Rating: 
Summary: Not what I expected
Review: While I am glad I read this book, it left me with a nagging feeling of dissatisfaction. What I liked most was the author's ability to convey, usually brilliantly, a sense of the locations where the action took place, of the ex-pat social scene in the 20's, and of certain specific incidents in the plot. However, I had problems accepting much of the dialogue, which struck me throughout the book as being not only thoroughly dated but, I suspect, as having probably rung false even at the time of publication. Nor did I fully buy the portrayal and development of the main characters (except perhaps of Rosemary Hoyt). Nicole's mental illness was impenetrable all the way up to its sudden cure, and Dick Diver's "degeneration" occurs without any understandable impetus. Maybe that is how it is in real life, but it was not inspiring reading. At the end, what did I get from this book? - a vaguely depressing and, finally, rather forgettable story but some lingering pleasure from the beautiful descriptive passages portraying the Riviera and Switzerland during that era. I would suggest that anybody who reads this book also try "The Sun Also Rises" and see which they prefer....
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: Read my full review below, I just would like to make one ammendment - it seems my words might have been edited a small bit for space and I just want to make one thing clear - I recommend skipping the first portion of the book, makes it a much better read.
Rating:
Summary: Under special circumstances -5 stars- read on...
Review: The first thing you have to understand is that this novel is one big wreck. It's brimming (well, sometimes) with beautiful prose, but the structure is just loose and lazy, in a way that many people will not understand and therefore label the book 'complicated'. It's not complicated at all. You just have to stop trying so hard to understand every little thing, and relax and enjoy the bigger picture.... When I opened it up...and started... - WOW! - what an incredible book! Although it does trail off and start dissolving again. But take my advice, the middle of this book is where its worth lies. I've never recommended skipping part of a book before, but here it really works well. Also, I think it's important people understand that in many ways this is a poorly constructed and written book. But the critics like it in spite of that, as do I, because there's genius showing through anyway. If not for the beautifully flawed and human development of Dick and Nicole's relationship... the book would be pretty worthless, but they are there, a wealth of poignant, sensitive, real storytelling. Tender is the Night is a special gem because of its flaws, because it exemplifies Fitzgerald's desperate life, his cry to use youth for its genuis, it talks frankly enough about all this while at the same time being the sinking ship of technicality and madness and real life that hardly any author can avoid. It's 'human', in a word. It's not a masterpiece, it's a hodge-podge of human-ness. A worthless hundred pages. A brilliant, soul touching hundred pages. And then some lighter descent. It is something to experience and be curious about if you ever find the book around.
Rating:
Summary: good story, but...
Review: I should have read it with the reader's comanion. I wanted to read it on my own without any bias and I didn't want to dissect it. But it sounds like the reader's companion would have been a good choice, simple working as a kind of ''dictionary'' for the book, explaining references of the time, as well as locations and timelines. There were moments of truly beautiful writing injected into a sometimes confusing yet gripping story. (I'm sure the companion would have helped). If you take your time with it, it will work better for you. It was kind of surprising and amusing to see the little comments about women, no doubt the way most of society felt back then. For example, there was a comment something to the effect that most women want their opinions formed by men. We've come a long way, baby! By the end of the book, I didn't much care for Dick Diver. He seemed to think he was doing Nicole a big favor by being her husband. Yeah, that's a great attitude to have in a marriage. Also, he had this ego that had a big problem with the fact that she had money, even thought she never threw it in his face. Also his drinking and overall downfall seemed to be blamed on her. Geez, Dick, take some responsibility for your own actions! I couldn't help but root for Nicole. And even though we didn't get a lot of insight into Tommy Barban, I had the feeling he truly loved her for her.
Rating: 
Summary: censorship at scribners
Review: What I will focus on here is the fact that scribners probably ruined Scotts career. In later editions esp 1962, they edited passages and I am curious as to the difficulties Scott had in getting continuing contracts with them and elsewhere . Of course this work has brilliant prose by Scott: it is revolutionary in that it deals with incest and homosexuality(one of the parts that were edited in later editions.) The discussion of the treatment of mentally ill patients in the era are important , for he describes Zelda as one of the patients, and also links that patients problem to syphillis!! For interesting counterpoint of life in Europe i read Miller "Tropic" . They go hand in hand . Did Scott star in "Tropic" Read and decide.
Rating:
Summary: Fitzgerald's Forgotten Treasure
Review: The renowned success of The Great Gatsby (also an exceptional book) often overshadows the brilliance of Tender is the Night. The later being Fitzgerald's semi-autobiographical masterpiece that gives the reader a glimpse into the writer's frame of mind and personal struggles. "Tender" is a true testament to the author's talent and arguably is his most important literary effort. Dick Diver is a young psychiatrist; a follower of Freud and Jung who is working his way up in the field of mental health medicine. He is intelligent, handsome, altruistic, and an overachiever. Dick falls in love and marries the beautiful, wealthy Nicole Warren who also happens to be his patient. Dick and Nicole start out living the high life. They travel to exotic locations and mingle with aristocrats. All the while Dick establishes a successful private practice with the help of Nicole's money and becomes a well-respected and sought-after physician. But soon the happy front the Diver's display to the world crumbles. Nicole's mental problems begin to resurface and Dick becomes involved with a young Hollywood starlet. These events trigger a domino of disappointments and downfalls. Anyone who has studied F. Scott Fitzgerald the man will no doubt see that Tender is the Night mirrors his own life with his wife Zelda. Fitzgerald, a perfectionist in his own career worked tirelessly to establish himself. Meanwhile, he and Zelda traveled the globe, attended parties, consumed alcohol, lived extravagantly, and carelessly spent all their money before Zelda slipped into insanity leaving Scott to pick up the scattered pieces of his broken life. The character of Dick Diver grows to become cynical and is left feeling he is a failure. Sadly, six years after the publication of this book, Fitzgerald himself died prematurely believing he was a failure and destined for literary obscurity. It would be impossible for me to do justice in describing the splendor of Fitzgerald's prose. His passages are emotionally sweeping and his words strum along as rhythmically as fine music. If you have time for only one book this year, make a wise choice and consider Tender is the Night.
Rating:
Summary: I'm ambivalent
Review: If you like style and storyline, this is a pretty good book to read. If you like likeable or interesting characters and an absence of misogyny, this is not a very good book to read.
Rating:
Summary: Not a great follow-up to reading Gatsby
Review: My high school English teacher had a big thing for Lost Generation writers, and while I've taken on her love for Hemingway, I may need to read another Fitzgerald to get back into the Lost Generation as a whole. Tender is the Night was not what I expected. It took too long to get into, dragging the reader with one character and then dropping her half way through the novel to pursue the flashbacks about the main couple. I was totally bored with it. I give it three stars because I can respect the beauty of FS Fizgerald's prose, but the story just didn't grab me.
Rating:
Summary: An Absolutely Beautiful Love Story That's Gorgeously Written
Review: When I read this novel, I felt as if everything else I'd ever read was garbage. This is because Scott Fitzgerald had a way with words that was beyond compare. I would stop myself and reread pages because I couldn't believe that what I'd just read was so beautifully written. I never do this with novels! Beyond that, this is an incredible story involving breaking a taboo that has a frightful attraction rate. Dick Driver is a psychiatrist. Nicole is his wealthy, beautiful, younger patient. This is not a story about Dick's abusing Nicole as her therapist. Dick saves Nicole and marries her even though he is warned by his own mentor that such a relationship never works. It becomes quite clear as the story continues to unfold that Dick is the one paying an exorbitant price from his marrying Nicole whereas Nicole is thriving. The alcohol and parties among the jet set abound as they usually do in a Fitzgerald novel, set in the 1920s. By all means read this novel. I can guarantee that you will hold onto it for the rest of your life.
Rating:
Summary: i read for books like this
Review: i read The Great Gatsby 7 years ago when i was eighteen and thought it flat and completely uninteresting. So i decided to read Tender is the Night and was not expecting much. But seriously, I had no idea Fitzgeral could write with such depth and beaty. Almost every paragraph in this book is enjoyable, and some of the writing is just as breathtaking, and as origianl and pure as basically anyone... Interesting to me was the fact that this book reminded me of some of Nabokov's books that were also written in the 20's and 30's (particularly King, Queen, Knave and Glory). Perhaps it is the priviledged, European feel that Tender has, or maybe the painful lyricism of some of the passages, but either way he has earned the highest compliment by being compared to Nabokov. I believe I am the first to make this observation. This book, like On the Road, will have moments of energetic optimism and loveoflife while at the same time harboring a sense of impending doom and finality. This book will break your heart. It is just beautiful and sad and everything a book should be.
|
