I kind of have this love/hate relationship going on with Fitzgerald. On one hand, I love what Fitzgerald has to say. When I first read The Great Gatsby, I thought "my, what lovely symbolism this book has. What a great commentary on the decline of the American Dream." As much as I love to ramble on about the green light, and Dr. Eckelburg, I absolutely HATED Nick Carraway's narrative.

The love/hate relationship continues with This Side of Paradise. The problem that I had with this book is simple, and his name is Amory Blaine. I've seen dozens of comparisons of This Side of Paradise to The Catcher in The Rye. I will say this: Amory Blaine and Holden Caulfield are both depressed, disillusioned prats. They're both self-centred characters with no real problems, and yet they alienate themselves from the rest of the world for a heightened sense of "self awareness". Pfft. Not buying it.

What redeemed this book for me however, were the strong female characters.