THIS SIDE OF PARADISE

by F. Scott Fitzgerald



"I know myself, but that is all." Amory Blaine in This Side Of Paradise

There is a saying my friends and I use when one of us is being hopelessly self-centered -- "Enough about me. Let's talk about you. What do you think of me?" The main character of this novel, Amory Blaine, reminded me a lot of that quote. Actually, most of the characters in this novel reminded me of that quote. Despite the self-absorption, I liked listening to the book. Fitzgerald paints such a vivid portrait of the Roaring Twenties that it's almost like watching a movie. I nearly forgot I was listening to a book.

I didn't find any of the characters terribly sympathetic, but I enjoyed the debates about love and politics, religion and literature. Especially the literature. It's fun to listen to intellectuals, or even pseudo-intellectuals, expound on their theories. Just as when I read The Great Gatsby, I can't seem to put my finger on what I felt this book was about without reading it again, but I find myself thinking about Amory in an abstract form and comparing his ideas and experiences to my own. I look forward to revisiting him in the future in printed form rather than audio and taking a closer look at this work.