from F. Scott Fitzgerald. I won it in a spin, haha.
And it has also been a long long time since I read anything like
this. I read modern novels every once in a while, but most of them
are detective/crime stories, and not “normal” slice of life stuff
as This Side of Paradise happens
to be.
I
dragged myself through the first part of it. I must say that, it's
kind of cool for me, like a cloudy day. No, I don't know what I'm
talking about. I mean the story is monotonous, and I must say I don't
care a bit for Amory Blaine. Perhaps the first part lacks thrill in
it. But I kept going, because (1) I have to finish the book anyway,
(2) there are many references to poetry, and I love poetry.
The
second part, however, is more interesting. Actually I love to see how
the character tries hard to find himself, to be, as the book say, a
“personage” rather than “personality.” His philosophy flaws
here and there, and he knows well of that, exclaiming now and then
that he doesn't really know what he's talking about. It's a good way
to describe the way young people think.
The
ending is not a conclusion. Call me a child, but I love stories which
end well. It doesn't necessarily mean happy, but at least well. A
chaotic series of events ending with a conclusion. But although This
Side of Paradise gives a
conclusion philosophically, the plot doesn't satisfy me.
Being
fond of adventurous stories, I must say that I don't enjoy the book
as much as I enjoy Dumas of even Robin Hood Ballad. It doesn't mean I
give up on Fitzgerald. I will still read the Great Gatsby sometime
before May, and I do enjoy a change in my reading habits. Talking
about modern writers, I still have Wilde and Thoreau (if it's counted
as 'modern'), and I hope I will enjoy their works.
Nice review! I'm about 50 pages into it myself, and I don't like Amory either. I'm not sure I'm going to finish it, but it's good to hear that it gets better in the second part.
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