The Camel's Back

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Before a wide mirror Perry tried on the head and turned from side to side appraisingly. In the dim light the effect was distinctly pleasing. The camel's face was a study in pessimism, decorated with numerous abrasions, and it must be admitted that his coat was in that state of general negligence peculiar to camels--in fact, he needed to be cleaned and pressed--but distinctive he certainly was. He was majestic. He would have attracted attention in any gathering, if only by his melancholy cast of feature and the look of hunger lurking round his shadowy eyes.

Genres: Short Stories, Humor, American, Classics, Fiction, Audiobook, Historical Fiction

38 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1920

About the author

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, widely known simply as Scott Fitzgerald, was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age, a term he popularized in his short story collection Tales of the Jazz Age. During his lifetime, he published four novels, four story collections, and 164 short stories. Although he achieved temporary popular success and fortune in the 1920s, Fitzgerald received critical acclaim only after his death and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.
Born into a middle-class family in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Fitzgerald was raised primarily in New York state. He attended Princeton University where he befriended future literary critic Edmund Wilson. Owing to a failed romantic relationship with Chicago socialite Ginevra King, he dropped out in 1917 to join the United States Army during World War I. While stationed in Alabama, he met Zelda Sayre, a Southern debutante who belonged to Montgomery's exclusive country-club set. Although she initially rejected Fitzgerald's marriage proposal due to his lack of financial prospects, Zelda agreed to marry him after he published the commercially successful This Side of Paradise (1920). The novel became a cultural sensation and cemented his reputation as one of the eminent writers of the decade.
His second novel, The Beautiful and Damned (1922), propelled him further into the cultural elite. To maintain his affluent lifestyle, he wrote numerous stories for popular magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's Weekly, and Esquire. During this period, Fitzgerald frequented Europe, where he befriended modernist writers and artists of the "Lost Generation" expatriate community, including Ernest Hemingway. His third novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), received generally favorable reviews but was a commercial failure, selling fewer than 23,000 copies in its first year. Despite its lackluster debut, The Great Gatsby is now hailed by some literary critics as the "Great American Novel". Following the deterioration of his wife's mental health and her placement in a mental institute for schizophrenia, Fitzgerald completed his final novel, Tender Is the Night (1934).
Struggling financially because of the declining popularity of his works during the Great Depression, Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood, where he embarked upon an unsuccessful career as a screenwriter. While living in Hollywood, he cohabited with columnist Sheilah Graham, his final companion before his death. After a long struggle with alcoholism, he attained sobriety only to die of a heart attack in 1940, at 44. His friend Edmund Wilson edited and published an unfinished fifth novel, The Last Tycoon (1941), after Fitzgerald's death. In 1993, a new edition was published as The Love of the Last Tycoon, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli.

Reviews

[Daniel Clausen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Camel's Back - Review

It's not a book review...it's a party. It's the midst of the pandemic, but in this literary space are open-mouth kisses, hand-slapping, backslapping, ass-slapping, full body massages...By the way, I'm slightly drunk as I write this...drunk on the optimism of the 1921 Jazz error...era...the year is 2021, I've just taken a course in Carnegie pubic speaking, certificate and everything so in a fit of confidence, I'm rambling bout the secret of American success.

See...American has the best parties...but party is metawhore...metaphor for the excess of 1921...2021...but there is no depression that follows this story. Excess spells success...this could quite be the best short story ever written...a party makes you think everything is possible. Anything is possible!

I stand up on the table and I declare this to be the most amazing, stupendous example of literary...[book reviewer throws up in the punch bowl]...excuse me...the infectious error...era...that is 1921, yep, good times will be here again soon, and authors willing to write about those good times, people in camel suits, dressed as clowns, accidental marriages...it will be jazztacular...our jazztacular 2022...it will be wonderful...a party with 1921 excess will solve all our problems...

No...no...I'm not drunk sir. I've just lubricated my tongue sufficiently with the liquor that is fine literature...it's a meta...snoreeeeeee...[book reviewer falls asleep in corner].

[Andrei Vasilachi · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Me? Sure I'm goin', Never miss a party. Good for the nerves—like celery."

I laughed too many times during this alcohol-soaked mad esoteric short story. What the actual fuck, Fitzgerald.

Don't want to spoil it though, read it, it's short: https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/224/tales-...

[CATHERINE · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unexpected funny short story - I laughed out loud twice - goes to show that drunkness can lead to bad judgement no matter what age it is! Worth the read!

[Mela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, I did see some humor in here but I wasn't much interested in the plot.

[Sherry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it pretty entertaining and funny. I have read three of F Scott's books so far, and I hated the two, The Great Gatsby (But loved the movie) & Jelly Bean. This one was good for a light-hearted laugh.

[midnightfaerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

So...um...it was okay? A whimsical story about a man who dresses up like a camel after having a little too much to drink and goes to a costume party. With some funny results this little short story ends on a happy note. It took me a bit to figure out where Fitzgerald was going with this but I finally did. It was enjoyable, but not his best work. Easy reading though.

[S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore F. Scott Fitzgerald. Loved this! It made me smile throughout.

[- Jared - ₪ Book Nerd ₪ · Rating 3 out of 5]

In reading the title, I was wondering if it was referring to the idiom "the straw that broke 'the camel's back' ". Turns out, he clears that up at the begining. It's not a metaphor on the idiom, it's intended to be quite literal, meaning the rear half of the camel actually! HAHA! No spoilers here! You'll have to read it to find out how that could possibly be relevant to the story.

This is, by far, not F. Scott Fitzgerald's greatest work. But it is funny and entertaining nonetheless. I laughed out loud a few times. It's a quick and fun read that you probably wont regret reading. I found it very enjoyable.

[Louis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing. I keep expecting great stories from Fitzgerald, but the stories from 'Tales from the Jazz Age' all read like a mediocre Sunday show of an uninspired writer. It tries to incorporate humour and to set up a plot but falls flat on its face instead.

[Renita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Fitzgerald is genius and hilarious. Anyone who doesn't like is humour is an idiot

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun and humorous story. Plus, it is cute. Words I didn't really think that applied to Fitzgerald's writing.

[Toby Jaffe · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first half was really good, the second half was an absolute mess. Fitzgerald said himself that this was one of his least favorite stories that he had written.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

🖊 “The camel part of the story is literally true,” according to F. Scott Fitzgerald. Of that I have no doubt, for this story takes place in the 1920s, and those were some wild times (so I have heard). This short story is filled with humorous scenes that reminded me of those slap-dash, screwball comedies that were perfection in the late 1920s and throughout the early 1940s. I laughed and laughed at this clever story.
📙 This book was published in 1920.
🟢The e-book version can be found in Tales from the Jazz Age on Project Gutenberg.
✿●▬●✿●✿●▬●✿

[Gabs 🫧 · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

It was lighthearted, sort of funny, and is an amazing play on the phrase "to break camel's back". But beside that, there is not much to this story.

PS
If you want more stories like this - funny, weird, you kind of don't know what's going on till the end, etc. - you should check out The Dream Life of Balso Snell ;)

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got a decent laugh out of this one.

[Martina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Jayati Thukral · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a light-heart comedy. Honestly speaking, the part that made me hold on to it was the writing style. For a short story the details written plausible.

[Victor Zokvic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing special

[Deity World · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so funny… the camel costume made me laugh especially when the kid thought it was a strange dog

[Megan Beavers · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was....weird.

[Ray LaManna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice frivolous short story typical of Fitzgerald.

[Shayzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this, so fun.

[Caitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Odd, but humorous. I enjoy Fitzgerald's writing style.

[Geoff Foss · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a lot of fun.

[Lou Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

review coming soon

[Autumn Rybin · Rating 5 out of 5]

HILARIOUS.

[Jemima Piggott · Rating 5 out of 5]

ngl it was funny. books don’t usually make me laugh

[Rebecca Timberlake · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had no idea what this one was about, and I think I might have liked it more if I knew what to expect. I still liked it, of course, but it's probably one of Fitzgerald's weakest stories, and he even seemed to think so judging from what he said about it.

BUT- it is funny, and a bit silly, and good for a bit of fun reading you don't have to over-think.

[Syakirah Rashid · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked The Curious Case of Benjamin Button but this story wasn't just for me. I don't know if it's because of the writing style or the plot or it could be my lack of English to understand this story but The Camel's Back was boring for me. Glad that it's only a short story. Planning to read his other works, hopefully they are not as disappointed as this one is.

[Brian Yahn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The mediocrity of this story's prose astounded me. I did not expect that from Fitzgerald.

At times, the story is interesting and dramatic and absurd--which are all the things I love in a story. But for the most part, it's forgettable.

If you're reading Tales of the Jazz Age, maybe skip this one.