This Side of Paradise

Rating:
Summary: Love, Adoration, and Whatnot
Review: Fitzgerald is obviously one of America's greatest modern writers-his prose style and use of language is amazing and The Great Gatsby is a classic that everyone should own and re-read on a regular basis. Yet this book, his first, has one of the most obnoxious, least-likeable protagonists in American literature- Amory Blaine. Blaine is arrogant, self-centered, self-important, and a pompous windbag; yet not in an interesting way such as Holden Caufield. Also, Fitzgerald's description of the idealism of Ivy League life and society is so corny and hokey that it is difficult to read at times.
Of course, the book has its merits for the fact that it is the first novel of a great novelist and it contains the seeds of the literary style that he polished with later works. You can still find insights and character descriptions that lesser authors could only hope to create.

Rating:
Summary: amazing
Review: Fitzgerald's first novel, this book is a character description of one Amory Blaine. In terms of plot, there doesn't seem to be one - at least in the traditional sense. A lot of things happen, such as Amory's romantic exploits and induction to Princeton University.

The best thing about 'This Side of Paradise' is its beautifully-written prose. The description and narrative are poetic, almost sugary. That is what makes this book worth reading. Also included is insight into the times of turn-of-the-century America and the images summoned at the mention of the Roaring 20s. World War I, speakeasies, flannel suits and ballroom dancing are all events Amory experiences. If you've read the Great Gatsby, this would be a good follow-up book.

Note: There are a few typos present in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Caitlin's review
Review: I like F. Scott Fitzgerald's writing style because it consists of flowing conversation between characters and good character development. Fitsgerald was one of few authors in the 1920's who was able to capture a period of American history and paint a portrait of the new youth culture. "This Side of Paradise" is a character study of the protagonist Amory Blaine. Throughout the novel, Amory attempts to make peace with himself and find his place in society. Several times in the novel, Amory reflects what has on his road to self realization that convention, women, and money are the main elements that have influenced his life. Raised by an unconventional mother, Beatrice, Amory tries to correct her influence by indulging conformity. Eventually he discovers that a life full of conformity is full of emptiness and attempts to get back on the path of individuality. After many love affairs, Amory falls head over heels in love with Rosalind, sister of a former friend. Rosalind breaks Amory's heart by refusing to marry someone without great wealth. Amory Blaine eventually abandons women as a source of inspiration. By the end of the novel, Blaine finds himself penniless because of bad investments and no inheritance. With no money, Amory has to look harder for the meaning of life finding a source of guidance within himself. The last line of this novel, 'I know myself, '...'but that is all,' sums up the theme of the entire book. Mistakes are defined as experience.

Rating:
Summary: An introspective epiphany
Review: I realize that some reviewers find Blaine's selfishness and hubris offensive, and I ask, did you finish the book? He spells it out in simple english, though disguised as an afterthought, "Yes - I was perhaps an egotist in youth, but I soon found it made me morbid to think too much about myself."
This novel is the pronunciation of Amory Blaine's (read Fitzgerald's) emotional growth, sparked by the destruction of all the axioms that he thought he knew. He realizes at the end of the book (and the beginning of his life) that in order to matter, in the Descartes sense of the phrase, you need to make an impact on the lives of others. Blaine uses socialism as Monsignor used religion, to make himself indispensible to those that would listen to him, and so in some respect this novel is a blueprint for a good life lived, as any coming of age story should aspire to be. But above all, this novel is a doctrine of love. As Fitzgerald puts it, "yet the waters of disillusion had left a deposit on his soul, responsibility and a love of life, the faint stirrings of ambitions and unrealized dreams. But oh, Rosalind, Rosalind... It's all a poor substitute at best."

Rating:
Summary: Danielle's Review
Review: I really enjoyed this book. At first I was wondering how I could ever relate to a book like this considering it was written many years ago, but as I was reading I realized the relations to myself and the character. In this book the character Armory Blaine is basically finding himself. Although, he does not realize it through most of the book he spends much time in self wonder and development. Everyone goes through a period of this time in their life and I thought it was really cool to see a perspective of someone living in the 1920s way of self development. Many of his ideas and thoughts can still be related to situations today. Many people have issues with convention, love, and money. In Blaine's case they all came together and he fell down in a hole. He lost his money which lost his one love. Then he realizes his extreme amount of selfishness that we see through the entire book. Many times in the book Armory says how good looking he is, how good he is at sports, etc. Then finally at the end of the book he realizes that none of that really matters, he has to find the meaning of life. He says' I know myself, '...'but that is all,' pretty much sums up the theme of the entire book that knowing yourself is the most important thing in life. Material things and good looks don't really matter; you just have to be the best person you can be. He also shows that through all his mistakes in life, he has come out with the greatest knowledge of all by learning from those mistakes.

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: This Side of Paradise
Review: This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald's semi-autobiographical coming of age novel, celebrates the intensely felt victories and defeats of a privileged young man. The son of rich wastrels, Amory Blaine is convinced of his physical and intellectual superiority from a young age. He attends prep school in Connecticut, where he meets others of his class and learns how to impress them. He then moves on to Princeton, and here Fitzgerald shares with the reader a lengthy appreciation of what the school offers: tradition, a challenge, and the company of other talented young men from the ruling class. The story takes a brief hiatus when Blaine goes to war, which characteristically he interprets in terms of how it affects him. On returning home, he has a painful love affair that helps mature him.

Blaine is not a very sympathetic protagonist - he is selfish and unkind - but to his credit he doesn't pretend to be anything other than what he is. Also to his credit, he is sensitive to beauty everywhere, and he can see merit in others. Through his eyes, we meet a number of friends and lovers, and there are some remarkable characters among them.

Fitzgerald is a wonderful writer, and in this, his first novel, he seems at pains to prove it by extensively using poetry, letters between his characters, and the dramatic form to help tell his story. He does indeed seem very comfortable in all of these forms. Fitzgerald went on to write great books, and this one shows the impressive skills he had even as a young man of 24.


Rating:
Summary: Beautiful book for the young, or young at heart
Review: This was one of my favorite books when I was 15 years old. I read it several times and carried it with me around the dreary halls of the oppresive, boring land called High School. Even as a kid I sensed Fitzgerald's amazing writing gift: his effortless way of painting a visual picture in the mind of the reader. He was always extremely funny, off-beat and his charactizations are usually on the mark. Though Amory Blaine's psyche wanders a trifle after the first hundred pages, it's impossible not to gravitate towards him, the things he says and the stunts he pulls.

After 25 years I picked up the book again recently. Dusting off my old copy, I re-read the pages that had so captivated me as a teenager. Time dulls many things and people change. But I still love the book and think it's a brilliant first novel. Though it's sappy in spots and it definitely lags at the end, Fitzgerald still had a beautiful ability to harness the emotions of the reader into a world now vanished. It's not his most complete or mature work by a wide margin, but it matters not. This is still a great book, especially for young people or those still a kid at heart.