F. Scott Fitzgerald: Flappers and Philosophers: Amazon.ca: F. Scott Fitzgerald, James L. W. West III: Books

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From Library Journal

Scott followed up his smash debut novel, This Side of Paradise, with this 1920 collection of short stories, which contains several of his signature pieces such as "Bernice Bobs Her Hair," "The Ice Palace," and "Benediction." This Cambridge scholarly edition includes six additional stories not appearing in the original incarnation. Along with the stories, it also includes illustrations, explanatory notes, and other scholarly appendixes. A tad pricey for most public libraries, but academics supporting American literature curricula should strongly consider purchase.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile

Fitzgerald's first anthology contains eight stories of jazz-age youth, those whom the author called "romantic egoists." Notably present--the still popular "Bernice Bobs Her Hair," the superbly written "Ice Palace," and "The Off-Shore Pirate," a riff on Valentino's THE SHEIK, which was itself made into a silent film. Narrator Dufris is a bit over the top, a good and bad thing as applied here. On the one hand, he admirably captures Scott's Edwardian schmaltz; on the other, he caricatures the Dramatis Personae, particularly the women. Y.R. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

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First Sentence
This unlikely story begins on a sea that was a blue dream, as colorful as blue silk stockings, and beneath a sky as blue as the irises of children's eyes. Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews

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4 star:		(3)
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4.2 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Form and Finesse, Dec 21 2002

By	L. Dann "adhdmom" (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fitzgerald's stories manage to unite his otherworldly grasp of the fluctuations in the human soul. He is a master at presenting its contrivances and vanities as things that happen to people. The tension in these tales rises with almost unconscious force. Red herrings of possible conclusions are whispered but almost in the style of a trickster. Someone always gets conned and someone unmasked- all within that now long-gone era that held a fullhouse of interesting details and premonitions of an ominous future. "Beatrice Bobs her Hair" always has something more to say about savage young ladies. It deserves its place, I think, in every highschool English curriculum. The spoiled rich girls inevitably fall madly in love- with the cads or the tricksters. It was interesting to read "Benediction" in this era of the priest scandals. How priests were seen by Fitzgerald, or perhaps how he conceived his alter ego- is apparent in his return to his natural self through the heroine's choice at the end. This writer always has a trick up his sleeve for the unpredictable conclusion.
I am surprised that there are not more raves over this collection, but perhaps that is the nature of the post modern era. I on the other hand -rave. Story, resolution, all those little formulas that separate the artist from the amateur in the impossible short story form. Fitzgerald, except for perhaps in Gatsby, never achieved such form and plotting in his novels. His youth too, can be sensed in the humorous and rather light-hearted manner by which he casts his characters and those obstacles that they encounter.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Form and Finesse, Dec 21 2002

By	L. Dann "adhdmom" (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fitzgerald's stories manage to unite his otherworldly grasp of the fluctuations in the human soul. He is a master at presenting its contrivances and vanities as things that happen to people. The tension in these tales rises with almost unconscious force. Red herrings of possible conclusions are whispered but almost in the style of a trickster. Someone always gets conned and someone unmasked- all within that now long-gone era that held a fullhouse of interesting details and premonitions of an ominous future. "Beatrice Bobs her Hair" always has something more to say about savage young ladies. It deserves its place, I think, in every highschool English curriculum. The spoiled rich girls inevitably fall madly in love- with the cads or the tricksters. It was interesting to read "Benediction" in this era of the priest scandals. How priests were seen by Fitzgerald, or perhaps how he conceived his alter ego- is apparent in his return to his natural self through the heroine's choice at the end. This writer always has a trick up his sleeve for the unpredictable conclusion.
I am surprised that there are not more raves over this collection, but perhaps that is the nature of the post modern era. I on the other hand -rave. Story, resolution, all those little formulas that separate the artist from the amateur in the impossible short story form. Fitzgerald, except for perhaps in Gatsby, never achieved such form and plotting in his novels. His youth too, can be sensed in the humorous and rather light-hearted manner by which he casts his characters and those obstacles that they encounter.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, engrossing short stories, Oct 28 2002

By	Bobby Newman (Long Beach, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fitzgerald may not have been overly fond of his short stories, but his writing skill and insight shine through anyway. In The Ice Palace and Bernice Bobs her Hair and the Four Fists in particular, Fitzgerald captures individuals struggling with themselves. Who/what should they be, and why? While I wasn't too fond of the pirate story, as it lacked these elements, the other stories in the book show a depth of understanding and introspection that makes for a wonderful, thoughtful read.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A good sampling of Fitzgerald
This collection of short stories takes a candid look at America in the early 20th century. There isn't a stinker in the lot, but I think "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" is my... Read more

Published on May 20 2000 by Christina P. Branson

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine read
What marks this collection is a depth of feeling and sensitivity. Fitzgerald has a large degree of empathy for the creatures he writes about--whether they're the young... Read more

Published on Jan 5 2000 by IA

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good
Not a bad set of stories. "The Offshore Pirate" was the best---its one of the sweetest stories I have ever read.

Published on Dec 15 1999 by Scott Votel

2.0 out of 5 stars Mediocre
Fitzgerald has established that he _can_ write, and well in his other works. This one, however, leaves more than a little to be desired. Read more

Published on Dec 3 1998