Publication
Waterville, Maine : Thorndike Press, A part of Gale, Cengage Learning, 2013.
Collection
Call number
Large Print Fiction F
Physical description
621 p.; 23 cm
Status
Available
Call number
Description
A tale inspired by the marriage of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald follows their union in defiance of her father's opposition and her abandonment of the provincial finery of her upbringing in favor of a scandalous flapper identity that gains her entry into the literary party scenes of New York, Paris and the French Riviera.
Subjects
User reviews
LibraryThing member TheJeanette
This is Zelda Lite. I think it will be absolute perfection for readers who just want a quick romp through the years of Zelda's life that are most relevant to her role as the wife of a famous and very troubled writer. There's almost nothing about her life before she met Scott, and only a brief
What you get here is a look at the years when the Fitzgeralds were the golden couple, and Zelda was the Jazz Age Priestess. These years were followed by the long decline of their relationship, exacerbated by their peripatetic lifestyle, Scott's worsening alcoholism, and Zelda's troubles with what may or may not have been mental illness.
Fowler takes us back in time and lets us hang out with these people and see the challenges and temptations they faced as products of their era. The author has a real flair for dialogue, and a wonderful ability to create a sense of time and place using just the right amount of period detail. If you love historical fiction that never gets boring, you're going to love this novel.
Just prior to receiving this novel, I read two biographies of Zelda. If you've read much nonfiction about her, you may find yourself puzzling over why certain key people and events were barely mentioned or entirely left out of this novel.
You may also find, as I did, that the way Fowler portrays Zelda does not match your interpretation of her personality. This was especially noticeable for me because the novel is written in the first person, using Zelda's voice. I would have preferred a third-person narrative, which might have allowed us to get closer to some of the other characters. On the whole, though, I found that my previous reading enhanced my enjoyment of the novel. I was able to fill in the gaps with what I gleaned from nonfiction accounts.
I'm inclined to believe that both Ernest Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald were even more diabolical in their treatment of Zelda than is shown in this novel. Their badgering and cruelty were huge contributing factors to her nervousness and emotional instability, as well as to the general perception that she was "crazy." This opinion comes largely from my reading of Sally Cline's excellent work, Zelda Fitzgerald: Her Voice in Paradise. I have not yet read any biographies of Scott. My understanding is that his biographers portray him in a much more favorable and sympathetic light.
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Afterword covering the years after Scott died in 1940 until her death in 1948. What you get here is a look at the years when the Fitzgeralds were the golden couple, and Zelda was the Jazz Age Priestess. These years were followed by the long decline of their relationship, exacerbated by their peripatetic lifestyle, Scott's worsening alcoholism, and Zelda's troubles with what may or may not have been mental illness.
Fowler takes us back in time and lets us hang out with these people and see the challenges and temptations they faced as products of their era. The author has a real flair for dialogue, and a wonderful ability to create a sense of time and place using just the right amount of period detail. If you love historical fiction that never gets boring, you're going to love this novel.
Just prior to receiving this novel, I read two biographies of Zelda. If you've read much nonfiction about her, you may find yourself puzzling over why certain key people and events were barely mentioned or entirely left out of this novel.
You may also find, as I did, that the way Fowler portrays Zelda does not match your interpretation of her personality. This was especially noticeable for me because the novel is written in the first person, using Zelda's voice. I would have preferred a third-person narrative, which might have allowed us to get closer to some of the other characters. On the whole, though, I found that my previous reading enhanced my enjoyment of the novel. I was able to fill in the gaps with what I gleaned from nonfiction accounts.
I'm inclined to believe that both Ernest Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald were even more diabolical in their treatment of Zelda than is shown in this novel. Their badgering and cruelty were huge contributing factors to her nervousness and emotional instability, as well as to the general perception that she was "crazy." This opinion comes largely from my reading of Sally Cline's excellent work, Zelda Fitzgerald: Her Voice in Paradise. I have not yet read any biographies of Scott. My understanding is that his biographers portray him in a much more favorable and sympathetic light.
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LibraryThing member CSMcMahon
I adored this book. I love all things related to the 1920s and Fitzgerald is one of my favorite authors. I have lost count on the number of times I have read The Great Gatsby. I knew a little about the golden couple of the Jazz Age but I always thought of Zelda as Scott's crazy wife.
I found myself
This book has inspired me to go back and read Amanda Vaill's Everybody Was So Young: Gerald and Sara Murphy: A Lost Generation Love Story and more books on the Fitzgeralds.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to escape to another time in history.
I found myself
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feeling for Zelda. She was a complicated woman. Dealing with Scott's alcoholism alone is enough to understand why she needed help. I thought the section devoted to Hemingway was interesting as I always wondered why Hemingway hated her so. And really the author's depiction just gives me another reason to hate the bastard. This book has inspired me to go back and read Amanda Vaill's Everybody Was So Young: Gerald and Sara Murphy: A Lost Generation Love Story and more books on the Fitzgeralds.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to escape to another time in history.
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LibraryThing member michigantrumpet
F. Scott Fitzgerald is rightly heralded as the voice of his generation and his 'The Great Gatsby' is an essential entry on high school and college reading lists. In addition to his place as a man of American letters, he was friends with just about everyone else worth knowing from his time, from
Theresa Anne Fowler admittedly falls into the Zelda camp in her fictionalized account of Zelda's courtship and marriage with Scott. This book falls squarely in the Novel-of-the-Interesting-Woman-Behind-the-Flawed-Famous-Man tradition. Readers (myself included here) who enjoyed the recent accounts of the wives of Charles Lindbergh, Ernest Hemingway and Frank Lloyd Wright, will be drawn to "Z". Much of the book details the early years of Scott and Zelda's lives together. These are the reckless heady days of flappers and the Jazz Age, of which they were considered the First Golden Couple. We get caught up in Fowler's rendering of these fun times, parties and escapades. I especially loved reading about their lives in New York City, Paris and on the Riviera. Fowler also nails Zelda's deep antipathy towards Ernest Hemingway. In my view, the man wrecked havoc and inflicted horrific damage on the lives of so many of his friends and acquaintances, few more so than the Fitzgeralds'. He deserves the skewering Fowler metes out.
Zelda's illnesses and psychiatric issues were essential and defining aspects of both her and Scott's lives. Fictional renderings of madness and mental instability can be difficult to pull off convincingly. I applaud Fowler for her efforts. I wish the book had delved more into this most troubling and puzzling part of their lives together. Other readers have rightly felt chapters addressing their final years have none of the immediacy or scope of the first part of the book. This may not be much of a shortcoming as the book could quickly become bogged down in depressing and morose detail.
As a work of fiction, this was an enjoyable, quick read. How does this stand up to the historical record? Any writer about Zelda owes an enormous debt to Nancy Milford's 30 year old biography. Fowler is no exception and gives Milford a nod in her acknowledgments. Anyone having a further interest in learning about Zelda should seek out Milford's book, if only for her first person interviews and access to Zelda's medical records. Having read extensively about the era and its participants, I can say Fowler has done a fine job, especially describing Gerald and Sara Murphy, who are experiencing a renaissance of their own.
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Ernest Hemingway to John dos Passos to Dorothy Parker to Edmund Wilson to Edna St. Vincent Millay and everyone in between. Part of his fascination is as a flame which burned too bright and was extinguished too early. To that extent, his legend is inextricably linked with his wife, Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald. Many observers have been divided into two camps: Some, like Hemingway, insisting that Zelda's psychological instability kept Scott from living up to his literary promise and leading to his early demise. Others fall squarely into the Zelda camp, alleging Scott's alcoholism and insecurities fed into Zelda's illness and kept her from realizing her own considerable talent. Theresa Anne Fowler admittedly falls into the Zelda camp in her fictionalized account of Zelda's courtship and marriage with Scott. This book falls squarely in the Novel-of-the-Interesting-Woman-Behind-the-Flawed-Famous-Man tradition. Readers (myself included here) who enjoyed the recent accounts of the wives of Charles Lindbergh, Ernest Hemingway and Frank Lloyd Wright, will be drawn to "Z". Much of the book details the early years of Scott and Zelda's lives together. These are the reckless heady days of flappers and the Jazz Age, of which they were considered the First Golden Couple. We get caught up in Fowler's rendering of these fun times, parties and escapades. I especially loved reading about their lives in New York City, Paris and on the Riviera. Fowler also nails Zelda's deep antipathy towards Ernest Hemingway. In my view, the man wrecked havoc and inflicted horrific damage on the lives of so many of his friends and acquaintances, few more so than the Fitzgeralds'. He deserves the skewering Fowler metes out.
Zelda's illnesses and psychiatric issues were essential and defining aspects of both her and Scott's lives. Fictional renderings of madness and mental instability can be difficult to pull off convincingly. I applaud Fowler for her efforts. I wish the book had delved more into this most troubling and puzzling part of their lives together. Other readers have rightly felt chapters addressing their final years have none of the immediacy or scope of the first part of the book. This may not be much of a shortcoming as the book could quickly become bogged down in depressing and morose detail.
As a work of fiction, this was an enjoyable, quick read. How does this stand up to the historical record? Any writer about Zelda owes an enormous debt to Nancy Milford's 30 year old biography. Fowler is no exception and gives Milford a nod in her acknowledgments. Anyone having a further interest in learning about Zelda should seek out Milford's book, if only for her first person interviews and access to Zelda's medical records. Having read extensively about the era and its participants, I can say Fowler has done a fine job, especially describing Gerald and Sara Murphy, who are experiencing a renaissance of their own.
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LibraryThing member flourgirl49
This fictional account of Zelda Fitzgerald's life with F. Scott is told from her viewpoint and slants heavily in her favor and against Scott. Zelda seems to have been born about 70 years too early, as she chafed under the constraints that women dealt with and accepted as a matter of course before
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feminism became popular. Her husband blamed her for any problems he had - alcoholism, writer's block, infidelities, money - because she did not conform to the standards of the day for a wife and mother - keeping a "secure hearth" and subjugating all thoughts, desires and needs to that of the husband. Zelda suffered from mental illness which further fueled Scott's resentment of her. Scott comes off as an extraordinary jerk (I'd like to use a stronger word) - and at the end when he died, I thought "good riddance." Nevertheless, Zelda truly loved him and could never seem to cut the ties, unfortunately for her. This book presents an interesting perspective on these two very famous personalities. Show Less
LibraryThing member amandacb
I eagerly anticipated this book arriving from my local library and was the first one to (gently) crack open the new spine. However, I quickly became overwhelmed by the seemingly mundane Muffy and Biff-type characters that dominated the opening chapters. While I realize that is, indeed, the world
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the Fitzgeralds lived in, I was not drawn to it. Perhaps another time? Show Less
LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
There are some books that you love, that you do not want to end, that you savor slowly, that become good friends on your nightstand. This is one of those. I don’t know if I would have wanted Zelda for a real friend, but she had an infectious zest for life, and on the pages of this novel, she
The book opens with a prologue. It is 1940, and like voyeurs we read a letter that Zelda has written to her husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald, hoping they will see each other soon; both have fallen on hard times, both are trying hard to recover.
In chapter one, we are quickly thrown back into the past. It is 1918, and the book begins in earnest as Fowler skillfully leads us on a journey of discovery. Two icons, both placed on pedestals as much younger versions of themselves, share a passion that is vivid with the author’s skillful use of language.
What a movie this would make! I can see Zelda tripping down the street coupled with the dashing image of F. Scott, as he happily encounters her for the first time! It is kismet and their shared magic begins. It is a great read that will cross the genres, so it will not only wear the cloak of a biographical novel, but will also be a wonderful tale of love, devotion and loyalty in the face of triumph and failure.
Who can fail to love her? The artfully created dialogue captures the spirit and personality of Zelda and her great love, F. Scott, two very unique human beings who literally return to life as we read, growing closer and closer to each other, moment to moment, even as they grow apart, destroying each other. The reader will feel their eagerness, their free thinking joie de vivre, as well as their pain, sadness and disappointment, as though they were one with them, sharing their lives. Unfortunately, the couple’s lust for life left little room for the consideration of consequences, and soon, their decadent lifestyle took its toll on both of them. It would be their undoing.
You can choose your own interpretation of Zelda; there are many: willful, selfish, perhaps a little amoral, even immature, someone who pushed the envelope to the extreme in her quest to get the most out of life. On the other hand, you can choose to see her as the young southern belle, seduced and led astray by this worldly man from the north. For me, I chose the endearing, compassionate view of a multi-talented, appealing, but perhaps abused, often neglected and finally damaged, Zelda.
As “Loving Frank” and “The Paris Wife”, enthralled the reader with the imagined life of Frank Lloyd Wright’s mistress and Ernest Hemingway’s first wife, respectively, this book will capture your heart and mind and open a window into the world of Zelda Fitzgerald and the love of her life, F. Scott.
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became my friend. She was someone I longed to keep revisiting each time I put the book down. Her character was so animated and vivacious and yet so sympathetic and sensitively portrayed, that I wanted the book to continue in spite of how I knew it would end; I wanted Zelda to succeed; I wanted her to find happiness in the face of all the obstacles placed before her, to be indifferent to the times which were not that kind to independent women, nor was the attitude of many chauvinistic men! The author inspired me to truly care about Zelda. She came alive on the pages of this book.The book opens with a prologue. It is 1940, and like voyeurs we read a letter that Zelda has written to her husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald, hoping they will see each other soon; both have fallen on hard times, both are trying hard to recover.
In chapter one, we are quickly thrown back into the past. It is 1918, and the book begins in earnest as Fowler skillfully leads us on a journey of discovery. Two icons, both placed on pedestals as much younger versions of themselves, share a passion that is vivid with the author’s skillful use of language.
What a movie this would make! I can see Zelda tripping down the street coupled with the dashing image of F. Scott, as he happily encounters her for the first time! It is kismet and their shared magic begins. It is a great read that will cross the genres, so it will not only wear the cloak of a biographical novel, but will also be a wonderful tale of love, devotion and loyalty in the face of triumph and failure.
Who can fail to love her? The artfully created dialogue captures the spirit and personality of Zelda and her great love, F. Scott, two very unique human beings who literally return to life as we read, growing closer and closer to each other, moment to moment, even as they grow apart, destroying each other. The reader will feel their eagerness, their free thinking joie de vivre, as well as their pain, sadness and disappointment, as though they were one with them, sharing their lives. Unfortunately, the couple’s lust for life left little room for the consideration of consequences, and soon, their decadent lifestyle took its toll on both of them. It would be their undoing.
You can choose your own interpretation of Zelda; there are many: willful, selfish, perhaps a little amoral, even immature, someone who pushed the envelope to the extreme in her quest to get the most out of life. On the other hand, you can choose to see her as the young southern belle, seduced and led astray by this worldly man from the north. For me, I chose the endearing, compassionate view of a multi-talented, appealing, but perhaps abused, often neglected and finally damaged, Zelda.
As “Loving Frank” and “The Paris Wife”, enthralled the reader with the imagined life of Frank Lloyd Wright’s mistress and Ernest Hemingway’s first wife, respectively, this book will capture your heart and mind and open a window into the world of Zelda Fitzgerald and the love of her life, F. Scott.
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LibraryThing member mchwest
I won this book on BookReaporter.com and was thrilled having read a couple about Hemingway recently… This book however took forever to get into, very slow for about the first 200 pages, and still won't tell a lot of detail about how F Scott liked to write or gory details of his torment of not
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being able to get a book done. I hoped it would improve in the end but didn't ever get me going to know more or read anything I haven't already by Fitzgerald. I'm sure the up and coming movie might produce more interest. Show Less
LibraryThing member pjhess
This was a truly great fictional account of the life Zelda and F.Scott Fitzgerald. Takes you back in time to the glamor and glitz of the 1920's. Zelda and Scott were definitely not a match made in heaven but they certainly did give it a good try. Each had their own excesses and desire to be known
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for being somebody. Zelda I think was just a woman born before her time. There was no way she was going to just live in her husband's shadow and unfortunately during that time period that was pretty much all she was allowed. Show Less
LibraryThing member Beamis12
There is much to admire in this offering about Zelda, her life and of course her and Scott's lives. It is always great to read about this time period, all these writing greats, and always I am left wondering how if they were all forever broke, they managed to drink constantly and travel always. Of
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course it was hard to read of Zelda, her psyche crumbling and diagnosis of schizophrenia, her years in a mental facility.This is a well written book about interesting people who wrote many of the classics that are still revered today. My only little nagging complaint is that this Zelda is not as edgy as she has previously been portrayed. She is a little more sympathetic and a little more pitiful. Will appeal to readers of this time period and the authors that became famous from this group. Show Less
LibraryThing member MyBookAddiction
Z: A NOVEL OF ZELDA FITZGERALD written by Therese Ann Fowler,read by Jenna Lamia is a wonderful historical/autobiography set during the 1920'2. A powerful story of the Fitzgeralds,the Jazz age,the roaring 20's,love,the life and times of F. Scott Fitzgerald and his beautiful wife,Zelda. Their
~AUDIO Version~
*On Sale 3/26/2013*
* Published simultaneously with the print edition from St. Martin’s Press*
RATING: 4
HEAT RATING: NONE
RECEIVED BY: AprilR, My Book Addiction Reviews/My Book Addiction and More
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drinking,jealousy,obsession,fame,and Zelda's diagnosis of Schizophrenia and her stay in a Swiss Mental facility. An autobiography of a fascinating couple in American history,F. Scott Fitzgerald. I think we all have read "The Great Gatsby" in high school,but this story will make you want to re-read that story with a new look. Oh yeah, did I mention Ernest Hemingway. The reading of this story was very smoothly done, holding your interest. And yes the reader uses a Southern drawl often to carry the story. Being from the South, I enjoyed the Sourthern drawl. A wonderful and intriguing audio. Be warned: It may contain some offensive language to some readers! Received for an honest review.~AUDIO Version~
*On Sale 3/26/2013*
* Published simultaneously with the print edition from St. Martin’s Press*
RATING: 4
HEAT RATING: NONE
RECEIVED BY: AprilR, My Book Addiction Reviews/My Book Addiction and More
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LibraryThing member Loried
I found Z very interesting, especially having read both The Paris Wife and The Aviator's Wife and other readings from that time period, so this added to my impression of the 20's. I previously had known very little about the Fitzgeralds, so I appreciated learning about them and more about the time
I found the book well-written, and I think book groups will appreciate reading this book. I think there are lots of issues which could be great for discussions.
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period.I found the book well-written, and I think book groups will appreciate reading this book. I think there are lots of issues which could be great for discussions.
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LibraryThing member khiemstra631
Z is a fictionalized account of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald's life. It begins about the time she encountered F. Scott Fitzgerald for the first time and continues until shortly after his death. Written in the first person, the narrative has a tone of truth about it that makes for a fascinating read.
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Although Zelda was raised in the conservative south of Alabama, she turned her back on her upbringing when she left by train to go marry Scott in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. After that, life was basically one big party celebrated on two continents with no real home base. It all caught up with her eventually when she suffered a mental collapse and had to be hospitalized repeated for mental problems. The treatments caused severe side-effects that led to further hospitalizations, and she died in a hospital fire during the last of her stays. It's an amazing story that lovers of literature and history will enjoy reading. Show Less
LibraryThing member dawnlovesbooks
for fans of the paris wife and the movie midnight and paris! i found it a little slow at times, but overall it was a good read!
LibraryThing member Ccfoley
This book was slow going and missing a lot of emotional depth. I would like to have seen Zelda's emotions portrayed a bit stronger. Nevertheless, I loved the details of her and Scott's life and found the book very interesting.
LibraryThing member etxgardener
This year it's been all about Fitzgerald with the release of Baz Lerhmann's "The Great Gatsby" & this novel about his wife, Zelda, tells the oft-told story about the couple from her perspective. From author Therese Anne Fowler's point of view, while Zelda may have been a flighty debutant from
In this book, it's Fitzgerald who is the feckless alcoholic who we see making a fool of himself and squandering his considerable talent while Zelda tries to mend fences with their friends and coax him away from drinking and back to work. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle of the two extremes, which is why these kinds of works of fiction always send me to the non-fiction sheles at the library trying to fiind out the real story.
Still, it's good to se a portrayal of Zelda Fitzgerald that is more nuanced than the crazy woman who destroyed the brilliant writer's career.
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Montgomery, Alabama when she met Scott FItzgerald, but she was hardly teh mad schizophrenic lunatic of popular legend.In this book, it's Fitzgerald who is the feckless alcoholic who we see making a fool of himself and squandering his considerable talent while Zelda tries to mend fences with their friends and coax him away from drinking and back to work. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle of the two extremes, which is why these kinds of works of fiction always send me to the non-fiction sheles at the library trying to fiind out the real story.
Still, it's good to se a portrayal of Zelda Fitzgerald that is more nuanced than the crazy woman who destroyed the brilliant writer's career.
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LibraryThing member KatherineGregg
Z is very much like A Paris Wife and I enjoyed both. Zelda Fitzgerald narrates her story in this fictitious account of her short life. Scott and Zelda are young, glamorous and wreck less. They spend lavishly both home and abroad living well beyond their means. This is nothing new. What is new is
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Z's perspective from which the story is told. Z sees herself as an artist - writer, painter, ballerina and is obsessed with making a mark for herself, not just being the wife of her famous husband. If you like stories of the Jazz Age and of the expats living in Paris in the 1920s, you'll like this one. Show Less
LibraryThing member elmoelle
I found this book to be incredibly sad. It is historical fiction, telling the story of the famous jazz age couple F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald from the point of view of Zelda. Zelda began life as a pampered Alabama debutante, who acted a bit too spirited for the tastes of her judge father and
The sadness in this book comes from the repeatedly squelched efforts of Zelda to be more than Scott's muse and to express her own creativity. She writes, but her efforts are only published under Scott's name or with a shared byline. She paints but her work is not taken seriously. She dances, and is offered a spot in a regional Italian dance company but must refuse upon Scott's order that she make him and their daughter the priority. Soon after turning down this offer to dance professionally, Zelda is placed in a mental hospital where she is treated with insulin shock therapy and lectures where a doctor explains to her that the reason she was ill was because she had failed to focus on the sphere of home and husband, which would make her happy.
There are two reasons that I gave this book only three stars, one that might be idiosyncratic and one which might turn people off more widely. The first is that it annoyed me that because this book is characterized as a novel I never knew when the incidents were things that had actually happened. It was difficult for me to fully immerse myself in the narrative because I didn't want to trust the narrator, when I didn't know what was fact and what was the fiction. The second reason is that the author ends the book with Scott's death, which occurred at a time of separation between Scott and Zelda. A brief post-script discuses the creative outlets Zelda pursued after Scott's death and her ongoing struggle with mental illness. Given that this book is supposedly about Zelda it frustrated me that the story ends with Scott's death, at a time when Zelda may have finally been able to come out from his shadow.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in F. Scott Fitzgerald or the flapper lore that he helped give birth to. I would also recommend it to anyone interested in the genesis of women's creativity during the early 20th century.
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homemaker mother. At the tail of end of World War I she meets Scott, then a soldier just on the brink of beginning his writing career, and marries him, along with his promises of a glittering new life in New York City. Zelda follows him, first to New York, and then across Europe and the U.S. as he first becomes a golden boy of the jazz age and then plummets into a writer's block, which is fed with alcohol and an obsession with Hemingway. The sadness in this book comes from the repeatedly squelched efforts of Zelda to be more than Scott's muse and to express her own creativity. She writes, but her efforts are only published under Scott's name or with a shared byline. She paints but her work is not taken seriously. She dances, and is offered a spot in a regional Italian dance company but must refuse upon Scott's order that she make him and their daughter the priority. Soon after turning down this offer to dance professionally, Zelda is placed in a mental hospital where she is treated with insulin shock therapy and lectures where a doctor explains to her that the reason she was ill was because she had failed to focus on the sphere of home and husband, which would make her happy.
There are two reasons that I gave this book only three stars, one that might be idiosyncratic and one which might turn people off more widely. The first is that it annoyed me that because this book is characterized as a novel I never knew when the incidents were things that had actually happened. It was difficult for me to fully immerse myself in the narrative because I didn't want to trust the narrator, when I didn't know what was fact and what was the fiction. The second reason is that the author ends the book with Scott's death, which occurred at a time of separation between Scott and Zelda. A brief post-script discuses the creative outlets Zelda pursued after Scott's death and her ongoing struggle with mental illness. Given that this book is supposedly about Zelda it frustrated me that the story ends with Scott's death, at a time when Zelda may have finally been able to come out from his shadow.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in F. Scott Fitzgerald or the flapper lore that he helped give birth to. I would also recommend it to anyone interested in the genesis of women's creativity during the early 20th century.
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LibraryThing member KRaySaulis
For the last week and a half I have gotten into my car and stepped back in time. To a world of jazz and cocktails. Of flappers and Modernist Art. I have sipped champagne with Zelda Fitzgerald at The Plaza and discussed literature with Ernest Hemingway (who is a chauvinist pig, by the way) at a cafe
It's been a lovely couple of weeks with this beautiful novel on audio. I'd like to start it all over again.
"Z" is insightful and fascinating. I can't speak for its historical accuracy because I'm not very familiar with the personal lives of Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald but I hope that after I write this review and I start to research the facts I discover she is as strong of a researcher as she is a writer.
This is a novel that inspires and feeds a writer's mind. I have written three short stories in the last two weeks. All three were sifting through my brain long before I picked this book up, but something about suffering through Scott's struggles with writer's block inspired me to put pen to paper. Or perhaps its the knowledge that as a woman I should be grateful I'm allowed to put pen to paper at all. Either way, this book made me want to be a better writer. And to write more often.
I can think of only one critique. The ending. *Sort of a Spoiler* I think it should have ended on more of a Zelda note and less of a Scott note. After hours of learning just how much she struggled in his shadow, ending it with his death (prior to the afterword that is) just feels like one more loss for Zelda. Then again, it also makes it true to life I suppose. Even the afterword was much about Scott, right down to that last line.
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in Paris.It's been a lovely couple of weeks with this beautiful novel on audio. I'd like to start it all over again.
"Z" is insightful and fascinating. I can't speak for its historical accuracy because I'm not very familiar with the personal lives of Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald but I hope that after I write this review and I start to research the facts I discover she is as strong of a researcher as she is a writer.
This is a novel that inspires and feeds a writer's mind. I have written three short stories in the last two weeks. All three were sifting through my brain long before I picked this book up, but something about suffering through Scott's struggles with writer's block inspired me to put pen to paper. Or perhaps its the knowledge that as a woman I should be grateful I'm allowed to put pen to paper at all. Either way, this book made me want to be a better writer. And to write more often.
I can think of only one critique. The ending. *Sort of a Spoiler* I think it should have ended on more of a Zelda note and less of a Scott note. After hours of learning just how much she struggled in his shadow, ending it with his death (prior to the afterword that is) just feels like one more loss for Zelda. Then again, it also makes it true to life I suppose. Even the afterword was much about Scott, right down to that last line.
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LibraryThing member Quiltinfun06
Exceptional fictional biography off Zelda Fitzgerald wife of F Scott Fitzgerald. I really enjoyed this novel in the style of A Paris Wife. While the time frame and scenarios seems the same this follows the wife of F Scott. This is well written and researched no deserve a read. There is so much to
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be learned that we would never expect. It is extremely disturbing to me to discover that Zelda was driven to madness by her life with Scott. Show Less
LibraryThing member julia.flyte
This is the story of F Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Fitzgerald, narrated by Zelda. It opens about the time that they meet in Montgomery, Alabama in 1918, and concludes with Scott's death in 1940. The majority of the book is taken up with the crazy years when they travelled endlessly from New York, to
It took me a while to get into this book. My initial feeling was that Zelda was horribly immature and superficial, while Scott was obsessed with fame. I didn't find either of their personalities very appealing. However as the book goes on, Zelda becomes a more sympathetic character. Initially she loves the party lifestyle as much as Scott does and revels in their stimulating social circles. But gradually she starts to tire of it, especially after parenthood and health issues take their toll on her. This is when the relationship starts to go bad, as Scott resents her failing to keep up with him and complete her half of the "Golden Couple". When he befriends Ernest Hemingway, whom Zelda dislikes, that friendship also has a toxic effect on their relationship.
For the most part I found this book incredibly interesting and I loved the insight into this magic time that was the Jazz Era. However I felt that the author ran into problems when Zelda's mental health starts to fall apart. Until that point, Zelda has been portrayed as the more mature and sensible one of the pair, and the occasional incidences when all seemed to not be well - an attempted overdose on one occasion, throwing herself down the stairs when Scott was flirting with Isadora Duncan on another - are explained away as genuine accidents. Therefore her "sudden" mental collapse and diagnosis with schizophrenia feels completely out of left field and somewhat unbelievable. It's also hard to get a read on Zelda's artistic ambitions. I think we are meant to feel that Scott kept her from getting the credit and opportunities that she deserved, but there's also no indication that she had a great deal of talent.
So I'm in two minds about the book, but for the most part I enjoyed it - it's a fascinating story and has me wanting to re-read all of F Scott Fitzgerald's writing.
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Paris, to the South of France, hanging out with Pablo Picasso and Cole Porter and Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway and a host of other literary and artistic luminaries. Their marriage was tempestuous: at times glamourous and golden, at others a tangle of alcohol, infidelity and jealousy. Zelda was Scott's muse and he wanted their lives to reflect the lives of those that he wrote about. He also had no compunction about publishing her writing under his own name and belittling her attempts to establish her own artistic career.It took me a while to get into this book. My initial feeling was that Zelda was horribly immature and superficial, while Scott was obsessed with fame. I didn't find either of their personalities very appealing. However as the book goes on, Zelda becomes a more sympathetic character. Initially she loves the party lifestyle as much as Scott does and revels in their stimulating social circles. But gradually she starts to tire of it, especially after parenthood and health issues take their toll on her. This is when the relationship starts to go bad, as Scott resents her failing to keep up with him and complete her half of the "Golden Couple". When he befriends Ernest Hemingway, whom Zelda dislikes, that friendship also has a toxic effect on their relationship.
For the most part I found this book incredibly interesting and I loved the insight into this magic time that was the Jazz Era. However I felt that the author ran into problems when Zelda's mental health starts to fall apart. Until that point, Zelda has been portrayed as the more mature and sensible one of the pair, and the occasional incidences when all seemed to not be well - an attempted overdose on one occasion, throwing herself down the stairs when Scott was flirting with Isadora Duncan on another - are explained away as genuine accidents. Therefore her "sudden" mental collapse and diagnosis with schizophrenia feels completely out of left field and somewhat unbelievable. It's also hard to get a read on Zelda's artistic ambitions. I think we are meant to feel that Scott kept her from getting the credit and opportunities that she deserved, but there's also no indication that she had a great deal of talent.
So I'm in two minds about the book, but for the most part I enjoyed it - it's a fascinating story and has me wanting to re-read all of F Scott Fitzgerald's writing.
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LibraryThing member AdonisGuilfoyle
In the author's notes, Therese Anne Fowler writes that this is 'not a biography, but a novelist's attempt to imagine what it was like to be Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald', inspired by her 'respect and affection for both Scott and Zelda', and I would say she does a pretty fair job of conveying both
I am pleased that Therese Anne Fowler chose to write Zelda's story as a retrospective narrative, acknowledging the faults of both Fitzgeralds, instead of the superficial romance I feared this might be. The pacing flags a little during the middle years spent in Europe, but Zelda's 'voice' never wavers, maintaining a pithy yet poetic turn of phrase which echoes Zelda's own autobiographical novel, Save Me The Waltz.
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'characters'. I have been a casual member of 'Team Zelda' for a while now, since watching Natasha Richardson play her in a film and then reading a couple of biographies, but now I fear I may have been a little hard on Scott. He did lift most of his material from his wife's journals and their life together, granted, and then forbid her to use the same references in her own writing, but his own emotional instability probably precluded him from recognising his wife's creative talents. He was a man of his time, that was all. I do wonder what Zelda would have made of her life had she never met Scott, and whether she would have been happier in the long run, however.I am pleased that Therese Anne Fowler chose to write Zelda's story as a retrospective narrative, acknowledging the faults of both Fitzgeralds, instead of the superficial romance I feared this might be. The pacing flags a little during the middle years spent in Europe, but Zelda's 'voice' never wavers, maintaining a pithy yet poetic turn of phrase which echoes Zelda's own autobiographical novel, Save Me The Waltz.
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LibraryThing member kdabra4
When my husband took English lit. in college, he did a paper on F Scott Fitzgerald; and over the years he has talked about Zelda being this mad woman who was insanely jealous of Scott’s success, etc. Thus I really looked forward to reading this book, my first foray into Zelda’s world. Although
History tells that she had schizophrenia and spent years in and out of institutions. This book may make one wonder if it really was schizophrenia, or just the fact that she didn’t fit the norm of what a wife should be, and even if Scott just didn’t feel better about himself with her confined and out of way. This book led to quite a discussion (all right, argument) with my husband on that subject, I of course being on the side of the oppressed Zelda (Team Zelda) and he of course on Team Scott. It also prompted me to go watch the movie Midnight in Paris. All in all fascinating and I am so glad to have read it! Fowler’s writing was superb.
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not entirely factual, it is based on letters and known events researched by Therese Anne Fowler. I just loved Fowler’s rendering of the couple’s courtship and early years together. They both were intelligent, adventurous, interesting, clever (also reckless and self-centered), living in all the best places and socializing with the elite. Lots of name dropping and lots of drinking here. Their marriage seemed to be a genuine partnership, both having Scott’s writing career their main focus. But then Zelda grew restless and bored when Scott was either holed up writing or off partying. It was the 1920’s and a wife was meant to be a “wife” in the truest sense. The fact that Zelda had a remarkable brain and creativity of her own was something she wanted others to know, not just that she was the woman behind the famous man. When Zelda developed colitis or whatever that was, and had to stop drinking, the proverbial camel’s back began to break. No more drinking on her part led her to dabble in writing her own stories and studying ballet again, which became an unhealthy obsession. Scott had to find other drinking partners, one of which was Ernest Hemingway, who Zelda hated and blamed for the further break in the marriage. History tells that she had schizophrenia and spent years in and out of institutions. This book may make one wonder if it really was schizophrenia, or just the fact that she didn’t fit the norm of what a wife should be, and even if Scott just didn’t feel better about himself with her confined and out of way. This book led to quite a discussion (all right, argument) with my husband on that subject, I of course being on the side of the oppressed Zelda (Team Zelda) and he of course on Team Scott. It also prompted me to go watch the movie Midnight in Paris. All in all fascinating and I am so glad to have read it! Fowler’s writing was superb.
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LibraryThing member speedy74
In the tradition of The Paris Wife, Z fictionalizes the life of Zelda Fitzgerald,the wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald and the original flapper, a term coined by her husband. Z paints the world of the 1920s, the Fritzgeralds' many flirtations, parties, and occasions for alcohol. Their forays into art,
Fowler does a nice job of providing a plausible point of view for Zelda, who is portrayed as a woman caught in a time that relaxed some of the rigid roles for women, yet limited their freedom to pursue their dreams. Caught between her own desires to express herself and the expectations of society, Zelda often feels trapped by both Scott's expectations and what she could have been.
I found the book an engaging look at the roaring twenties and an entertaining read. It makes me want to read more biographies about the Fritzgeralds.
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dance, theater, movies and literature with many of the greats of the lost generation--all living their disillusioned lives in Europe. Fowler does a nice job of providing a plausible point of view for Zelda, who is portrayed as a woman caught in a time that relaxed some of the rigid roles for women, yet limited their freedom to pursue their dreams. Caught between her own desires to express herself and the expectations of society, Zelda often feels trapped by both Scott's expectations and what she could have been.
I found the book an engaging look at the roaring twenties and an entertaining read. It makes me want to read more biographies about the Fritzgeralds.
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LibraryThing member deblwalker
Very good read. I enjoyed the insight into the lives of Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald and how careful they lived. No matter whether they had money to pay their bills or not, they consistently lived a lavish lifestyle. I am amazed that she was such a good writer on her own without the recognition.
LibraryThing member avanders
Review based on ARC.
I was so excited when I won this book. And then I was even more excited when I read the first 10 pages and realized it. was gonna be. awesome.
I was so excited, in fact, that I told anyone who would listen what I was reading, what it was about, and what I thought about it.
Many of
That was the worst part about my experience with this book -- I got SO busy between reading those first 10 pages and reading the last 10 pages that I couldn't just SIT and absorb it all at once.
But that's also one of the things that was so impressive about the book. During my absences, Zelda and Scott's lives would merely pause, waiting for me to return. And upon my return, we picked right back up, as if we had not lost any time.. just as you would with an old friend.
This is an impressive historical fiction piece. Fowler clearly did her research, but so much more impressive is the absolutely believable, perfectly flawed, larger than life and exactly every day life, enraging and endearing characters that Fowler lifted out of the pages of history and put to life, dancing and fighting, drinking and arguing, laughing and crying, right on the pages in front of you.
Not only were the characters fresh and alive and warm and cold and just so tangible, but the writing was insightful as well. Perhaps Fowler got it wrong. Maybe Z was more casebook schizophrenic. Maybe she was straight-up crazy. Maybe Scott was brilliant and Z just brought him down. But it didn't matter. Fowler's story is believable and complete. Maybe it's not 100% accurate -- I don't believe any of us knows. But Fowler's story is one that I can accept, that I can believe. And it certainly felt more likely, more feasible, and more real than other renditions I've heard or read over the years. In the end, Fowler admits that it's a novelization, but as I walked away from the book, I thought that just maybe, Fowler did actually get it 100% right. Just maybe...
The only reason this book isn't a 5 star is that there were a few places that dragged. The story slowed down, and it felt more biographical in a few places than like the telling of a great story. But overall, I highly recommend. I recommend to people interested in history, in biography, in drama, in Gatsby, in crazy, in feminism, in masochism, in love, in tragedy, and in wonder. This book has it all.
See this and other reviews at Allbookreviewer.blogspot.com
I was so excited when I won this book. And then I was even more excited when I read the first 10 pages and realized it. was gonna be. awesome.
I was so excited, in fact, that I told anyone who would listen what I was reading, what it was about, and what I thought about it.
Many of
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my friends said they couldn't wait to read it, and a fair number of those even finished first.That was the worst part about my experience with this book -- I got SO busy between reading those first 10 pages and reading the last 10 pages that I couldn't just SIT and absorb it all at once.
But that's also one of the things that was so impressive about the book. During my absences, Zelda and Scott's lives would merely pause, waiting for me to return. And upon my return, we picked right back up, as if we had not lost any time.. just as you would with an old friend.
This is an impressive historical fiction piece. Fowler clearly did her research, but so much more impressive is the absolutely believable, perfectly flawed, larger than life and exactly every day life, enraging and endearing characters that Fowler lifted out of the pages of history and put to life, dancing and fighting, drinking and arguing, laughing and crying, right on the pages in front of you.
Not only were the characters fresh and alive and warm and cold and just so tangible, but the writing was insightful as well. Perhaps Fowler got it wrong. Maybe Z was more casebook schizophrenic. Maybe she was straight-up crazy. Maybe Scott was brilliant and Z just brought him down. But it didn't matter. Fowler's story is believable and complete. Maybe it's not 100% accurate -- I don't believe any of us knows. But Fowler's story is one that I can accept, that I can believe. And it certainly felt more likely, more feasible, and more real than other renditions I've heard or read over the years. In the end, Fowler admits that it's a novelization, but as I walked away from the book, I thought that just maybe, Fowler did actually get it 100% right. Just maybe...
The only reason this book isn't a 5 star is that there were a few places that dragged. The story slowed down, and it felt more biographical in a few places than like the telling of a great story. But overall, I highly recommend. I recommend to people interested in history, in biography, in drama, in Gatsby, in crazy, in feminism, in masochism, in love, in tragedy, and in wonder. This book has it all.
See this and other reviews at Allbookreviewer.blogspot.com
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Awards
Maine Readers' Choice Award (Longlist — 2014)
Lariat Adult Fiction Reading List (Selection — 2014)
Language
Original publication date
2013-03-26
ISBN
9781410457493