This isn't really a review but more of a discussion about what a wonderful novel this was. The first of many novels to come from F. Scott Fitzgerald, this was written in 1919 when he was only 23 years old. This Side of Paradise is full of silly romance, wit, and insight all coming from the self-proclaimed intellectual, Amory Blaine.
There were several elements that I loved in this novel; the first being the honest portrayal of the young and confident protagonist who believes himself to be in love with every woman he dates but falls madly in love with the one woman he knows the least. The second thing I loved was the way in which Fitzgerald arranged his sentences- each one a masterpiece.
The novel is semi-autobiographical and Amory Blaine is based off the author F. Scott Fitzgerald. The timeline follows him from his youth, to his time at Princeton university into his early twenties. The book is divided into sections "Book One" and "Book Two" that organize the stages in Amory's life and the things that he learns about himself in each of them starting as a young egotist and becoming a personage. Amory tries to fit himself into different molds as most young people do but he does it with more practical thought than most and comes to his conclusion at a young age.
Amory was well-written. This is important to state since it's Fitzgerald's first novel and he wrote about himself. But it was not written over a long period of time. He was able to create Amory Blaine in his search for self discovery and understanding after likely achieving his conclusion "I know myself, but that is all" yet he was able to later write all the "steps"-for lack of a better word- that Amory took to get there. However, it is entirely possible that Fitzgerald, who wrote the novel after his breakup with Zelda, came to the conclusion at the end of his time writing it.
As a young person who believes myself to have much to teach the rest of the world, I found myself relating to Amory Blaine on almost every page. This may have been a reason I found much of what Amory had to say to be comical because I understand his far-fetched beliefs for the future he has ahead of him because he believes himself to be so intelligent. But the thing is, the more you know, the more you realize how much you don't know. Which is why I loved Amory's conclusion of "I know myself, but that is all" because no matter how much knowledge I or anyone else strives for, the only thing we can be certain of is ourselves and our mind. This of course doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to achieve knowledge because we should always strive to come close to the impossible ideal.
In my feeling of understanding Amory Blaine, I came across a line that he said that I identified with and have actually argued in an essay about taxes. The line is , "One minute they call Wilson ‘just a dreamer, not practical’-a year later they rail at him for making his dreams realities. They haven’t clear logical ideas on one single subject except a sturdy, stolid opposition to all change. They don’t think uneducated people should be highly paid, they won’t see that if they don’t pay the uneducated people their children are going to be uneducated too, and we’re going round and round in a circle. That- is the great middle class". Well Amory, I'm sorry to tell you that nearly 100 years later, we are still struggling for the same thing. Nothing has changed, nothing at all. Which is unfortunate for me to "say" to you since you advocated so much to change everything. But I suppose that's the great thing about literature, is that something in which someone was striving for can be left in the written word and picked up by others almost a century later. However, I just want to quote Holden Caulfield from J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" here by saying that I" wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of [mine] and [I] could call him up on the phone whenever felt like it." because I could probably agree with and learn from him.
I would recommend this novel for anyone who is young and has an interest in philosophy. There are lots of discussions about understanding yourself, your life, and the people around you. It's a coming-of-age tale that comes from more than just angst; it is so honest and true. And even if you aren't young or interested in philosophy, haven't studied any philosophy and don't have any views to support or oppose in the novel, you should still take the time read it because it's very beautiful and enlightening.
There were several elements that I loved in this novel; the first being the honest portrayal of the young and confident protagonist who believes himself to be in love with every woman he dates but falls madly in love with the one woman he knows the least. The second thing I loved was the way in which Fitzgerald arranged his sentences- each one a masterpiece.
The novel is semi-autobiographical and Amory Blaine is based off the author F. Scott Fitzgerald. The timeline follows him from his youth, to his time at Princeton university into his early twenties. The book is divided into sections "Book One" and "Book Two" that organize the stages in Amory's life and the things that he learns about himself in each of them starting as a young egotist and becoming a personage. Amory tries to fit himself into different molds as most young people do but he does it with more practical thought than most and comes to his conclusion at a young age.
Amory was well-written. This is important to state since it's Fitzgerald's first novel and he wrote about himself. But it was not written over a long period of time. He was able to create Amory Blaine in his search for self discovery and understanding after likely achieving his conclusion "I know myself, but that is all" yet he was able to later write all the "steps"-for lack of a better word- that Amory took to get there. However, it is entirely possible that Fitzgerald, who wrote the novel after his breakup with Zelda, came to the conclusion at the end of his time writing it.
As a young person who believes myself to have much to teach the rest of the world, I found myself relating to Amory Blaine on almost every page. This may have been a reason I found much of what Amory had to say to be comical because I understand his far-fetched beliefs for the future he has ahead of him because he believes himself to be so intelligent. But the thing is, the more you know, the more you realize how much you don't know. Which is why I loved Amory's conclusion of "I know myself, but that is all" because no matter how much knowledge I or anyone else strives for, the only thing we can be certain of is ourselves and our mind. This of course doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to achieve knowledge because we should always strive to come close to the impossible ideal.
In my feeling of understanding Amory Blaine, I came across a line that he said that I identified with and have actually argued in an essay about taxes. The line is , "One minute they call Wilson ‘just a dreamer, not practical’-a year later they rail at him for making his dreams realities. They haven’t clear logical ideas on one single subject except a sturdy, stolid opposition to all change. They don’t think uneducated people should be highly paid, they won’t see that if they don’t pay the uneducated people their children are going to be uneducated too, and we’re going round and round in a circle. That- is the great middle class". Well Amory, I'm sorry to tell you that nearly 100 years later, we are still struggling for the same thing. Nothing has changed, nothing at all. Which is unfortunate for me to "say" to you since you advocated so much to change everything. But I suppose that's the great thing about literature, is that something in which someone was striving for can be left in the written word and picked up by others almost a century later. However, I just want to quote Holden Caulfield from J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" here by saying that I" wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of [mine] and [I] could call him up on the phone whenever felt like it." because I could probably agree with and learn from him.
I would recommend this novel for anyone who is young and has an interest in philosophy. There are lots of discussions about understanding yourself, your life, and the people around you. It's a coming-of-age tale that comes from more than just angst; it is so honest and true. And even if you aren't young or interested in philosophy, haven't studied any philosophy and don't have any views to support or oppose in the novel, you should still take the time read it because it's very beautiful and enlightening.