Skip to main content

All Fitzgerald's Cracked Up to Be

3. The Crack Up by F. Scott Fitzgerald (a collection of his essays, notebooks, and letters), edited by Edmund Wilson

I picked up this old paperback in a used book store. It's inspired in me an even deeper connection to "Fitz." Even though, at times, he had an even more bitter, apathetic outlook than I would have imagined, he's still so...pure. He stays faithful to his boyhood dreams and writing scruples till the end.

He writes continuously about how he missed out on dreams of football and battlefield glory, and the profound effect it had on his life and writing. His notebooks, though admirably organized, were admittedly a bit of a bore. The editor, an old friend of Fitzgerald's, claims they are best read with Tender Is the Night and The Last Tycoon, the first of which I have just started for the first time. This was really my first exposure to Fitzgerald's older work, so far I've only read TSOP, Beautiful and Damned, and Gatsby.

There were plenty of great quotes in his essays, but most were snatched up immediately. A slightly less ubiquitous one I liked was "In the real dark night of the soul it is always three o'clock in the morning."

I was particularly fascinated with his letters to his daughter. He addresses her so intimately and familiarly, and not altogether kindly. There is a marked difference between those letters and his letters to his friends. In the latter, he is often complimenting and seeking advice, and he prefaces any criticism with apologies. His letters to his daughter often veer straight into condescending advice about every part of her life. But apparently she takes it well, he responds to questions and thoughts of hers. I should have liked to see her side of the letters as well, whether she addresses him teasingly or dutifully. He obviously has a great love for her, he calls her "Pie," and mostly just wants her to avoid his mistakes.

The thing about F. Scott Fitzgerald is, he knew he was great. He thought Hemenway was better, and he recognized when he wrote a stinky article or story, but he slaved over his novels until they were perfect. He expresses his surprise in one of his letters when The Beautiful and the Damned doesn't sell as well as This Side of Paradise. Personally, it would have baffled me as well. At least up until Gatsby, he just keeps getting better and better. I'm having trouble relating to Tender Is the Night right now, but hopefully I'll learn to appreciate it too.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Books with Single-Word Titles

Happy Top Ten Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl! Books with Single-Word Titles These are all my favorite books that I could think of with one-word titles. A lot of fantasy, a few nonfiction (minus subtitles) and Kindred , whether you consider it scifi or historical fiction. Also two portmanteaus using the word "bitter." I suppose it's a word that lends itself to amelioration. 1. Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler 2. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore 3. Fire by Kristin Cashore 4. Heartless by Marissa Meyer 5. Inheritance by Christopher Paolini 6. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius 7. Stoned by Aja Raden (has a subtitle) 8. Educated by Tara Westover 9. Fledgling by Octavia Butler 10. Kindred by Octavia Butler

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

Speaking of cultures and society, I leave for Spain on January 9. Instead of continuing as a book blog with a specific goal for number of books to read in a year, Space Station Mir will become a chronicle for my adventures in Spain. Expect a post for each new place that I visit, with pictures! I also plan to continue reviewing books, however I will not make a set goal for number of books to read this year. I do pledge myself to read at least one book in Spanish that was not assigned for a class. In terms of my goals for 2009, I was not diligent enough in keeping track of them. Looking back, I've fulfilled some of them and not others. The greatest trend in my reading this year, which marks a huge deviation for me, is that I've read more non-fiction than I think I've read any other year in my life. I've finally developed the ability to sustain interest in non-fiction other than biographies. For a while, biographies were the only non-fiction I ever read, with the exception

Most Recent Books I Did Not Finish

 I feel like I've been DNFing a fair amount lately, mostly with review books. I feel obligated to read review books longer than I would if they were books I just picked up on my own. That said, I have a caveat in my Book Review Policy  that if I feel I am not the right audience for the book, I won't post a review. I try to avoid that by only picking books I genuinely think I will enjoy, but of course I can't always predict that before I read. Also, while book clubs have been a great way to get exposed to books I wouldn't normally read, tastes will differ and every once in a while, I find a book I'm just not willing to finish. I also want to say no shade to the authors or anyone who enjoyed these books--they just weren't for me. Happy Top Ten Tuesday! Most Recent Books I Did Not Finish 1. Caribbean Competitors by Poppy Minnix--LibraryThing review--This one sounded great and has a beautiful cover, but while the island setting was compelling, I just couldn't ge