When I started reading this book, I could not distinguish between reality and fiction. Our main character and Fitzgerald seem to be any different. The story and the characters' development were flat. I did not find the kind of narration I am used to enjoying with this author.

'I don't want to repeat my innocence. I want the pleasure of losing it again.'

3.5*, rounded up because, well, Fitzgerald's always a riot.

I guess I was kind of disappointed with this, but only because The Great Gatsby is an all-time favourite which I could - and do - re-read on a regular basis and find more brilliance within. This didn't quite move me as much; I feel like Fitzgerald honed his craft like an elite sniper and peaked in a special way with Gatsby and company, but he was still testing the waters with This Side of Paradise.

It was good, don't get me wrong, but I was spoiled by his later genius, and as a result couldn't help but compare. As ever, his whip-smart dialogue and wit was on display, and the first half of the book raced along, but it drifted away when one Amory Blaine left his childhood behind. H. L. Mencken said it best in The Smart Set, a literary magazine from the 1920s: '... his hero begins to elude him. What, after such a youth, is to be done with the fellow?'

I love Fitzgerald, the old sport, and probably always will, but increasingly I feel like I won't find anything as good as his Gatsby exploits. Which is okay. I didn't expect I would. Still, one can hope... and I do have one of his novels left in the pipeline: The Beautiful and the Damned. Whatever the judgement may be, I look forward to that.

There are certain books that hardly seem worth reviewing because everyone knows of them. This was the book that launched F. Scott Fitzgerald into popularity, making him and his wife, Zelda, into instant celebrities. I think at some point in high school I had a copy of this book that I started to read but never continued on with. I don't know why. I suppose I was less patient back then. Now, I found this extraordinary.

'This Side of Paradise' chronicles the early life of Amory Blaine as he grows up, an idle mama's boy, goes to prep school, goes to Princeton, falls in love, falls in love again, goes to war, moves to New York, falls in love again, loses all his money, falls in love again, and then finally finds himself.

A trite summary, yes, but this is one of those books that's not easy to describe. The sort of book that deals with real life. The comings and goings of family, friends, wealth, and love. It's exciting in some points, and much less so in others.

Despite all his many faults, I found the character of Amory to be very sympathetic. I would understand if everyone didn't feel this way, however. He's often lazy, wanting things to come easy to him, such as good grades and money, without working for them. He can be overly sentimental, falling in and out of love at the drop of a hat. And often acts without thinking of the consequences. But, he is an unfailingly good friend, capable of big thoughts, and a strong sense of what he considers right and wrong.

I can see how this would be the sort of book people could go crazy over. It's a little bit quiet, certainly quieter than Fitzgerald's more oft read novel ('The Great Gatsby', obviously), but it packs the sort of punch that leaves you thinking. And ultimately wanting more.

Amory Blaine reminds me of many narcissistic folks in my life that have lost all hope for humanity.

I've been puzzling over why it is I find it difficult to like F Scott Fitzgerald's work. The gilded lives of his characters that seem so utterly unreal in this day and age? Perhaps. But then again, I don't face this problem reading Wharton. Perhaps the self-absorption - bordering on narcissism - of his characters, wrapped up as they are in their gilded lives then. I didn't find any of the characters in the Great Gatsby very appealing or sympathetic. Reading my review from 2 years ago, I wrote that at best, they inspired pity. With Amory Blaine - yet another self-absorbed character and an egotist and a bit of a prat to boot - all I felt was a mild sense of irritation. Any sympathetic feelings he might have inspired following the episode with Rosalind quickly dissipated in the events that followed.

We follow Blaine's journey into adulthood - through prep school, college, a war, romance; it seems at several points that he might just be on the cusp of self-awareness and actually trying to do something instead of satisficing with his intellectual posturing and affectations. But each time, he lapses back into his old habits of being a self-professed sentimentalist, correction, romantic, who philosophizes, expounds, languidly lounges. But to what end? Eleanor and Rosalind are perhaps the only other characters in the novel apart from Amory that are somewhat fleshed out. While they start out as intriguing, strong, (perhaps more accurately, headstrong) characters, they ultimately disappoint Amory (and this reader) with their weakness and inconsistency.

I've been wanting to read this book for a while for personal reasons and I'm glad I finally got round to it. I just wish I could have liked it more.

The first Fitzgerald book I have read since The Great Gatsby, This Side of Paradise proved to be more lyrical and include even more shrouded themes centering on the struggles of the 1920's in the United States. I enjoyed the style of writing throughout, with poems intermixed that illuminate Amory's desires and thoughts and often provide the reader a glimpse of the themes. Furthermore, I appreciated the lesson that Amory exemplifies throughout the book: the more we focus on our own steps to success, the more we tend to interfere with ourselves by our own indecision. Although it was not an easy read, I appreciated the complexity of the characters and mood throughout the book. The book is a four star read since it makes the reader think about the deeper themes and has a plot line that, although slow at times, conveys a message worth hearing.
Trigger warnings that I noticed: mention of suicide, death through war and drunk driving, and frequent prejudiced (both racist and sexist) thinking of numerous characters throughout the book.

This is the stupidest fucking book I’ve ever read. I want to give it 0 stars. It’s a long book about self important teenagers-early 20 y/os that drags on forever where the only thing more important than high society is Princeton. If I had a physical copy I would burn it. The only bad book is a book that hasn’t been written and This Side of Paradise.