"The Beautiful and Damned" Book Review

The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"In 1921 F. Scott Fitzgerald was twenty-five and heralded as the most promising writer of his generation, owing to the success of his first novelThis Side of Paradise. Recently married to the girl of his dreams, the former Zelda Sayre, Fitzgerald built upon his sudden prosperity with The Beautiful and the Damned, a cautionary tale of reckless ambition and squandered talent set amid the glitter of Jazz Age New York.


"The novel chronicles the relationship of Anthony Patch, a Harvard-educated, aspiring writer, and his beautiful young wife, Gloria. While they wait for Anthony’s grandfather to die and pass his millions on to them, the young couple enjoys an endless string of parties, traveling, and extravagance. Beginning with the pop and fizz of life itself, The Beautiful and the Damned quickly evolves into a scathing chronicle of a dying marriage and a hedonistic society in which beauty is all too fleeting.

"A fierce parable about the illusory quality of dreams, the intractable nature of reality, and the ruin wrought by time, The Beautiful and the Damned eerily anticipates the dissipation and decline that would come to the Fitzgeralds themselves before the decade had run its course."
(http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/762103.The_Beautiful_and_Damned)

I had not read any of F. Scott Fitzgerald's work since reading "The Great Gatsby" back in high school, which I plan on re-reading before the movie remake comes out in theaters in December.

I do remember enjoying his writing. His prose is witty and intelligent and humorous without being conceited. Mr. Fitzgerald must have been a very exceptional conversationalist and much like the main character of this novel.

WARNING! Spoilers!

I didn't favor the characters too much, but who can blame them for being greedy. Who wouldn't want that kind of money? I don't blame them for their conceits or their sinful ways. They got what they wanted, but it was obviously too late to help save their marriage or their love, if it was ever really present in their lives together.

They characters weren't amazing and I'm sure I wouldn't like them in person. His writing definitely saved this story for me. If it had been done by someone else, it wouldn't be nearly as interesting. It wasn't fun to watch them loose everything, but it was an interesting moral tale. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel, but i don't know if I can compare it to "The Great Gatsby". I remember that book was far more romantic, but I will see if I am right as soon as I get to it.


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