Rating: 
Summary: Perfect
Review: This Side of Paradise captured a human being more completely and honestly than any other book I have ever read. Amory Blaine is the main character, but he can't really be called a "hero" or a "protagonist;" he has all the same petty, self-centered, foolish thoughts at times that all real people have; he has ego problems; he has all the passion of youth and none of the direction of age that is sometimes falsely imparted on young characters by their authors. Do not read this book for a story, because it has none; it is rather a character study, the portrait of an ordinary and extraordinary human being, but it is one so undeniably brilliant and candid, so mind-stoppingly beautiful, that it should be read at all costs and as soon as possible by everyone who has ever looked in the mirror.
Rating:
Summary: The Education of a Personage
Review: Run or click, but don't walk to grab yourself a copy of THIS SIDE OF PARADISE. F. Scott Fitzgerald's first novel (published when he was twenty-three) is so glitteringly brilliant you might--I say MIGHT--just like it more than THE GREAT GATSBY. By the Gatsby masterpiece Fitzgerald was cutting back deliberately on his flourishing prose--read THIS SIDE OF PARADISE to see him let it all hang out.Fitzgerald's protagonist Amory Blaine inherits from his mother exquisite manners, a European sensibility, and a dangerous superiority complex. It is to Amory's credit then, that throughout his prep school and Princeton years he regains the respect his attitude loses for him through talent and hard work. His stunning good looks (a point repeatedly established) position Amory well to lose his innocence as a variety of beautiful girls fall for him throughout his adolescence. Looking back nostalgically later on, Amory is honest enough with himself to realize that he doesn't really want to "repeat" his innocence, but merely "want[s] the pleasure of losing it again." When I first read this book almost four years ago I shook my head after a few pages and said, "there's no accounting for genius." Much later I read E. M. Forster's ASPECTS OF THE NOVEL where he points out what I said as characteristic of the "pseudo-scholar." Yikes! The truth is that there is accounting for Fitzgerald's genius: it lies in his depth of insight, sharpness of wit and overall "will to bigness," as his narrator puts it for Amory. GATSBY is certainly the book that crowned Fitzgerald an immortal, but THIS SIDE OF PARADISE is a must-read for those who want to know what first made him a star.
Rating: 
Summary: Unimpressed
Review: I found this a trifle indulgent, not very economically-written. Chunks of it consist of two people sitting down and discoursing philosophy, basically the author putting forth his views directly through his mouthpieces. In one chapter towards the end, Amory Blaine gets into a car with two men - this scene appears to serve no other purpose besides letting him expound on communism to them. Also, this does not have much of a plot, which is something I personally prefer; admittedly, this was a literary experiment and not a linear novel. In general, I'm not saying this is bad; only that it did not interest me much. I would read this, though, for Fitzgerald's depiction of Princeton life - the breakfast clubs, midnight jaunts, arrogant students, the popularity race. Secondly, for his philosophical insights, which made me think (or try to). Then there are Blaine's romances with various girls, which is the liveliest portion of the book and gives us an idea of high society then. Lastly, for Amory Blaine himself - a memorable, striking character of self-absorption and constant self-analysis.
Rating:
Summary: in love with Amory Blaine
Review: I love this book so much, it kills me. I love Amory Blaine, with all his flaws and imperfections, that it seems I'll never find a man in the world, because this creation, of this man, was somehow a fiat from God. Usually after reading something that means very much to me, I get this strange sad feeling - After reading some of Hemingway, I thought he was such an adorable man, and wished he were alive... talk to him, anything, to appropriate some of that passion and that gift and that wonder for myself. I get the same feeling with T.S. Eliot... But Amory Blaine? Shoot! Can you fall in love with a literary character? With Fitzgerald, it seems you can. I'd rather sleep with who he creates than he himself. This was the first Fitzgerald I've ever read - then I read all the rest of his novels. Several times each. Because I want to be a writer, and am somewhat of a writer I guess, I can't say this is my favorite Fitzgerald novel AS A WRITER. But as a PERSON, a young person, perhaps it is. Or it's very close. This Side of Paradise is beautiful, ugly, brave, cowardly, immaculate, flawed. It's paradise lost and paradise regained and paradise in purgatory. It's everything life and man should or shouldn't be, all at once. I can perfectly understand why someone wouldn't like this novel, wouldn't understand, wouldn't appreciate. But I also understand that if all the world were Amory-ish or Amory-leaning, Amory-sympathetic, Amory-lovers, or even Amory-haters - somehow the world would just collapse and be ruined. And I think this is also a bit of what Fitzgerald was trying to impart, so it is as it should be.
Rating: 
Summary: This Side of Paradise
Review: This Side of Paradise was a very interesting book that shows the life of Amory Blaine from childhood through his early twenties.This book, written in 1920, shows how life was like in the new era of American history. It shows the wild new youth culture which involved drinking and casual kissing. This Side of Paradise is much like an autobiography of Fitzgerald's life shown through Amory Blaine. It tells of what his college life was like and his love for literature. This book expresses views of the social system and expresses the importance of discovering who you are and developing and growing as a person. My opinion of this book is that it was interesting, but it was very boring to read. There was very little action in the story that kept me interested. There was no suspense in the story that made me want to keep reading.
Rating:
Summary: A deep dive into a recognisable world
Review: I give this book 5 stars for several reasons: Fitzgerald puts his characters into words on a level I never experienced with any other author: His descriptions of thoughts, behavior and feelings of the characters are very accurate and colorfull. To this, Fitzgerald adds deep psychological insights. No shallow chatter about puberty and well-known theories, but a real , deep dive with a skilfull instructor is offered to those who read carefully. To me, Fitzgerald was like an exquisite but huge strawberry pie: Every bite is delightfull, but to enjoy to the fullest, you may not eat too much at once. I read a few pages a week, so I could let my thoughts linger on these for a while. As far as I'm concerned, this is the best way to read 'This side of paradise.' As if this isn't enough, Fitzgerald puts quite an amount of magic into his work: the meeting with a girl on a dark and stormy night in the fields, the devil staring at our main character, the mysterious relationship with a religious man, and so on and on. In short: Reading this Fitzgerald was a tiring but rewarding experience.
Rating:
Summary: A Novel for the Young at Heart
Review: This Side of Paradise is a novel for the young at heart, as it follows the life of Amory Blaine, a young man who is of the elite class. The novel traces Amory through his young life and the occurences he endures such as his many significant others, his struggle with the meaning of life, his military ventures, and finally his economic struggles. This work shows the true meaning of a man's spirit.
Rating:
Summary: almost a waste of time
Review: This novel is beautifully written, as are most of Fitzgerald's works, but the story line is disjointed and the characters have a disturbingly narrow, WASPish outlook. Fitzgerald writes a couple of fascinating scenes and does not pursue their implications.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible Tyranny of Tumbo the Clown
Review: Many may argue that the title of this review is nonsensical-I agree. It was a ruse. I found this book to be, most simply, erudite. This is a wonderful case where the book is merely a vehicle of message. I was not particularly attached to any of the characters and I was not meant to be attached. No character is ever truly developed and they, in effect, act as mirrors of the personality of Amory Blaine. Its just him from different directions. Even with them surrounding him-hes still not quite lovable as a character(However, I thought the concept of Amory was great).Noting this, I found the book insightful. Fitzgerald certainly had alot to say about the generation in question. He emphasized their feelings of disenchantment and emphasized this by the seemingly stale characters of the novel. He may have coined one of the best phrases that I have seen in such a novel-"I know myself, but that is all I know". Its a line I'll have to remember. Its a good read, sophisticated, and worth it for it's ambitions.
Rating:
Summary: Nice, yes; remarkable, not in the least.
Review: Being a 14-year-old, I thought that I would've probably liked this book - the main character being a young man who's really not sure of anything, as myself. But the book dealt a little too much with Amory's helpless egotism and conceitedness, thus lacking good storytelling - the damned thing never even reaches a climax. It even goes into a rather tedious part towards the ending which is almost written in the stream-of-consciousness technique, save that it's written in the form of prose and not in separate lines, as in Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury. All in all, the story was somewhat nice, but not as good as I thought it would be - keeping in mind that Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby.
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