Rating: Summary: It's one you will remember. Review: After telling my boyfriend "Tender is the Night" seemed so sad, he asked me: "So, why are you reading it?" Good question, but I knew. "Because I care about these people. I am involved with them now." Dick Driver will remain in your heart as one soul really trying to take care of the people he loves but not so good at taking care of himself.
Rating: Summary: Fighting Italian Taxi Cab Drivers Review: Dick Diver fist fights with insolent Italian cab drivers, calls an arabian princess a "spic," screws around with a hot young actress, insults dull society women, humiliates himself, destroys his life with affectation and affection that is unparallelled in literature. He is a Modern version of Pechorin from Lermontov's "A Hero of Our Time." Nicole Diver, his wife, is also well drawn by the master of the Jazz Age, but Dick's character study is the goldmine of this novel. I feel that the "madness" aspect of the novel is the dullest part, what Fitzgerald is truly interested in is catalogueing the slow unraveling of a talented, egotistical, alcoholic man, i.e. himself.
Rating: Summary: Nuh-uh Review: The book, ostensibly about insanity but in my opinion more about a writer trying to top a great book (Gatsby) with a greater one (and failing), is a nice cutaway to how people looked at craziness in the early years of the century. It also made the point--or at least I inferred it--that mental health is something that is always in a state of flux and something that is often used by the "healthy" as an excuse for beating up on the "sick." The plot is simple, boring, and hidden under several tons of thick, gooey prose: Doctor marries patient. Patient recovers. Doctor becomes patient, or at least comes unglued to the extent that he falls off into a downward, irretrievable vortex of professional failure and insignificance.If there's anything to "take home" from Tender is the Night, and I'm not sure there is, it might be that once we let go of other people's problems, our own really begin. I don't know about you, but for me that's all the incentive I need to hang on tight to others. I didn't like the obvious effort Fitzgerald put into writing "beautifully." If the effort shows, it detracts from the beauty--at least for me. And while I can't recommend it, I certainly wouldn't dissuade anyone from having a go, especially if patience is your long suit when it comes to literature.
Rating: Summary: THE MOST BEAUTIFULLY-WRITTEN AMERICAN NOVEL Review: I first read this novel 25 years ago. Its brilliant use of our language made me want to become a writer. Now, that is my profession. And each time I read TENDER IS THE NIGHT again, I am stunned by its beauty; and my early aspiration to be as fine a writer as Fitzgerald is renewed.
Rating: Summary: The finest American novel ever written Review: Fitzgerald's words are like music dancing off the page. He is easily America's most lyrical novelist and this tale about Dr. Richard Diver, his tragic wife and the young actress Rosemary Hoyt is amazing. The characterization and language set this book apart and leave Fitzgerald with Hemingway in a class by themselves among American writers.
Rating: Summary: Nice Book By Fitzgerald Review: This book was the book written right after the famous of Fitzgerald's writings, The Great Gatsby. Tender Is the Night took him six years to write and it was very close to his heart since some scholars believe that this book represented his down fall after his wife Zelda died. Also, many have stated that this is second best book, but I will say otherwise and call it his best book which he wrote. This book will seem very boring at the beginning because the main character, Dick Drive will not appear until the end of the second chapter, and will also talk about certain "plots" or other games which are not relevant to the story. Nevertheless, the plot will start to build when Rosemary starts to fall in love with Dick and the point where the story starts to cook with gas is at the Driver's party. Throughout the book, there are points that will leave you in suspense, and will also get you to motivate you to read more into the story to see what happens. One example is why did Dick marry Nicole. Though the story, their marriage has a facade over it, when they are around a crowd, they act with love and is flawless, yet when they are by themselves, it is a whole different world. They act very unfriendly, the couple do not really talk to each other or get into arguments. The Driver's marriage is not strong, and the weakness will lead up to chaos and the conclusion of the book. Also, in the book many subplots will make the book even more suspenseful to read. The subplots I believe are what keep you going in this book because it will show that true life is not just one problem (like having an affair) there are many. Some include, what happened in the restroom, why is Mr. North hiding, and the overall one, how did Dick and Nicole get married. When they are first introduced into the book, they do not give the answer right away, you must read and continue reading the solution to the subplot, and then will lead you to the main one. Finally, I really found this book to be a great one. The main characters are great, the story plot is good, but the only bad item is how it would throw me off the track when another problem arrived. The effort of the six years that Fitzgerald actually paid off, although he was not as successful with this book.
Rating: Summary: Tender Is the Night Review: I had to read this book in high school. It was a nice change to be able to read something by Fiztgerald because I had to read Macbeth and Twelfth Night which I thought was extremly boring. The characters in Tender Is the Night were real and the story line wasn't like all the rest. It seemed like Dick only married Nichole because she was mentaly disable and he thought his love would "cure" her. And she married him because she felt comfortable and loved, but that's because he was all she knew for so long. Reading this was quite difficult because it would skip from one scene to another. Dick Diver would have flashbacks of when him and Nichole were together, then when he first met Rosemary. It was all jummbled together so I didn't know when it was the past or present. It didn't end the way I thought it was going to, but I guess that's what made it so intresting. I would probably suggest to all readers to read it twice to get a good understanding of it.
Rating: Summary: When is the ending going to come? Review: The book was great. Honestly, for a required reading book, I really enjoyed it. I loved the way the three parts of the book finally made sense at the end. The relationship between Dick, Nicole and Rosemary is really cool. The ending is pretty good, even though I didn't expect them to get divorced.
Rating: Summary: A Golden Book from a Tragic Author About a Golden Era Review: Fitzgerald's lyrical gifts shine here, faintly tinted by a mellowing sense of tragedy. While 'Gatsby' will remain the seminal Fitzgerald, readers may find this novel a refreshing change from the revisionist, dogmatic, politically correct, feminist times in which we now are forced to live. The heart, of course, transcends all of these, and this is where Fitzgerald stands apart, and will continue to do so. He had a favorite phrase which he used to describe his approach to writing: "a romantic eagerness" and his prose style really does reflect "some sort of epic grandeur," as Bruccoli titled his book on F. Scott. Those who attempt to remake this novel in light of present times are missing its unique charm: the charm of an indolent, golden time which predates the soundbyte and the end of rational historical research.
Rating: Summary: An absorbing read. Review: Don't you ever wonder why somebody with so much potential doesn't make it in life. The pain is in watching a character who is sincerely charming become aware of his own shallowness. Right up to the last 50 pages I'm hoping Dick is going to pull himself together. He has flashes of insight but never enough to make any difference. They knew so little about mental illness and alcoholism it's really amzazing they were able to function for as long as they did. Fitzgerald's ability to observe human nature was acute. This was quite a narcissistic crowd but what an absorbing read.
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