The Diamond as Big as the Ritz (Dover Thrift Editions)
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 355)
Read in February, 2008
I loved Gatsby, but these stories are pretty awful. From what I've read, Fitzgerald was tearing off about one a week in order to make money. Within each story, there is a good idea, but it's not identified or developed by the author. Instead, there are characters that act inconsistently and endings that are ridiculous. They seem like long, rambling first drafts. It's too bad that Fitzgerald needed to sell them so badly for money--if he could have hung onto them for longer, he might have bee...more
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Read in January, 2007
The first two short stories in this collection are very good and to the point, but I'll need to reread that last three to get beyond the character studies. Perhaps it is the diversity in a very short selection that threw me -- there's only five stories in the book and all on pretty much the same topic, but they each feel distinctly different in style and purpose.
Fitzgerald captures an era of beautiful (shallow) people on the eve of prohibition, and while I'm still trying to figure out the po...more
Fitzgerald captures an era of beautiful (shallow) people on the eve of prohibition, and while I'm still trying to figure out the po...more
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
lit. lovers
Hello, F. Scott Fitzgerald. It had been a while. . .maybe since high school and The Great Gatsby. I really loved this collection of short stories. The writing was all good, (a bit dated language in places), but really amazing descriptions. The one about the crazy secret diamond/jewel/gold house and crazier family was delectable to read, ("Diamond as Big as the Ritz"), as well as the other stories. . .the southern gal in the ice cave was a good one too. I really enjoyed them all.
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Read in July, 1998
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz to me is the marquee story of the 20's. The language and prose is crisp and clear, and you can image the descriptions as art direction for a tux-and-flapper-dress movie or a series of art deco murals. The story is a great blend of high adventure as well as exploitive campiness. While the other stories still have that distinct art deco elegance, the Diamond story is just so over the top, like a Hollywood blockbuster.
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Read in February, 2008
The literary equivalent of a handful of diamonds. "The Offshore Pirate" was my favorite but they were all wonderful: "The Diamond As Big As the Ritz," "The Ice Palace," "Bernice Bobs Her Hair," "The Jelly-bean," "May Day." Fitzgerald's genius is evident in his short stories more than in any of his novels (save Gatsby, of course).
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Read in February, 2008
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Read in February, 2007
recommends it for:
someone who has nothing else around to read
i really just couldn't get into any of these stories but i'm a hard-sell with shorts. i have nothing to say about them. so it's stupid i'm typing this.
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Read in January, 2006
Some have, some have not, some have never... but we're all the same in the end. And they probably weren't happy anyway! Ha!
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recommends it for:
Whitney
A Diamond As Big As the Ritz is my favorite F. Scott story. I think you'll see why.
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The title story is frigging hilarious. I never knew Fitzgerald could be so funny.
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Read in December, 2006
I read it in Mexico City. Good, typical Fitzgerald themes.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 4.03 (304 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 4.08 (235 ratings) number of reviews: 13popular shelves
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quote
"Love is fragile -- she was thinking -- but perhaps the pieces are saved, the things that hovered on lips, that might have been said. The new love-words, the tenderness learned, and treasured up for the next lover."
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