The book The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the unknown gems in Fitzgerald's repertoire. The reader finds themselves following the life of Anthony Patch as well as the entire post-war generation. A generation who lived their lives whimsically and without considering the consequences to their decisions. Just like the rest of his generation, Anthony Patch isn't career driven, rather just sitting on his assets, waiting for his grandfather to die to inherit his money; instead of searching for his own source of income. Which later comes back to haunt him.
Along this story Anthony finds true love, Gloria. For once Anthony understands why people would want to settle down and stay faithful to just one person. His life prior he would see girls for an extended period of time but never want to fully commit. The relationship between Anthony and Gloria was full of glamor and desire. However their relationship also follows a pattern of the seasons. Just how in Mrs. Dalloway scenes changed with the time, moods changed with the seasons. In the summer they move out to their country home and just as summer brings high spirits and whims, is similar to how they their life out in their summer home. They are in love and have high expectations of the illusion of their frivolous lifestyle. However once the leaves start to change and the weather gets colder and the magic in the air is gone, feelings change, as they realize that they have to go back to reality and keep waiting for Anthony's grandfather to pass so they could inherit his money and live comfortably without the stresses of reality. They all have a misconception of what happiness is.
There are unexpected twist of events that keep you turning pages and intrigued. The style in which Fitzgerald wrote this story was very easy to follow while keeping it engaging and fun. It is told in the 3rd person. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed The Great Gatsby. The plots are very similar, with a misconception of what wealth and happiness is, but the two stories are very different as well.
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1 comment:
Tarja,
A nicely compact (but comprehensive) review. I think you're right to term this book an "undiscovered gem" and to contextualize by reference to Gatsby. Indeed, I appreciate the way you cover all the bases here with such admirable brevity.
Well done!
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