The Cruise of the Rolling Junk

by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Paul Theroux (Foreword)

Tales of Scott and Zelda roadtripping, finally back in print In an early series of journalistic pieces for Motor magazine, F. Scott Fitzgerald described a journey he took with his wife Zelda from Connecticut to Alabama in a clapped out automobile which he called the "Rolling Junk." It is a piece of writing whose style, in free-ranging alternation of fact and fiction, has been compared to Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat . This book collects together the articles as one text, illustrated with the original illustrations of Fitzgerald, Zelda, and the "Junk."

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Classics, American, Audiobook, Americana, Memoir

98 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1924

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

[Jonfaith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Scott and Zelda being careless people drive from Connecticut to Montgomery, Alabama in a deathtrap automobile: all for biscuits and peaches. Penned with an eye for the Saturday Evening Post it is rife with cornball humor and truly disturbing racist quips. I am normally more agile with such, but somehow in this context imagining a truly wide audience Fitzgerald is quick with tropes of menace and stupidity. I am glad the Post rejected the piece, though I doubt the decision was for reasons of moral rectitude. The writing simply isn't compelling or especially funny.

I had hoped to spend the day with Musil but at the moment I can't find the second volume. This was in the car and thus I chew on chagrin.

[Isabela. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Creo que este libro sería más divertido si quién hubiera escrito y contado la historia fuera Zelda.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

If F. Scott Fitzgerald had a tumblr, this would be what would be in it.

[Sophie VersTand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Falls ihr von Fitzgerald vielleicht schon mehr als ein Buch last und den starken autobiografischen Einfluss mochtet, dann werdet ihr mit "Die Straße der Pfirsiche" auf jeden Fall große Freude haben.
In dem 150-seitigen Büchlein erwarten einen 4 Texte.
Die erste beschreibt Zeldas und Scotts Reise in ihrem alten klapprigen Auto, daher auch der Originaltitel "The Cruise of the Rolling Junk". In sehr überspitzter Form wird hier die 1200 Meilen lange Reise des jungen Ehepaars zum Elternhauses Zeldas beschrieben. Fitzgerald kannte ich von seiner humoristischen Seite noch nicht so gut und war überrascht, mit wie viel Komik er diese Reise zu beschreiben vermochte. Sehr kurzweilig und zum Lachen. :)
Gerade im ersten Text glorifiziert Fitzgerald seine Frau sehr und lässt all seine Verehrung für ihre unkonventionelle Art durchblicken. Ebenso ist dieser Text ein kleines Novum, der das AUTOMOBIL als Statussymbol zum ersten Mal richtig offenbar macht in den 1920ern.
Die zweite Geschichte ist eine von Zelda Fitzgerald, die sie in einer Nervenanstalt schrieb. Dort beschreibt sie recht ausführlich ihre langen Reisen mit Scott rund um den Globus, gerade Europa und Nordamerika bereisten sie sehr ausführlich. Leider empfand ich Zelda Fitzgeralds Schreibstil am Anfang als sehr künstlich und gestelzt, erst am Ende bricht sie das Ganze mit feineren und stilsichereren Metaphern auf.
Der dritte Text ist ein Auszug eines Interviews mit Zelda und Scott, in denen die beiden sich ein bisschen selbst loben und in dem deutlich wird, wie wenig sie eigentlich ohneeinander sein können. Die beiden haben sich mit ihren Skandalen stets der medialen Aufmerksamkeit zugewandt und jede Facette ihres traurig-schönen Ehelebens offenbar gemacht.
Letztlich folgt ein kurzes Nachwort unter dem Titel "Zwei romantische Egoisten", in dem auf die beiden fatalen Charaktere dieses Ehepaares eingegangen wird. Der Fokus liegt dabei auf den Krisenjahren der beiden, in denen Scott sich mehr und mehr Alkohol und sexuellen Ausschweifungen hingab und Zelda nach 3 Nervenzusammenbrüchen in einer psychatrischen Klinik verblieb.
Diese größtenteils biografischen Schilderungen und Ansichten findet ihr alle in seinen Romanen wieder, das Ehepaar und sein Werdegang ist durchaus an Fitzgeralds Romanen ablesbar.
Das kleine Bändchen hat sich für mich als begeisterter Fitzgerald-Leser sehr sehr gelohnt! Empfehle es jedem, der schon etwas mehr von diesem Autor rezipierte.

ACHTUNG! Falls ihr "Der große Gatsby" noch nicht last, er wird leider auf Seite 139 gespoilert!!

[Desislava Mihaylova · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Улицата на прасковите” разказва за спонтанното пътешествие на Скот и Зелда Фицджералд от Кънектикът до Алабама през 1920 г. Това не е пътепис, нито е пътеводител на забележителностите, както самият писател отбелязва. Това е пътуване на трима герои, защото за мен централен беше персонажът на тяхната кола, гальовно наречена Таратайката. Къде без гуми, къде без акумулатор, това превозно средство на издихания изминава този камино. Цялото повествование е подчинено на премеждията с въпросния модел Експенсо и пълната липса на познания относно автомобилите на самия Фицджералд. Последната част е най-интересна и заради нея си заслужаваше четенето.

Изданието е красиво, с хубава корица, благодаря на преводача за полезните бележки под линия. Това обаче което за мен се губеше е да се даде повече контекст на читателя. Когато се публикува специфично и не популярно заглавие от даден известен писател, според мен е добре да има предговор, бележки след текста или въведение за самато издание. Това би допринесло за оценяване на съдържанието. Когато се поразрових открих, че Фицджералд публикува въпросния текст като статия в списание за автомобили, което обяснява и фокуса върху Таратайката.

Въпреки че не е най-интересната му книга, отново в нея се вижда саркастичния хумор на Фицджералд, самоиронията и интересните му наблюдения върху заобикалящата го среда. Расизмът и сексизмът присъстват на страниците. За съжаление някои неща не са се променили и за 100 години, като надменността на шофьорите-разбирачи спрямо по-неуките от тях или спрямо жените.

“Само най-младите и най-старите могат да си позволят толкова високи очаквания и тъй горчиви разочарования.”

[Marina Di Clemente · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un bel racconto avventuroso con protagonista una macchina sul cui nome si gioca molto con la parola costoso (Expenso) ed infine a buon mercato. Tra mille peripezie ed imprevisti questo resta un piacevole racconto di un viaggio in macchina, di quei modelli oramai dimenticati.

[Александър Стоянов · Rating 3 out of 5]

Признавам че очаквах повече от Фицджералд и САЩ. Книгата е леко, лятно четиво, което ни казва нещичко за манталитета на "междувоенното" поколение, но пропуска много и интересни подробности около самото пътешествие. В този смисъл "спомени", а не "пътепис" биха били по-удачно жанрово класифициране.

[Tosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a small book one can fit it in their back pocket, yet, this small object had a profound affect on me. Written as a magazine piece for the upscale Saturday Evening Post, the article eventually found a home in a less prominent publication - a car magazine.

Originally written as a serial, "The Cruise of the Rolling Junk" is 'On the Road' for F. Scott Fitzgerald and his somewhat nutty but beautiful wife Zelda. One morning Zelda had a passion to have fresh biscuits and peaches from her natural home in Alabama. So taking off from Connecticut, in a very unreliable car - the re-named "Rolling Junk" they go on the road to pleasure. But alas, things don't work out.

For one they have consistent problems with their automobile on this trip, which often left them stranded in the back woods of even badder hotels and in the hands of a series of rotten car mechanics. But in reality they are sort of 'the truth' vs. the unreality of the Fitgerald's. In what seems like a nice weekend trip turns into an obsessive journey to the couple's inner world. The landscape of this piece is 'charming and funny but there are very dark overtones that takes over the reader in the 21st Century.

Written while he was working on The Great Gatsby, F. Scott's attenna was up and working. But sadly and quite disturbing is his attitude toward Black Americans. The cruel side of his observations comes to front, so that alone makes it difficult to 'like' him as a narrator. And Zelda's personality (via Scott) is sort of troublesome as well. She is sort of a combination of a nagging so-so and a spoiled child. What must have been read in the early 20th Century as funny becomes somewhat sad and disturbing in the 21st Century.

Which brings up to mind does Fitzgerald's writing has something to say to people now in 2012? Well, for one, this book is very close to the edition that was originally published in "Motor" in 1924. The book comes with photographs of Scott, Zelda, and the Rolling Junk as the adventure happens. So it is very much a period piece of its time - but what's contemporary is the mental attitude of Fitzgerald as he and Zelda wonder back into the Southern past, that for sure will bring failure.

Like the image of most male americans, Fitzgerald is not one with his car. A cowboy has his loyal horse, and the male has his relationship with their car. Here The Rolling Junk practically rebels against Scott's wishes for a solid car outing. The humor in this book is a good few chuckles but the real 'dark' humor is the failure of communication, the lack of understanding of machine, and the need to entertain a wife who is slowly going out of the picture.

The trip ends as a failure of sorts, and Fitzgerald for sure sees this as an aesthetic that things rot from the inside to the exterior. A throw-away literature but what I think is a masterpiece from F. Scott Fitzgerald.

[Augments · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually did like the racism

[❀ Tina ❀ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5*

[Sina & Ilona Glimmerfee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Natürlich musste ich als 'Fan' der Fitzgeralds dieses Buch lesen. Das Cover alleine finde ich großartig und es passt so gut zu meinen beiden tragischen Helden.

Dieses Buch ist ein Reisebericht, der davon erzählt, wie Zelda eines Morgens Pfirsiche will und Scott beschließt mit ihr in ihre Heimat (die Südstaaten) zu fahren. Tausend Meilen liegen vor ihnen und die bringen sie hinter sich in einem rollenden Schrotthaufen. Autopannen vorprogrammiert.

Ich habe es gerne gelesen. Natürlich, habe ich das! Ich liebe die beiden, aber ob es andere begeistern wird? Ich weiß es nicht. Es ist eine nette, kleine Episode die keinen großen Eindruck hinterlässt, aber mich für eine Zeit wieder zu ihnen geführt hat - Wie ein Spin-Off oder eine Kurzgeschichte fern ab des wirklich großen Abenteuers.

Scott schafft es dennoch wunderbar das Lebensgefühl der 20er fernab der Partys einzufangen, die Rebellion der Flappers und einen Road Trip in dem Rolling Junk.

Abgerundet wird das Buch durch eine Geschichte geschrieben von Zelda, einem Interview mit Zelda und Scott und einem Nachwort.

Wer sich mit den Fitzgeralds beschäftigen will, dem empfehle ich weiterhin das Buch 'Wir brechen die 10 Gebote und uns den Hals' als Einstieg. Und nicht zu vergessen den Film von Woody Allen 'Midnight in Paris'.

[Mark Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going on a cross-country road trip in 1920 would have been a rather harrowing proposition. Cars were unreliable, roads were often unpaved, and travel at night was not very safe. Nevertheless, despite these obstacles, in July of 1920 F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald struck out on a road trip from their home in Connecticut to Zelda’s parents’ house in Alabama. Ostensibly the reason for the trip was so Zelda could taste peaches and biscuits again. Thus began an eight day journey, complete with flat tires, and encounter with a bandit on the road, and an ending borrowed straight from O. Henry.

The piece of writing that emerged out of this trip was a long article titled “The Cruise of the Rolling Junk.” Fitzgerald wrote it in 1922, but wasn’t able to find a publisher for it until 1924, when it appeared in Motoring magazine. It’s not Fitzgerald’s best piece of writing, but it’s interesting to read a non-fiction piece of his where the main characters are him and Zelda.

The Cruise of the Rolling Junk was issued as a book in 2011 by Hesperus Press, a British publisher. It features an excellent foreword by Paul Theroux, acclaimed novelist and travel writer. It also features an introduction by Julian Evans that is good, but simply too long, as Evans quotes from many of the best parts of the piece. It’s perhaps a bit much to have The Cruise of the Rolling Junk as a standalone book, as the piece itself is only about 60 pages long. However, it has never been included in any other collection of Fitzgerald’s non-fiction, so it’s good that it’s finally available.
The “rolling junk” that Scott and Zelda were driving was a Marmon, a very luxurious automobile brand, referred to throughout the text by Fitzgerald as an “Expenso.” This is just one example of Fitzgerald’s humor, which comes across quite strongly in “Rolling Junk” and other pieces of his non-fiction. Fitzgerald smartly casts himself as someone who is befuddled by anything mechanical, which was probably very close to the truth, and a lot of his humor is self-deprecating.

There are, of course, some beautiful passages sprinkled throughout “The Cruise of the Rolling Junk.” This was one of my favorite sentences: “South we went—over little rivers and long gray bridges to placid Havre de Grace, a proud old lady with folded hands who whispered in faded dignity that she had once been under consideration for capital of the nation.” (p.43)

On the following page there’s this gorgeous passage: “We rested only five minutes—there was sunshine all around us now—we must make haste to go on, go down, into the warmth, into the dusky mellow softness, into the green heart of the South to the Alabama town where Zelda was born.” (p.44)

Unfortunately, “Rolling Junk” shows off Fitzgerald’s casual racism at its worst. In most of his writing, African Americans just don’t exist, or are merely servants with a line or two here or there. In “Rolling Junk” he writes of entering a store in Virginia: “But this I know—that the room was simply jammed with negroes and that the moral and physical aura which they cast off was to me oppressive and obscene.” (p.59-60) It doesn’t seem like such a sentence could have come from the pen of the same author who would cleverly satirize Tom Buchanan’s racism in The Great Gatsby just two years after writing “Rolling Junk.”

Fitzgerald seems pretty out of touch with the racism of the South throughout “Rolling Junk.” Fitzgerald’s father was from Maryland, a border state that retained slavery while remaining in the Union during the Civil War. Fitzgerald’s father told him stories of troops marching through towns, and romantic stories of Southern spies. Scott absorbed the romanticism of the Southern “lost cause” without fully acknowledging that the “lost cause” was really about slavery.

Fitzgerald must have kept this lovely sentence in his files: “After noon the humidity became oppressive sultriness, and the scattered curlicues of clouds began to solve a great jigsaw puzzle in the sky.” (p.62) He later used a very similar phrase in the short story “I’d Die for You (The Legend of Lake Lure)” written in 1935-36 and used as the title story for 2017’s collection of Fitzgerald short stories. That sentence reads: “She sat with Delannux on the side of a beached raft while the sunset broke into pink picture puzzle pieces that solved themselves in the dark west.” (I’d Die for You and Other Lost Stories, p.93)

“The Cruise of the Rolling Junk” is an interesting piece of work for fans of Scott and Zelda, but it’s best taken with a large grain of salt, as I doubt everything that Fitzgerald wrote down actually happened. But no matter, it’s still a nice piece of writing from F. Scott Fitzgerald.

[Michael Percy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't help notice the familiarity of images that seem to lay the groundwork for The Great Gatsby. Each mention of "Dr. Jones's Guide Book" and I couldn't shake the image of the "eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg" on the billboard opposite the Wilson's garage. Elements of the character of Daisy Buchanan can be glimpsed in Fitzgerald's portrayal of Zelda driving and skiving. It is a fascinating account of the beginnings of the golden age of the automobile. Regrettable that it sold for a pittance yet that it did reflects Fitzgerald's own sense of self that provides a constant foil to Hemingway's boastfulness. I cannot see how these two author's can truly exist without each other. In many ways they present two different outcomes for the same tortured soul. The Cruise of the Rolling Junk" is frivolity at its finest, yet one catches a glimpse of the pending tragic outcome. It may be years in the making, but it is there nonetheless, like a self-fulfilling prophecy. This novella is difficult to put down and you will read it with the same energy that propels them toward Alabama.

[Leonie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dieser Reisebericht hat mich verwirrt.
Mann und Frau beschließen durch Amerika zu fahren, damit sie Pfirsiche essen kann. Warum er unbedingt will, kann ich nicht sagen - und er vielleicht auch nicht.
Sie verlieren einen Reifen nach dem anderen. Sie machen Halt in unzähligen Werkstätten, dessen Mitarbeiter nur auf ihre Hautfarbe reduziert werden. Wie oft das N-Wort gefallen ist, kann ich gar nicht zählen. Ich weiß nur, dass es meine Lesefreude erheblich gedrückt hat.
Sie haben Geld, aber die Reise ist so ungeplant, dass das Geld nicht lange reichen wird. Kopflos auf der Suche nach Pfirischen wäre sicher auch ein passender Titel gewesen.
Die im Nachwort erwähnte Parodie auf das Automobil habe ich wahrscheinlich einfach nicht verstanden (Was für Wissen fehlt mir dazu? Ich weiß es nicht). Den kurzen Text von Zelda konnte ich gar nicht mehr lesen, da er nur wirr auf mich wirkte. Am interessantesten war das Nachwort und das Interview von Scott und Zelda. Nachdem ich der große Gatsby so sehr liebte, werde ich noch mal ein anderes Werk (von beiden) probieren.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fitz had a wonderfully engaging writing style. If you've ever taken a long road trip, you'll relate, but road conditions were much more primitive back then and the cars extremely unreliable. All in all a rollicking road trip, but Fitz is somewhat of a ditz when it comes to mechanical issues and otherwise. His impressions of blacks will give you pause.

[Sarah Hörtkorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein aufreibender, teils komödiantischer Reisebericht von zwei romantischen Egoisten, der sich unterhaltsam liest und viel mehr verarbeitet, als es erst den Anschein macht, wie sich aus Nachwort offenbart.

[Minerva Su · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. Amusing 😀

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Фицджералд си е Фицджералд 🧡

С тази си книга реално полага основите на книгите за пътуване с кола.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, but Fitzgerald could write. The Cruise of the Rolling Junk must be one of his lesser known works, unattainable but from a university library, discovered as a passing mention in Deep South, barely the length of a respectable short story, but fine writing on every page.

Young Zelda hankers for peaches and biscuits; F. Scott, in one of those fantastically spontaneous and crazy episodes that will mark their collective lives and demise, proposes driving from Connecticut south to Montgomery to obtain just that. And so they do. While some of the story has been dramatized for effect, much is true, particularly the myriad automotive disasters. In fact, it's rather amazing to think that driving cross-country was possible almost 100 years ago, particularly through the rural South that was still so marked by the Civil War.

The story, in and of itself, is fine. The writing, and particularly the writing of the south, is what makes it lovely. Many of the characters who people the pages can recount specific battles to the Fitzgeralds; when he writes that "we had added one more rattle to the ancient bridge over which the fugitives from Bull Run had streamed on an afternoon of panic and terror," one doesn't doubt that it was, in fact, the same ancient bridge. Likewise, Fitzgerald writes of "the Wilderness where slain boys from Illinois and Tennessee and the cities of the gulf still slept in the marshes and the wooded swamps," one understand this to be the literal truth - and that did they not, they might still number among the living. Even the imagery of the present (1922, mind you), harkens back to the war they are still fighting: "The for an hour we passed group after group of negroes bound singing for the cotton fields and the work of the hot hours." The war may have ended, and slavery officially, but the condition of "the negroes" is ever worse.

As both Julian Evans in the Introduction and Paul Theroux in the Foreward note, there's something, too, of a premonition about this book, of the way it all will end for Scott and Zelda, the bight shining future turned to frenzied rot. Still in his 20s when he wrote this, some two years after the adventure itself, it is as if Scott already understood that the best was behind him. For early in the story, he writes the story of his life: "To be young, to be bound for the far hills, to be going where happiness hung from a tree, a ring to be tilted for, a bright garland to be won - It still a realizable thing, we thought, still a harbor from the dullness and the tears and disillusion of all the stationary world."

May we all be young and bound for the hills and tilting at rings of happiness. And may we do it in so many beautiful words.

[Dagmar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Den Reiseroman habe ich erst vor ein paar Wochen gelesen; meine Besprechung leider nicht bleibend gespeichert. Und heute? Ja, wenig Spuren hat der Bericht hinterlassen.

Ein junges Paar und ein altes Auto, das zum Protagonisten wird. Als Dreierteam durchqueren sie das Land und alle, so viel steht fest, haben ihre persönlichkeitsbedingten, schwierigen Seiten.

Zelda und Scott sind beide für ihre Zeit emanzipiert. Sie sind sehr jung; ihre Paarprobleme lassen sich erkennen. Einer Laune nach wird die Reise unternommen. Auch hier ist der Weg das Ziel: weder ist die Straße so bezaubernd wie in der Sehnsucht nach ihr noch sind die Eltern, die besucht werden sollen, Zuhause.

Die Schreibe ist schon gut, die Geschichte spurenlos. Es gibt Literatur, die substanzieller und dabei gut geschrieben ist. Danach suche ich.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost skipped over the prologue, but my guilt at having marked 30 pages as read on Goodreads whilst only actually, at that point, reading about 10 propelled me back to the beginning. However, I’m glad I did. Paul Theroux and Julian Evans had some very enlightening and insightful thoughts on how the apparently spontaneous and fateful journey Scott and Zelda took in the early years of their marriage paved the way for the often tragic and short lives that followed after.
Evans also highlighted how the prevailingly beautiful language and ideas in The Great Gatsby seem to have their beginnings in some of the pages of this memoir.
It goes without saying that Fitzgerald’s attitudes towards black people is somewhat jarring, however it’s necessary to remember that 1920 was a very different world to 2018. Otherwise, this is a beautifully written, if somewhat fictionalised account of two fascinating people on a journey of impulse and calamity.

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a light read about a slightly dysfunctional couple on a bumpy road trip from Connecticut to Georgia in a reliably unreliable car. It's three articles that are somewhat based on a road trip F. Scott Fitzgerald took with his wife shortly after being married. There are some scenes where Fitzgerald's racism leaks through, but they are infrequent. Overall the tone is one of gaiety and struggling through the inevitable car trouble. However, in driving through the fields and forests we are reminded of the civil war and all the images that evokes. It's an interesting juxtaposition and reminds me that while we might be seeing a place for the first time and experiencing its beauty, that place has its own history that we should remember.

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Racconto delizioso, antesignano dei racconti on the road " .. essere giovani,destinati alle colline lontane,andare dove la felicità è appesa ad un albero...inseguire le strade bianche dall'alba al levarsi della luna...."

Nato per una rivista di viaggi, respinto piu' volte e piu' volte adattato e tagliato per esser finalmente pubblicato. Secondo l' autore era stato concepito per fare soldi e non letteratura,ma tanto di cappello al genio di Scott Fitzgerald.

[Anja Ilka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting insight into Fitzgerald's life and a nice story. What ruined it for me was the blatant racism, especially because this is written from the author's personal view, therefore reflecting his personal views. On several occasions while listening to the audiobook I was deeply uncomfortable with the racist language and worldview. It's beautifully written, but I still wouldn't re-read or really recommend. There are books worthier of reading.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

A disastrous road trip but when told by Fitzgerald, it becomes poetry and a rumination on life and passing youth.

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I smiled and smiled as I read this short book (or long essay). Have been reading travel books on and off for the last couple of years. This one was a nice addition to the group. Auto travel in 1920.

[Joko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some real chuckle out loud bits, but the unfortunate racist undertones took it down a few stars. I know it's old, but ugh.
F. Scott Fitzgerald writes in a very entertaining style!

[Lucas Foster]

needed to complete and log a book for july, 'rolling junk' was the shortest i could find in house i'm taking sanctuary at as of last week––long story short, landlords were alright by me until i got saddled with an armenian one. but refugees are still welcome in west hollywood, especially vulnerable young men, why my neighbor mr. buck always finds room for down on their luck lads––maybe i should pitch it to my friends in journalism as a nice human interest story. fitzgerald hadn't made it out here to hollyweird at the time of 'rolling junk,' a breezy bit of travel writing snaking through the eastern part of our country, fitzgerald's take on which is so penetrating it makes howard zinn kinda useless. while the hopi were putting their ears to the ground and getting ringworm, fitzgerald was clacking away at his typewriter and getting liver failure––neither ends well but the latter has more explanatory power. this is fish scale grade travel writing, fitzgerald edited it compulsively and the dividends get paid when these perfectly constructed bits of language just intensely breathe life into what a journeyman might've done as tourism board copy. u got princeton, baltimore, dc, and selected parts of the southeastern united states––fitzgerald got road head from a basketcase barely legal in all these places, although that part is bowdlerized. the publisher filled in those gaps, however, with solid introductory texts, one of which is from some freudian scholar i think it said in his bio, anyway he offers some really neat insight into fitzgerald's inversion of the success-failure dichotomy, fitzgerald's reputation as a boor who just happened to have this savant-like writing ability, definitely whets the appetite for more fitzgerald. content warning, racial epithets, or who am I kidding that’s the incentive

[Габриела Щинова · Rating 4 out of 5]

🍑"–О, готвачката дори не знае какво значи "бисквита"- прекъсна ме жално Зелда. -А как ми се ядат и праскови...
- Сега ще се облека, после ще слезем долу и ще се качим в колата. Ще поемем към Монтгомъри, Алабама, за да ядем бисквити и праскови.
... тя само ме погледна очаровано и рече:
– Не можем. Колата няма да стигне дотам. А и не бива.
– Бисквитиии! – натъртих аз въздействащо. – Праскови! Розови и жълти, сочни…"

🥾Не знам дали ще тръгнете на път, но със сигурност ще поискате да хапнете праскови или поне да запеете песен за бисквитите докато четете тази книга, запечатала едни от най-щастливите и безоблачни моменти от бурния съвместен живот на писателя Фицджералд и съпругата му.

🚙Като младоженци Скот и Зелда тръгват на спонтанно пътешествие от Уестпорт, Кънектикът, до Монтгомъри, Алабама. Изминават 1200 мили със старата им раздрънкана кола, нежно наричана Таратайката, водени от копнежа да закусят бисквити и сочни южняшки праскови под топлото слънце.

🌄Пътуването им е изпълнено освен с живописни пейзажи, с колоритни срещи, забавни, абсурдни и драматични ситуации. Не случайно "Улицата на прасковите" е призната за класика на пътешественическата литература.

🧳Ще стегнете ли куфарите или ще отскочите до пазара за праскови🍑?

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#readersofinstagram #travel

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[Jill Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I should say I am a huge Fitzgerald fan, there's really nothing the man wrote that I dislike before giving my opinion on this little book. I buy anything I can find in a used bookstore written by Fitzgerald and this was one of those purchases where I double checked to make sure it was written by him. I had never heard of it before and I wasn't particularly interested in the topic.

It was a quick read, a book that I only read a few pages here and there for a week. It's very typical Fitzgerald, his writing is down right beautiful. His imagery is amazing and I think he can make you see and feel things like no one else.

Beyond the fact that I always enjoy his writing, I really enjoyed his humor. I liked the self-depreciation. Being mechanically as inept as him I thought it was quite humorous. I also liked that this is the first thing of his I had ever written that was about him and Zelda, even though his other characters may certainly be based on the two. Like others have said there are hints of the Cruise of the Rolling Junk in later works which makes me appreciate it even more.

The downside is his blatantly racist attitude. It's cringe worthy at times. So be prepared to go read an amazing description of the approaching city and then have to deal with an awfully unsavory account of his experience in the garage or country store.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised. Even though I wasn't all that initially interested, I found myself looking forward to the next time I would be able to read a few pages. If you're a Fitzgerald fan, I think this is a must.