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Racconti dell'età del jazz
Questi racconti, dedicati agli amori e alle avventure dei giovani degli anni Venti, sono spesso ispirati a episodi autobiografici e sorretti da una scrittura tutta edonismo e invenzione.
255 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 22, 1922
1361 people are currently reading
17375 people want to read
About the author
F. Scott Fitzgerald
2,035 books25.4k followersFrancis 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 630 reviews
March 27, 2025
Some lives just ring empty like empty crocks… And F. Scott Fitzgerald was a great scholar of human emptiness… And his stories, despite their wickedness, boast an atmosphere of merry fairytales.
In The Jelly-Bean life is a precarious gamble of chance:
In The Camel’s Back life is a funny masquerade:
In May Day life is a senseless riot:
In Porcelain and Pink life is a series of taking a bath. The Diamond as Big as the Ritz and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button are a lot of fantastic happenings.
In Tarquin of Cheapside life is nothing but a pleasure of reading:
In Oh Russet Witch! life is a waste of potentials:
In The Lees of Happiness, Mr. Icky and Jemina life is throes of vanity and all that jazz:
In life emptiness tends to assume many guises.
In The Jelly-Bean life is a precarious gamble of chance:
With the awakening of his emotions, his first perception was a sense of futility, a dull ache at the utter grayness of his life. A wall had sprung up suddenly around him hedging him in, a wall as definite and tangible as the white wall of his bare room.
In The Camel’s Back life is a funny masquerade:
“Perry,” said the bad man softly when the roadster drew up beside him at the curb, “I’ve got six quarts of the doggonedest still champagne you ever tasted. A third of it’s yours, Perry, if you’ll come upstairs and help Martin Macy and me drink it.”
“Baily,” said Perry tensely, “I’ll drink your champagne. I’ll drink every drop of it, I don’t care if it kills me.”
“Shut up, you nut!” said the bad man gently. “They don’t put wood alcohol in champagne. This is the stuff that proves the world is more than six thousand years old. It’s so ancient that the cork is petrified.”
In May Day life is a senseless riot:
Peter suddenly reached over to a plate on the table beside him and picking up a handful of hash tossed it into the air. It descended as a languid parabola in snowflake effect on the heads of those nearby.
In Porcelain and Pink life is a series of taking a bath. The Diamond as Big as the Ritz and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button are a lot of fantastic happenings.
In Tarquin of Cheapside life is nothing but a pleasure of reading:
“He read at wine, he read in bed,
He read aloud, had he the breath,
His every thought was with the dead,
And so he read himself to death.”
In Oh Russet Witch! life is a waste of potentials:
And she had been drinking. The threefold flush in her cheeks was compounded of youth and wine and fine cosmetic – that he could tell. She was making great amusement for the young man on her left and the portly person on her right, and even for the old fellow opposite her, for the latter from time to time uttered the shocked and mildly reproachful cackles of another generation.
In The Lees of Happiness, Mr. Icky and Jemina life is throes of vanity and all that jazz:
Here was the gayety of the period – the soft wine of eyes, the songs that flurried hearts, the toasts and tie bouquets, the dances and the dinners.
In life emptiness tends to assume many guises.
March 5, 2025
Tales of the Jazz Age highlights the incredible range of F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is a collection of short stories, but they vary widely as to genre.
My Last Flapper
These stories are laugh-out-loud funny. My favorite is The Camel’s Back. In this story, Perry Parkhurst has recently been heartbroken, and he goes to a costume shop for a party later in the evening. He selects a camel costume, but it requires two people. The ensuing antics to secure the camel’s behind are hilarious! Then, he ends up at the wrong party!
I also loved Porcelain and Pink. This story is in the format of a play, and there are two sisters, Julie and Lois Marvis. A Mr. Calkins comes to call on Lois, and he speaks through the window. He thinks he is talking to Lois, and Julie has a lot of fun with him.
Fantasies
This set includes The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Diamond As Big As The Ritz. These tales are so imaginative and creative that they have been the basis for movies. In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a child is born as an old man and ages in reverse. While this story is fascinating, the short story format seemed to limit its brilliance. For example, Benjamin is married to Hildegarde, but we don’t really find out what happened to her, and it seems like this relationship could have been dialed up for dramatic purposes. At the same time, Fitzgerald can only do so much in 30 pages or so, and he wrote short stories to earn a living. They weren’t as lucrative as writing a book, so he constantly had to churn out short stories to make ends meet. He didn’t have three years to refine a short story.
Unclassified Masterpieces
You have to remember that one of Fitzgerald’s first jobs was at an advertising firm, and, in this instance, Fitzgerald is certainly overhyping this set of stories. The Lees of Happiness is the best of the three, and it feels like a story Claire Keegan would write, only she would write it a bit better. The last two stories are very underdeveloped and short. However, these stories give readers hope that they too can work on their writing skills and may one day be one of the most famous authors of all time.
The Green Light at the End of the Dock (How much I spent):
Hardcover Text – First Edition Library copy for $88.75 on eBay
Audiobook - $84.99 per year through Everand
Connect With Me!
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My Last Flapper
These stories are laugh-out-loud funny. My favorite is The Camel’s Back. In this story, Perry Parkhurst has recently been heartbroken, and he goes to a costume shop for a party later in the evening. He selects a camel costume, but it requires two people. The ensuing antics to secure the camel’s behind are hilarious! Then, he ends up at the wrong party!
I also loved Porcelain and Pink. This story is in the format of a play, and there are two sisters, Julie and Lois Marvis. A Mr. Calkins comes to call on Lois, and he speaks through the window. He thinks he is talking to Lois, and Julie has a lot of fun with him.
Fantasies
This set includes The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Diamond As Big As The Ritz. These tales are so imaginative and creative that they have been the basis for movies. In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a child is born as an old man and ages in reverse. While this story is fascinating, the short story format seemed to limit its brilliance. For example, Benjamin is married to Hildegarde, but we don’t really find out what happened to her, and it seems like this relationship could have been dialed up for dramatic purposes. At the same time, Fitzgerald can only do so much in 30 pages or so, and he wrote short stories to earn a living. They weren’t as lucrative as writing a book, so he constantly had to churn out short stories to make ends meet. He didn’t have three years to refine a short story.
Unclassified Masterpieces
You have to remember that one of Fitzgerald’s first jobs was at an advertising firm, and, in this instance, Fitzgerald is certainly overhyping this set of stories. The Lees of Happiness is the best of the three, and it feels like a story Claire Keegan would write, only she would write it a bit better. The last two stories are very underdeveloped and short. However, these stories give readers hope that they too can work on their writing skills and may one day be one of the most famous authors of all time.
The Green Light at the End of the Dock (How much I spent):
Hardcover Text – First Edition Library copy for $88.75 on eBay
Audiobook - $84.99 per year through Everand
Connect With Me!
Blog Threads BookTube Facebook Insta My Bookstore at Pango
September 20, 2017
Tales of the Jazz Age is a collection of 11 short stories published in 1922, although most had been published earlier in national magazines. Fitzgerald published 4 novels, that was his preferred way of writing. But he wrote short stories to make money, and being in constant financial trouble, it was the fastest way for him to make cash. This collection was good, it contains probably his most famous short story, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, as well as a few other very good ones. A couple I thought were nonsensical and not up to Fitzgerald's best. It's certainly worth the time and it is aptly named because if you ask almost anyone to name one writer associated with the Jazz Age or the Roaring 20's, 9 out of 10 will say F. Scott Fitzgerald. He defined that generation for writers, or more accurately, it defined him.
August 14, 2019
Despite reading so much about him and his wife Zelda, I cannot help but reveal my mad crush on Fitzgerald. This short story collection of 15 different stories offered a little bit of everything that I adore about the author. Men who crave women they can't have, WWI veterans readjusting to life after the battlefield, rich versus poor, big city thrills, rural intrigue, and a little bit of comedy and mystery to boot!
Some of my fave sentences
All life was weather, a waiting through the hot where events had no significance for the cool that was soft and caressing like a woman's hand on a tired forehead.
It's an air of worry and poverty and sleepless nights
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, the new tenderness learned, are treasured up for the next lover.
Everybody's youth is a dream, a form of chemical madness.
Goodreads review published 03/08/19
Some of my fave sentences
All life was weather, a waiting through the hot where events had no significance for the cool that was soft and caressing like a woman's hand on a tired forehead.
It's an air of worry and poverty and sleepless nights
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, the new tenderness learned, are treasured up for the next lover.
Everybody's youth is a dream, a form of chemical madness.
Goodreads review published 03/08/19
March 24, 2021
Tales of the Jazz Age was an anthology of short stories and novellas by F. Scott Fitzgerald first published in 1922 that pretty much established Fitzgerald as the definitive writer about the Jazz Age. This series was divided into three sections entitled "My Last Flappers." "Fantasies," and "Unclassified Masterpieces." Some of my favorites were "The Jelly-Bean," "May Day," "O Russet Witch," and "The Lees of Happiness." These stories were submitted over a period of three years to several different publications. Although some of the stories were a little lacking it is apparent that F. Scott Fitzgerald was a brilliant writer.
And just a few of my favorite quotes from a couple of the stories:
And just a few of my favorite quotes from a couple of the stories:
"'Jelly-bean' is the name throughout the undissolved Confederacy for one who spends his life conjugating the verb to idle in the first person singular--I am idling, I have idled, I will idle."
"Everybody's youth is a dream, a form of chemical madness."
"The years between thirty-five and sixty-five revolve before the passive mind as one unexplained, confusing merry-go-round of ill-gaited and wind-broken horses, painted first in pastel colors, then in dull grays and browns, but perplexing and intolerably dizzy the thing is, as never were the merry-go-rounds of childhood or adolescence, as never, surely, were the certain-coursed, dynamic roller coasters of youth."
"But it was too late. He had angered Providence by resisting too many temptations. There was nothing left but heaven, where he would meet only those, who, like him, had wasted earth."
"To these two life had come quickly and gone, leaving not bitterness, but pity; not disillusion, only pain. There was already enough moonlight when they shook hands for each to see the gathered kindness in the other's eyes."
April 11, 2022
”Non possiamo permettere che un fatto inevitabile come la morte c’impedisca di godere della vita finché possiamo”
- "Il diamante grosso come l’hotel Ritz" 1921-
Raccolta che comprende undici componimenti -introdotti dall’autore stesso con una piccola nota esplicativa- suddivisi in tre sezioni:
1) Le mie ultime maschiette con quattro produzioni giovanili.
Uno narrazione scorrevole, a mio avviso anche troppo.
Quello che mi sembra abbia maggiore valore in questi racconti è il contesto storico.
Siamo nel primo dopoguerra: gli Stati Uniti escono vittoriosi da un conflitto che seppure geograficamente lontano ha coinvolto e sconvolto le vite degli americani.
Ora, però, si vuole solo voltare pagina:
questa nuova generazione intende chiudere il sipario sui campi di battaglie e le lugubri scenografie.
Si tuffano a capofitto nella bella vita (anche se questo termine felliniano sarà inerente al secondo dopoguerra è utile per far capire l’atmosfera).
Un’attenzione alla cura dell’abbigliamento e all’aspetto estetico.
Una profusione di feste, di balli a cui si deve partecipare: ballare è una prerogativa per essere popolare.
Il Jazz impazza. IL popolo bianco balla e si diverte sulle note di una musica che nasce dai neri ancora relegati ad un sistema di segregazione.
Un’America bianca, giovane e spensierata che emette la sua condanna nei confronti di chi non tiene il passo, chi socialmente non brilla.
Di questo quattro racconti quello che ho trovato degno di nota è in assoluto “Primo Maggio” un racconto dove l’euforia festaiola non fa altro che mettere in risalto il dramma di uno dei protagonisti.
2) Fantasie comprende altri quattro racconti.
Sono le creazioni preferite dall’autore stesso e tra le quali spicca “Lo strano caso di Benjamin Button”.
3) L’ultima parte comprende i capolavori non classificati dove mi ha colpito “I sedimenti della felicità”.
Una raccolta disomogenea per generi ed umori che spaziano dal reale al fantastico ma, a mio avviso, anche per qualità in un’epoca in cui i racconti si vendevano bene e, insomma si lavorava un po’ a cottimo:
”Credo che tra tutti i racconti che ho scritto questo sia quello che mi è costato meno fatica e mi abbia divertito di più. L’ho scritto in un giorno a New Orleans, con il preciso scopo di comprarmi un orologio da polso in platino e diamanti che costava seicento dollari. L’ho cominciato alle sette di mattina e l’ho finito alle due di notte.!
- La parte posteriore del cammello 1920-
- "Il diamante grosso come l’hotel Ritz" 1921-
Raccolta che comprende undici componimenti -introdotti dall’autore stesso con una piccola nota esplicativa- suddivisi in tre sezioni:
1) Le mie ultime maschiette con quattro produzioni giovanili.
Uno narrazione scorrevole, a mio avviso anche troppo.
Quello che mi sembra abbia maggiore valore in questi racconti è il contesto storico.
Siamo nel primo dopoguerra: gli Stati Uniti escono vittoriosi da un conflitto che seppure geograficamente lontano ha coinvolto e sconvolto le vite degli americani.
Ora, però, si vuole solo voltare pagina:
questa nuova generazione intende chiudere il sipario sui campi di battaglie e le lugubri scenografie.
Si tuffano a capofitto nella bella vita (anche se questo termine felliniano sarà inerente al secondo dopoguerra è utile per far capire l’atmosfera).
Un’attenzione alla cura dell’abbigliamento e all’aspetto estetico.
Una profusione di feste, di balli a cui si deve partecipare: ballare è una prerogativa per essere popolare.
Il Jazz impazza. IL popolo bianco balla e si diverte sulle note di una musica che nasce dai neri ancora relegati ad un sistema di segregazione.
Un’America bianca, giovane e spensierata che emette la sua condanna nei confronti di chi non tiene il passo, chi socialmente non brilla.
Di questo quattro racconti quello che ho trovato degno di nota è in assoluto “Primo Maggio” un racconto dove l’euforia festaiola non fa altro che mettere in risalto il dramma di uno dei protagonisti.
2) Fantasie comprende altri quattro racconti.
Sono le creazioni preferite dall’autore stesso e tra le quali spicca “Lo strano caso di Benjamin Button”.
3) L’ultima parte comprende i capolavori non classificati dove mi ha colpito “I sedimenti della felicità”.
Una raccolta disomogenea per generi ed umori che spaziano dal reale al fantastico ma, a mio avviso, anche per qualità in un’epoca in cui i racconti si vendevano bene e, insomma si lavorava un po’ a cottimo:
”Credo che tra tutti i racconti che ho scritto questo sia quello che mi è costato meno fatica e mi abbia divertito di più. L’ho scritto in un giorno a New Orleans, con il preciso scopo di comprarmi un orologio da polso in platino e diamanti che costava seicento dollari. L’ho cominciato alle sette di mattina e l’ho finito alle due di notte.!
- La parte posteriore del cammello 1920-
November 4, 2013
I've been intending to read Fitzgerald for some time and I'm very glad to have begun with this collection of stories. There is such a show of versatility and skill here. Not all stories are equally successful but all are interesting and some are truly wonderful, Among those I particularly enjoyed were "The Camel's Back", "May Day"", "O Russett Witch" and "The Lees of Happiness".
Themes central to Fitzgerald's life and other works are scattered through these tales: the disparity of wealth and poverty, good and evil, bad things happening to good people, zany characters and activities, true love and love gone very bad.
I highly recommend this story collection and am sure I will read these again.
Thank you Tajma for leading me here.
Themes central to Fitzgerald's life and other works are scattered through these tales: the disparity of wealth and poverty, good and evil, bad things happening to good people, zany characters and activities, true love and love gone very bad.
I highly recommend this story collection and am sure I will read these again.
Thank you Tajma for leading me here.
June 12, 2010
Considering I didn't like The Great Gatsby, I'm amazed at how I'm loving the other works of F. Scott Fitzgerald so far! I read This Side Of Paradise and was enthralled, and this book of short stories was equal parts enchanting and intelligent. I read it on my Kindle, and I ended up highlighting a lot of sentences and passages because they were so beautifully written.
The book includes "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," which is nowhere near as complex a story as the movie version. I did enjoy it a lot, but had to separate it from the movie, as the two are so different.
My favorite story was "The Diamond As Big As The Ritz." I was captivated from the very beginning. At first, it's like a fairy tale. I kept thinking, "Where's the catch? Is this all a dream?" Then when the catch happened, it was like an adventure movie. PLEASE, at least read this story!
The only story I didn't enjoy was "Tarquin of Cheapside." I just plain didn't get it. It was a little bizarre. Maybe I'll go back and read it again, but that was the only story that I didn't enjoy at all.
I definitely recommend this one! If you're tired of reading long novels and want a wonderful collection of short stories, go for this book!
The book includes "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," which is nowhere near as complex a story as the movie version. I did enjoy it a lot, but had to separate it from the movie, as the two are so different.
My favorite story was "The Diamond As Big As The Ritz." I was captivated from the very beginning. At first, it's like a fairy tale. I kept thinking, "Where's the catch? Is this all a dream?" Then when the catch happened, it was like an adventure movie. PLEASE, at least read this story!
The only story I didn't enjoy was "Tarquin of Cheapside." I just plain didn't get it. It was a little bizarre. Maybe I'll go back and read it again, but that was the only story that I didn't enjoy at all.
I definitely recommend this one! If you're tired of reading long novels and want a wonderful collection of short stories, go for this book!
April 28, 2022
Πρόκειται για μια συλλογή εποχής με τις πρώτες ιστορίες του, χωρισμένες σε θεματικά κεφάλαια. Πάντα συνδεδεμένος με τον πλούτο και την υπαρξιακή ανησυχία, με καυστικό χιούμορ και χρυσά κορίτσια.
October 28, 2018
The Jelly Bean - 2/5 stars
The Camel's Back - 2/5 stars
May Day - 4/5 stars
Porcelain and Pink - 2/5 stars
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz - 4/5 stars
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 5/5 stars FAVOURITE
Tarquin of Cheapside - 3/5 stars
O Russet Witch - 5/5 stars FAVOURITE
The Lees of Happiness - 4/5 stars
Mr Icky - 2/5 stars
Jemina, the Mountain Girl - 3/5 stars
The Camel's Back - 2/5 stars
May Day - 4/5 stars
Porcelain and Pink - 2/5 stars
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz - 4/5 stars
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 5/5 stars FAVOURITE
Tarquin of Cheapside - 3/5 stars
O Russet Witch - 5/5 stars FAVOURITE
The Lees of Happiness - 4/5 stars
Mr Icky - 2/5 stars
Jemina, the Mountain Girl - 3/5 stars
June 9, 2024
All the stories that came into my head had a touch of disaster in them--the lovely young creatures in my novels went to ruin, the diamond mountains of my short stories blew up, my millionaires were as beautiful and damned as Thomas Hardy's peasants.
August 6, 2020
My favourite short story collection of Fitzgerald’s so far, I feel this is where he was really starting to experiment/branch out and come into his own.
Contains 11 short stories, grouped into three parts. The stories were as follows:
My Last Flappers:
The Jelly-Bean - 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Camel’s Back - 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
May Day - 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Porcelain and Pink - 3 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fantasies:
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz - 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tarquin of Cheapside - 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
O Russet Witch! - 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Unclassified Masterpieces:
The Lees of Happiness - 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mr Icky - 3 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jemima, the Mountain Girl - 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Contains 11 short stories, grouped into three parts. The stories were as follows:
My Last Flappers:
The Jelly-Bean - 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Camel’s Back - 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
May Day - 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Porcelain and Pink - 3 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fantasies:
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz - 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tarquin of Cheapside - 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
O Russet Witch! - 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Unclassified Masterpieces:
The Lees of Happiness - 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mr Icky - 3 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jemima, the Mountain Girl - 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
November 19, 2024
Ficdzerald je pravi majstor kratkih prica. Mislim da mi je drazi i od Cehova. Cudesna prica Bendzamina Batona jeneizmerno duhovita.
Zaboravila sam da kazem da Ficdzerald pravi najbolje zurke.
Zaboravila sam da kazem da Ficdzerald pravi najbolje zurke.
May 6, 2022
Francamente mi aspettavo molto di più da questi racconti ma, a parte qualcuno dei racconti più lunghi - La parte posteriore del cammello e Il caso singolare di Benjamin Button, soprattutto, non sono riuscita ad apprezzarli più di tanto, soprattutto quelli brevi, come le due commedie, che ho trovato quasi assurde: La vasca azzurra e Il signor Icky. E anche il racconto breve Tarquinio a Cheapside. Jemina, ragazza di montagna è anch'essa una storia drammatica ma troppo breve, violenta e assurda come l'incendio che scoppia nella distilleria abusiva di whisky di montagna. Mi hanno fatto sorridere i cognomi delle due famiglie rivali: Tantrum (capricci) e Doldrums (tristezza, depressione).
Il diamante grosso come l'Hotel Ritz è una sorta di fiaba utopica che si trasforma in un'orribile distopia con finale "a sorpresa" piuttosto prevedibile. Di questo racconto mi ha colpita la particolare apatia, insensibilità, di quasi tutti i personaggi, anche del protagonista, John, che sembra comunque molto distaccato da quello che succede, e prende la vita forse con troppa leggerezza.
Ne Il fannullone, Jim Powell, il jelly-bean - io lo definirei uno smidollato - per un attimo sembra trovare uno sprazzo di lucida follia e sarebbe disposto a mettere la testa a posto per amore, in una serata che potrebbe essere la svolta della sua vita. Poi, non si capisce se per sua fortuna o sfortuna, la donna di cui è innamorato sposa un altro e lui rimane a fare il fannullone.
La parte posteriore del cammello: Nella breve introduzione di Fitzgerald ai racconti, dice che questo è quello che ha impiegato meno tempo a scrivere, ma quello che gli piace meno. Probabilmente perché è l'unico ad avere un lieto fine. Io invece l'ho trovato molto riuscito, anche se sì, forse il lieto fine è un po' troppo melenso (secondo me è una storia perfetta per il cinema muto). Però deve essere stato divertentissimo aver immaginato questi due uomini che camminavano all'unisono (anche se non sempre) nel bel mezzo della festa in maschera ispirata al circo, con il tassista che fa in tutti i sensi da spalla a Perry Parkhurst.
Primo maggio: In questo racconto si intrecciano quattro diversi quadri narrativi da cui alcuni personaggi entrano ed escono. Il tutto il primo maggio del 1919, quando i soldati americani stanno rientrando dopo la vittoria nella Prima Guerra Mondiale. Anche questo è molto cinematografico, apre infatti la strada a molte commedie corali. Nel caos dei festeggiamenti del primo maggio succede di tutto e di più, soprattutto eventi molto drammatici.
Il caso singolare di Benjamin Button: Molto bello questo racconto fantascientifico, ispirato da un’osservazione di Mark Twain. Come dice Fitzgerald nell'introduzione: era un peccato che la parte migliore della nostra vita venisse all’inizio e la peggiore alla fine. Io ho tentato di dimostrare la sua tesi, facendo un esperimento con un uomo inserito in un ambiente perfettamente normale. Impossibile non immaginare un Benjamin Button diverso da Brad Pitt.
La strega coi capelli rossicci e La feccia della felicità sono due storie molto malinconiche, di vite non vissute, vissute male. Di una gioventù piena di aspettative che deve cedere il posto a un'età adulta delusa e piena di disincanto.
Il diamante grosso come l'Hotel Ritz è una sorta di fiaba utopica che si trasforma in un'orribile distopia con finale "a sorpresa" piuttosto prevedibile. Di questo racconto mi ha colpita la particolare apatia, insensibilità, di quasi tutti i personaggi, anche del protagonista, John, che sembra comunque molto distaccato da quello che succede, e prende la vita forse con troppa leggerezza.
Ne Il fannullone, Jim Powell, il jelly-bean - io lo definirei uno smidollato - per un attimo sembra trovare uno sprazzo di lucida follia e sarebbe disposto a mettere la testa a posto per amore, in una serata che potrebbe essere la svolta della sua vita. Poi, non si capisce se per sua fortuna o sfortuna, la donna di cui è innamorato sposa un altro e lui rimane a fare il fannullone.
La parte posteriore del cammello: Nella breve introduzione di Fitzgerald ai racconti, dice che questo è quello che ha impiegato meno tempo a scrivere, ma quello che gli piace meno. Probabilmente perché è l'unico ad avere un lieto fine. Io invece l'ho trovato molto riuscito, anche se sì, forse il lieto fine è un po' troppo melenso (secondo me è una storia perfetta per il cinema muto). Però deve essere stato divertentissimo aver immaginato questi due uomini che camminavano all'unisono (anche se non sempre) nel bel mezzo della festa in maschera ispirata al circo, con il tassista che fa in tutti i sensi da spalla a Perry Parkhurst.
Primo maggio: In questo racconto si intrecciano quattro diversi quadri narrativi da cui alcuni personaggi entrano ed escono. Il tutto il primo maggio del 1919, quando i soldati americani stanno rientrando dopo la vittoria nella Prima Guerra Mondiale. Anche questo è molto cinematografico, apre infatti la strada a molte commedie corali. Nel caos dei festeggiamenti del primo maggio succede di tutto e di più, soprattutto eventi molto drammatici.
Il caso singolare di Benjamin Button: Molto bello questo racconto fantascientifico, ispirato da un’osservazione di Mark Twain. Come dice Fitzgerald nell'introduzione: era un peccato che la parte migliore della nostra vita venisse all’inizio e la peggiore alla fine. Io ho tentato di dimostrare la sua tesi, facendo un esperimento con un uomo inserito in un ambiente perfettamente normale. Impossibile non immaginare un Benjamin Button diverso da Brad Pitt.
La strega coi capelli rossicci e La feccia della felicità sono due storie molto malinconiche, di vite non vissute, vissute male. Di una gioventù piena di aspettative che deve cedere il posto a un'età adulta delusa e piena di disincanto.
September 19, 2017
This collection of short stories, short plays, and novelettes is so varied in style and execution forming an opinion of the whole is damn near impossible. So I shall break it down tale-by-tale.
The Jelly Bean ☆☆
I felt this story caricatured American Southerners rather disgracefully.
The Camel's Back ☆☆☆☆
Wild, clever humor from a talented humorist.
May Day ☆☆☆☆
I love the characters featured in this story's vignettes. Their interactions truly captured the age from a broad spectrum of classes and backgrounds. It was funny at times, and rather depressing at other moments.
Porcelain and Pink ☆☆☆
Very humorous, but nothing truly amazing about this one-act play.
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz ☆☆☆☆☆
This is a brilliant act of terrestrial fantasy set in Montana. While adapted to several radio and teleplays during the 1940s and 1950s, it has yet to adapt to the silver screen. Instead of constant Gatsby remakes, perhaps Hollywood should give this "gem" another look. Exciting!
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button ☆☆☆☆☆(+☆!!!)
For fans of the movie, it might seem fairly foreign. Though names and several plot points remain, this story is by far a more humorous version of the tale of the man who is born elderly and ages in reverse, inspired by and in the vein of Mark Twain. It was sacrilege the film removed these elements and approached the story more dramatically.
Tarquin of Cheapside ☆
I have no idea what was happening in this short, cryptic passage. Had LSD been in existence in the 1920s???
Oh Russet Witch! ☆☆☆
Another example of a Fitzgerald staple--the regrets of youth realized in old age/middle age. It could be quite evident the character Caroline/Alicia Dare was based on Fitzgerald's wife, Zelda. I haven't read into the subject, but many of his young female characters seem to adapt this young and carefree flapper/dancer/socialite archetype who often spoil the dreams of ambitious young men.
The Lees of Happiness ☆☆☆
Don't let the title fool you, this too is a bit of a downer filled with regret and remorse.
Mr Icky ☆☆
Another strange one-act play combining the folly of old age and Fitzgerald's bizarre sense of humor.
Jemina, the Mountain Girl ☆
Strange, absurd, in the vein of Tarquin of Cheapside and Mr Icky.
Overall ☆☆☆☆
While most of the stories were either too strange, so-so, or downright depressing, the few truly great stories (and majority of the volume's volume) made this book a worthwhile read. Fitzgerald could be hilarious, whimsical, and captivating when he wasn't trying to be too weird. It was a different era, altogether, and a strange one to boot. I guess you should've simply "been there."
As a side note, Fitzgerald makes so many references to women's feet one can't but wonder if he harbored an infatuation. Again, something I haven't read into, but of which am suspicious.
The Jelly Bean ☆☆
I felt this story caricatured American Southerners rather disgracefully.
The Camel's Back ☆☆☆☆
Wild, clever humor from a talented humorist.
May Day ☆☆☆☆
I love the characters featured in this story's vignettes. Their interactions truly captured the age from a broad spectrum of classes and backgrounds. It was funny at times, and rather depressing at other moments.
Porcelain and Pink ☆☆☆
Very humorous, but nothing truly amazing about this one-act play.
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz ☆☆☆☆☆
This is a brilliant act of terrestrial fantasy set in Montana. While adapted to several radio and teleplays during the 1940s and 1950s, it has yet to adapt to the silver screen. Instead of constant Gatsby remakes, perhaps Hollywood should give this "gem" another look. Exciting!
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button ☆☆☆☆☆(+☆!!!)
For fans of the movie, it might seem fairly foreign. Though names and several plot points remain, this story is by far a more humorous version of the tale of the man who is born elderly and ages in reverse, inspired by and in the vein of Mark Twain. It was sacrilege the film removed these elements and approached the story more dramatically.
Tarquin of Cheapside ☆
I have no idea what was happening in this short, cryptic passage. Had LSD been in existence in the 1920s???
Oh Russet Witch! ☆☆☆
Another example of a Fitzgerald staple--the regrets of youth realized in old age/middle age. It could be quite evident the character Caroline/Alicia Dare was based on Fitzgerald's wife, Zelda. I haven't read into the subject, but many of his young female characters seem to adapt this young and carefree flapper/dancer/socialite archetype who often spoil the dreams of ambitious young men.
The Lees of Happiness ☆☆☆
Don't let the title fool you, this too is a bit of a downer filled with regret and remorse.
Mr Icky ☆☆
Another strange one-act play combining the folly of old age and Fitzgerald's bizarre sense of humor.
Jemina, the Mountain Girl ☆
Strange, absurd, in the vein of Tarquin of Cheapside and Mr Icky.
Overall ☆☆☆☆
While most of the stories were either too strange, so-so, or downright depressing, the few truly great stories (and majority of the volume's volume) made this book a worthwhile read. Fitzgerald could be hilarious, whimsical, and captivating when he wasn't trying to be too weird. It was a different era, altogether, and a strange one to boot. I guess you should've simply "been there."
As a side note, Fitzgerald makes so many references to women's feet one can't but wonder if he harbored an infatuation. Again, something I haven't read into, but of which am suspicious.
September 24, 2024
Wisselvallig en melig as ever, maar minstens twee legendarische (Diamond & Benjamin Button) die je gelezen moét hebben.
The Jelly Bean 2/5 mmeh
The Camel’s Back 3/5 funny
May Day 2,5/5 sorry lol enkele goeie passages wel
“Love is fragile - but perhaps the pieces are saved, the things that hovered on lips, that light have been said. The new love words, the tenderness learnt, are treasured up for the next lover.”
“Imagine their objecting to us having champagne for breakfast - just imagine.” It was impossible for their imaginations to conjure up a world where anyone might object to anyone else having champagne for breakfast.
Porcelain and Pink 4/5
“(You don’t want me.) What you really want is for the world to come to attention and stand there until you give ‘Rest!’”.
A Diamond as Big as the Ritz 4,5/5, worth the hype!
“It’s youth’s felicity as well as it’s insufficiency that it can never live in the present, but must always be measuring up the day against its own radiantly imagined future.”
“Everybody’s youth is a dream, a form of chemical madness. (…) At any rate, let us love for a while, for a year or so. You and me - that’s a form or divine drunkenness that we can all try.”
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 4,5/5, legendarisch natuurlijk, film wel niet gezien
“You’re just the romantic age - fifty. Twenty-five is too worldly-wise; thirty is too apt to be pale from overwork; forty is the age of long stories that take a whole cigar to tell; sixty is too near seventy; but fifty is the mellow age.”
Tarquin of Cheapside 1/5 snap em nie lol
O Russet Witch 3/5
The Lees of Happiness 2/5
Gatsby / TBAD vibeeees: “They loved and quarrelled gently, and gloried in the golden trifling of his wit with her beauty - they were young and gravely passionate, they demanded everything and then yielded everything again in ecstasies of unselfishness and pride. She loved the swift tones of his voice and his frantic, unfounded jealousy. He loved her dark radiance, the white irises of her eyes, the warm, lustrous enthusiasm of her smile.”
Mr. Icky 1/5
Jemina, the Mountain Girl 2,5/5
The Jelly Bean 2/5 mmeh
The Camel’s Back 3/5 funny
May Day 2,5/5 sorry lol enkele goeie passages wel
“Love is fragile - but perhaps the pieces are saved, the things that hovered on lips, that light have been said. The new love words, the tenderness learnt, are treasured up for the next lover.”
“Imagine their objecting to us having champagne for breakfast - just imagine.” It was impossible for their imaginations to conjure up a world where anyone might object to anyone else having champagne for breakfast.
Porcelain and Pink 4/5
“(You don’t want me.) What you really want is for the world to come to attention and stand there until you give ‘Rest!’”.
A Diamond as Big as the Ritz 4,5/5, worth the hype!
“It’s youth’s felicity as well as it’s insufficiency that it can never live in the present, but must always be measuring up the day against its own radiantly imagined future.”
“Everybody’s youth is a dream, a form of chemical madness. (…) At any rate, let us love for a while, for a year or so. You and me - that’s a form or divine drunkenness that we can all try.”
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 4,5/5, legendarisch natuurlijk, film wel niet gezien
“You’re just the romantic age - fifty. Twenty-five is too worldly-wise; thirty is too apt to be pale from overwork; forty is the age of long stories that take a whole cigar to tell; sixty is too near seventy; but fifty is the mellow age.”
Tarquin of Cheapside 1/5 snap em nie lol
O Russet Witch 3/5
The Lees of Happiness 2/5
Gatsby / TBAD vibeeees: “They loved and quarrelled gently, and gloried in the golden trifling of his wit with her beauty - they were young and gravely passionate, they demanded everything and then yielded everything again in ecstasies of unselfishness and pride. She loved the swift tones of his voice and his frantic, unfounded jealousy. He loved her dark radiance, the white irises of her eyes, the warm, lustrous enthusiasm of her smile.”
Mr. Icky 1/5
Jemina, the Mountain Girl 2,5/5
July 5, 2017
This edition of Tales of the Jazz Age features only four short stories from the original volume, the other four short stories are taken from Flappers and Philosophers, thus dating the publication from 1920 to 1922.
Originally, I wanted to unhaul this book because A) I am not the biggest fan of short stories and B) quite frankly, I am not the biggest fan of Fitzgerald himself. There. I said it. It's not just the fact that I have massive problems with his "casual" racism and sexism (whatever casual is supposed to mean in this context... ugh!), no, after reading two of his novels it felt like Scottie was focusing so much on first world problems and characters whining about being rich that I simply couldn't take it anymore. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that these short stories were all quite nuanced, historically insightful and brilliantly written.
There are many allusions to Oscar Wilde (my bae) in Scottie's work, but never have I felt the connection stronger than in this collection. These short stories could've have been written by Oscar himself – the "l'art pour l'art"-vibe was strong in every single one of them, and we even saw some imitations of the dandy.
Overall, I have to admit that I am very impressed with this collection and its exploration of gender roles and unhappy marriages (I didn't agree with a lot of what Scottie was trying to sell me, especially in regards to female beauty, and how it wanes with age, but I appreciated the insight nonetheless). I think that Tales of the Jazz Age is a fantastic collection to get familiar with Scottie and the common themes in his later works.
My absolute favorite story in this collection is May Day btw, you should totally read it! That ending still has me shook!
Originally, I wanted to unhaul this book because A) I am not the biggest fan of short stories and B) quite frankly, I am not the biggest fan of Fitzgerald himself. There. I said it. It's not just the fact that I have massive problems with his "casual" racism and sexism (whatever casual is supposed to mean in this context... ugh!), no, after reading two of his novels it felt like Scottie was focusing so much on first world problems and characters whining about being rich that I simply couldn't take it anymore. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that these short stories were all quite nuanced, historically insightful and brilliantly written.
There are many allusions to Oscar Wilde (my bae) in Scottie's work, but never have I felt the connection stronger than in this collection. These short stories could've have been written by Oscar himself – the "l'art pour l'art"-vibe was strong in every single one of them, and we even saw some imitations of the dandy.
Overall, I have to admit that I am very impressed with this collection and its exploration of gender roles and unhappy marriages (I didn't agree with a lot of what Scottie was trying to sell me, especially in regards to female beauty, and how it wanes with age, but I appreciated the insight nonetheless). I think that Tales of the Jazz Age is a fantastic collection to get familiar with Scottie and the common themes in his later works.
My absolute favorite story in this collection is May Day btw, you should totally read it! That ending still has me shook!
September 7, 2013
Over the last 10 minutes I must have switched between 3 and 4 stars about 20 times - but I did really like most of the short stories.
Fitzgerald has a way of creating the not always endearing but nevertheless interesting characters in his short stories that are sadly missing in his novels (The Great Gatsby excepted).
Fitzgerald has a way of creating the not always endearing but nevertheless interesting characters in his short stories that are sadly missing in his novels (The Great Gatsby excepted).
January 13, 2021
Abandoned.
The first 3 stories were very entertaining and I'm so sorry this collection didn't continue in the same vein. However, the next section was called "Fantasy". I guess I didn't understand what that meant. The first story was "A Diamond as Big as the Ritz". Some of my friends liked it. Not my thing in any way shape or form and whatever humor was supposed to be there fell flat flat flat. There were more stories to come and I just didn't want to face them.
The first 3 stories were very entertaining and I'm so sorry this collection didn't continue in the same vein. However, the next section was called "Fantasy". I guess I didn't understand what that meant. The first story was "A Diamond as Big as the Ritz". Some of my friends liked it. Not my thing in any way shape or form and whatever humor was supposed to be there fell flat flat flat. There were more stories to come and I just didn't want to face them.
October 30, 2022
I loved this collection of eleven short stories by local lad F. Scott Fitzgerald (well, he spent part of his childhood in St. Paul and attended high school at St. Paul Academy (where I played Sunday basketball for close to 30 years -so we roamed the same hallways and gymnasiums!)). My only complaint is that the 2006 Walking Lion Press edition I own contained many spelling errors. I was really surprised by this. How did these errors get past proofreading?! I've forgiven Walking Lion Press, though, as I admire the book cover which features a mesmerizing painting of Edith Bradin from May Day.
Not only are the stories excellent, so is the table of contents which includes a paragraph or two about the origins of each story. Great stuff. Fitzgerald divides the collection in to three parts: "My Last Flappers", "Fantasies", and "Unclassified Masterpieces". I'm not big on fantasy but the stories were all so well written and well told that there was no drop off in interest for me. I rarely give short story collections five stars but am going to for Tales of the Jazz Age as I really enjoyed all the stories and some were just fantastic.
My favorites of the bunch were:
May Day: an episodic tale set on May Day some time after WWI. Sad and unpleasant, this was hard to forget. Would make a great movie. One of the best short stories I've read in a long time.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: I think everyone knows of this odd fantasy story - it was made in to a film in 2008 directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. I really liked the film as well.
The Camel's Back: a hilarious lost love story centered around a costume party and a two-person camel costume.
Ratings for each story:
The Jelly-Bean *****
The Camel's Back *****
May Day *****
Porcelain and Pink ****
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz ***
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button *****
Tarquin of Cheapside ****
"O Russet Witch! ****
The Lees of Happiness *****
Icky ****
Jemina, the Mountain Girl ****
Not only are the stories excellent, so is the table of contents which includes a paragraph or two about the origins of each story. Great stuff. Fitzgerald divides the collection in to three parts: "My Last Flappers", "Fantasies", and "Unclassified Masterpieces". I'm not big on fantasy but the stories were all so well written and well told that there was no drop off in interest for me. I rarely give short story collections five stars but am going to for Tales of the Jazz Age as I really enjoyed all the stories and some were just fantastic.
My favorites of the bunch were:
May Day: an episodic tale set on May Day some time after WWI. Sad and unpleasant, this was hard to forget. Would make a great movie. One of the best short stories I've read in a long time.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: I think everyone knows of this odd fantasy story - it was made in to a film in 2008 directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. I really liked the film as well.
The Camel's Back: a hilarious lost love story centered around a costume party and a two-person camel costume.
Ratings for each story:
The Jelly-Bean *****
The Camel's Back *****
May Day *****
Porcelain and Pink ****
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz ***
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button *****
Tarquin of Cheapside ****
"O Russet Witch! ****
The Lees of Happiness *****
Icky ****
Jemina, the Mountain Girl ****
July 4, 2018
Questa raccolta, pubblicata nel 1922, segna una tappa fondamentale nella vita e nella scrittura di Fitzgerald. Gli anni dell'età del jazz sono gli anni caratterizzati da feste, balli e vita mondana fino alla crisi economica e al crollo della Borsa del 1929.
Gli 11 racconti della raccolta che sono accompagnati dal commento dell'autore, mostrano una vita fatta di lustrini e di paillettes, una vita effimera, a tratti frivola. Sono racconti che trattano di varie tematiche, quali la ricchezza eccessiva o ancora fantasie narrative come "Il curioso caso di Benjamin Button", da cui è stato tratto il film omonimo.
Di fronte a questo benessere, soprattutto materiale, si nota un certo pessimismo ben rappresentato dal racconto "Primo maggio", il migliore della raccolta. Un pessimismo dal quale ci si può risollevare rifugiandosi nella campagna, luogo dove sono ambientati gli ultimi tre racconti e che sembrano restituire una sorta di malinconia e di nostalgia per la vita genuina, vera che quell'ambiente è in grado di dare.
Gli 11 racconti della raccolta che sono accompagnati dal commento dell'autore, mostrano una vita fatta di lustrini e di paillettes, una vita effimera, a tratti frivola. Sono racconti che trattano di varie tematiche, quali la ricchezza eccessiva o ancora fantasie narrative come "Il curioso caso di Benjamin Button", da cui è stato tratto il film omonimo.
Di fronte a questo benessere, soprattutto materiale, si nota un certo pessimismo ben rappresentato dal racconto "Primo maggio", il migliore della raccolta. Un pessimismo dal quale ci si può risollevare rifugiandosi nella campagna, luogo dove sono ambientati gli ultimi tre racconti e che sembrano restituire una sorta di malinconia e di nostalgia per la vita genuina, vera che quell'ambiente è in grado di dare.
April 25, 2018
I can conclude, having finished this collection of short stories, that with the exception of The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald is just not really for me. This collection was saved, in my opinion, by The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, Porcelain and Pink, and Jemina the Mountain Girl. Barring some moments of subtle but shocking endings, I found the rest of the stories dull, and the characters empty, and the prose ineffective.
May 3, 2017
This collection has eight stories: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Head and Shoulders, The Four Fists, The Cut-Glass Bowl, May Day, O Russet Witch, Bernice Bobs Her Hair, and The Lees of Happiness. A handful are incredible: Head and Shoulders, Bernice Bobs Her Hair, and The Lees of Happiness were far and away my favourites. Benjamin Button was great, The Four Fists was fun but forgettable, and The Cut-Glass Bowl was just alright. But May Day, and O Russet Witch, while being not only the longest, were also not terribly enjoyable reads. They were lyrical and well-written, with engaging prose, but some stories were significantly more poignant than others, while Bernice Bobs Her Hair was mostly hysterical.
October 12, 2017
One of the best short story collections I've ever read! Many of the stories felt like 5-starred reads, but some were just s0-so (hence the 4 stars).
A must read for any one who enjoys excellent writing and touching stories. Somehow these stories felt more powerful than some of his novels. I was reminded what a brilliant writer Fitzgerald was.
A must read for any one who enjoys excellent writing and touching stories. Somehow these stories felt more powerful than some of his novels. I was reminded what a brilliant writer Fitzgerald was.
February 10, 2018
Many years ago, I was talking to a gentleman who, like myself, took great pleasure in reading amazing authors. I mentioned that, in my opinion, F. Scott Fitzgerald never fully reached the total potential he was capable of achieving. To me, despite the brilliance of "Gatsby," I always found something lacking in his works, a tragic flaw, a missing something that would have made so many more of his works comparable to Gatsby. Maybe, he should have practiced more self control, a little less partying and a greater dedication to his work.
The gentleman looked up at me and replied, "Most writers are lucky if they are able to write one great paragraph during their lifetimes. Fitzgerald wrote two great books, 'Gatsby and Tender is the Night.'
Maybe more writers, should do a little more partying and not take themselves so serious."
"The Jazz Age" was given to me as a gift quite a few years ago. I remember looking through it, but never reading the entire book. In a sense, I now wish I never picked it up again and read the entire book. It is a collection of autobiographical pieces that is poorly put together, like a disorganized diary, and it left me feeling empty and sorry for Mr Fitzgerald. It taught me nothing about "The Jazz Age" that I didn't already know and it sadly re-enforced my notion of Fitzgerald as a tragic figure.
Yet, like always there was a touch of genius in the collection, that reminded me of "The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night." In closing, this amazingly gifted artist writes, "It was not Monte Carlo I was looking at. It was back into the mind of the young man with cardboard soles who had walked the streets of New York. I was him again-for an instant I had the good fortune to share his dreams, I who had no more dreams of my own."
The gentleman looked up at me and replied, "Most writers are lucky if they are able to write one great paragraph during their lifetimes. Fitzgerald wrote two great books, 'Gatsby and Tender is the Night.'
Maybe more writers, should do a little more partying and not take themselves so serious."
"The Jazz Age" was given to me as a gift quite a few years ago. I remember looking through it, but never reading the entire book. In a sense, I now wish I never picked it up again and read the entire book. It is a collection of autobiographical pieces that is poorly put together, like a disorganized diary, and it left me feeling empty and sorry for Mr Fitzgerald. It taught me nothing about "The Jazz Age" that I didn't already know and it sadly re-enforced my notion of Fitzgerald as a tragic figure.
Yet, like always there was a touch of genius in the collection, that reminded me of "The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night." In closing, this amazingly gifted artist writes, "It was not Monte Carlo I was looking at. It was back into the mind of the young man with cardboard soles who had walked the streets of New York. I was him again-for an instant I had the good fortune to share his dreams, I who had no more dreams of my own."
January 16, 2023
This collection is broken into three sections: My Last Flappers, Fantasies, and Unclassified Masterpieces. Fitzgerald introduces each story with a synopsis in the table of contents, providing valuable insight into his thoughts and motivations as a writer.
The Jelly-Bean- 3.5 stars
Written in conjuction with Zelda, this is the story of Jim Powells mediocre life and the woman who changes it. I didn't understand the Jelly-Bean nickname, perhaps it was a southern euphemism at the time?
The Camel's Back- 2 stars
Utterly ridiculous
May Day- 3 stars
There's a lot going on in this one, almost too much for its length. The ending is also rather depressing.
Porcelain and Pink- 1 star
What did I even just read? This is meant to be a short play, but it makes absolutely no sense. Granted, I have the flu at the time I'm reading this so maybe I just missed it but it felt pointless.
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz- 3 stars
This feels the most Fitzgerald of the entire collection, but it quickly devolves into ridiculousness
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button- 4 stars
Probably the best known of this collection thanks to the movie adaptation- I found the writing to be quite good albeit the concept farfetched.
Tarquin of Cheapside- 4 stars
This was rather cerebal and I enjoyed it. Definitely worth rereading
Oh Russet Witch!- 3 stars
A look at mediocrity and unrequired longing
The Lees of Happiness- 4 stars
This is the standout of the collection, so much emotion is packed into the tragedies in the lives of the characters
Mr. Icky- 2.5 stars
Another attempt at a one act play, making it all the more clear plays were not Fitzgerald's forte
Jemina, the Mountain Girl- 3 stars
Taking place in rural Kentucky, this has a Romeo and Juliet quality
The Jelly-Bean- 3.5 stars
Written in conjuction with Zelda, this is the story of Jim Powells mediocre life and the woman who changes it. I didn't understand the Jelly-Bean nickname, perhaps it was a southern euphemism at the time?
The Camel's Back- 2 stars
Utterly ridiculous
May Day- 3 stars
There's a lot going on in this one, almost too much for its length. The ending is also rather depressing.
Porcelain and Pink- 1 star
What did I even just read? This is meant to be a short play, but it makes absolutely no sense. Granted, I have the flu at the time I'm reading this so maybe I just missed it but it felt pointless.
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz- 3 stars
This feels the most Fitzgerald of the entire collection, but it quickly devolves into ridiculousness
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button- 4 stars
Probably the best known of this collection thanks to the movie adaptation- I found the writing to be quite good albeit the concept farfetched.
Tarquin of Cheapside- 4 stars
This was rather cerebal and I enjoyed it. Definitely worth rereading
Oh Russet Witch!- 3 stars
A look at mediocrity and unrequired longing
The Lees of Happiness- 4 stars
This is the standout of the collection, so much emotion is packed into the tragedies in the lives of the characters
Mr. Icky- 2.5 stars
Another attempt at a one act play, making it all the more clear plays were not Fitzgerald's forte
Jemina, the Mountain Girl- 3 stars
Taking place in rural Kentucky, this has a Romeo and Juliet quality
May 6, 2021
The Tales in this short story collection from the early 1920’s, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s early years, hang like over ripe fruit. He captures the voluptuous luster and allure of the young people that populate his stories. The aching desire, the dread of not fitting in of his male characters are juxtaposed the careless sexual power wielded by young women who sense this moment in history in opening new paths for them. But lurking underneath is the melancholy of a realization that ripeness does not last. There is a tension Fitzgerald expertly captures between the fun of the all night crazy carousing jazz party and a persistent urge for a form of happiness that can endure. My favorites are May Day and "O Russet Witch".
While the majority of the stores revolve around young love, there is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Fitzgerald shows a dry humor. As Benjamin’s father enters the aged infant’s nursery, “he found the room full of faint blue haze and Benjamin, with a guilty expression on his face, trying to conceal the butt of a Havana. This, of course, called for a severe spanking, but Mr. Button found that he could not bring himself to administer it. He merely warned his son that he would ‘stunt his growth’.”
Words seem to flow for the Young Fitzgerald, in a way that reminds me of Edgar Allen Poe. Each story is a pleasure to read for that attribute alone. And he seems not unaware of his gift and how to use it. In an odd, funny, avant-garde story/play called Mr Icky The Quintessence of Quaintness in One Act, a character remarks, “After all what is brilliance? Merely the tact to sow when no one is looking and reap when everyone is.”
While the majority of the stores revolve around young love, there is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Fitzgerald shows a dry humor. As Benjamin’s father enters the aged infant’s nursery, “he found the room full of faint blue haze and Benjamin, with a guilty expression on his face, trying to conceal the butt of a Havana. This, of course, called for a severe spanking, but Mr. Button found that he could not bring himself to administer it. He merely warned his son that he would ‘stunt his growth’.”
Words seem to flow for the Young Fitzgerald, in a way that reminds me of Edgar Allen Poe. Each story is a pleasure to read for that attribute alone. And he seems not unaware of his gift and how to use it. In an odd, funny, avant-garde story/play called Mr Icky The Quintessence of Quaintness in One Act, a character remarks, “After all what is brilliance? Merely the tact to sow when no one is looking and reap when everyone is.”
December 26, 2019
If you like Fitzgerald at all, or even the idea of him, you should read his short stories as they are really the backbone of his career. This particular electronic volume is available at no cost from Project Gutenberg. I imagine there are many other choices also.
That being said, most of these works will not stun you. Some don't even make sense, many are decent and a few are fine. I did think many of them were mostly told on the surface, without a lot of introspection or development of the character. I don't think that is necessarily because of the short story format in and of itself, but it could be related to how they were published in magazines. And perhaps even a function of the Jazz Age itself.
The stories were largely unhappy. Alcohol and ill-fated loves are common. I was surprised at a Diamond as Big as Ritz as it could not have been further from what the title suggests. I had not realized he wrote fantasies, of which three appear here, including The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I had not seen the movie, judging it depressing and not caring for the lead actor. The story was just plain mean. O Russet Witch was interesting and I liked The Lees of Happiness, for which I imagined a much happier ending, but alas, despair is a much stronger tool in Fitzgerald's kit. Regardless, I think this a valuable read.
That being said, most of these works will not stun you. Some don't even make sense, many are decent and a few are fine. I did think many of them were mostly told on the surface, without a lot of introspection or development of the character. I don't think that is necessarily because of the short story format in and of itself, but it could be related to how they were published in magazines. And perhaps even a function of the Jazz Age itself.
The stories were largely unhappy. Alcohol and ill-fated loves are common. I was surprised at a Diamond as Big as Ritz as it could not have been further from what the title suggests. I had not realized he wrote fantasies, of which three appear here, including The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I had not seen the movie, judging it depressing and not caring for the lead actor. The story was just plain mean. O Russet Witch was interesting and I liked The Lees of Happiness, for which I imagined a much happier ending, but alas, despair is a much stronger tool in Fitzgerald's kit. Regardless, I think this a valuable read.
November 19, 2013
The remarkable story "THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON" is even better then the movie which was made based on this story.
This story was inspired by a remark of Mark Twain's to the effect that it was a pity that the best part of life came at the beginning and the worst part at the end. By trying the experiment upon only one man in a perfectly normal world I have scarcely given his idea a fair trial. Several weeks after completing it, I discovered an almost identical plot in Samuel Butler's "Note-books."
The story was published in "Collier's" last summer and provoked this startling letter from an anonymous admirer in Cincinnati:
"Sir—
I have read the story Benjamin Button in Colliers and I wish to say that as a short story writer you would make a good lunatic I have seen many peices of cheese in my life but of all the peices of cheese I have ever seen you are the biggest peice. I hate to waste a piece of stationary on you but I will."
Free download available at Project Gutenberg.
This story was inspired by a remark of Mark Twain's to the effect that it was a pity that the best part of life came at the beginning and the worst part at the end. By trying the experiment upon only one man in a perfectly normal world I have scarcely given his idea a fair trial. Several weeks after completing it, I discovered an almost identical plot in Samuel Butler's "Note-books."
The story was published in "Collier's" last summer and provoked this startling letter from an anonymous admirer in Cincinnati:
"Sir—
I have read the story Benjamin Button in Colliers and I wish to say that as a short story writer you would make a good lunatic I have seen many peices of cheese in my life but of all the peices of cheese I have ever seen you are the biggest peice. I hate to waste a piece of stationary on you but I will."
Free download available at Project Gutenberg.
August 18, 2021
Downloads of "Tales of the Jazz Age" are FREE on iTunes, and so far I think this is a great collection. I really enjoyed this side of Fitzgerald, which is a little more light-hearted than his full-length novel output.:)
The book is divided into two sections: his great jazz age work and his bizarre fantasy tales. While I didn't dislike his fantasy tales (Diamond As Big As The Ritz, Benjamin Button)I found them too jarring set against his more timely Twenties stories, the dynamics being so different they almost seemed at odds with each other. But all in all, this is a great introduction to the strange world of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Recommended listening: Chambermaid Swing, The Mojo Radio Gang & Charleston Butterfly by Parov Stelar.
The book is divided into two sections: his great jazz age work and his bizarre fantasy tales. While I didn't dislike his fantasy tales (Diamond As Big As The Ritz, Benjamin Button)I found them too jarring set against his more timely Twenties stories, the dynamics being so different they almost seemed at odds with each other. But all in all, this is a great introduction to the strange world of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Recommended listening: Chambermaid Swing, The Mojo Radio Gang & Charleston Butterfly by Parov Stelar.
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