I have been a Fitzgerald fan for several years.I would recommend Professor Bruccoli’s book to anyone who wants an in depth understanding of Fitzgerald. Some might dismiss the book on the basis that Bruccoli is an unabashed fan. But I would say so what if he’s a fan–he’s got some great insight in Fitzgerald’s psyche. And even though he’s a fan, he doesn’t (in my opinion) observe Fitzgerald with rose colored glasses.Fitzgerald was so complex. He could be brutal in his personal relationships, he struggled with demons (mainly alcohol) for most of his life, and yet his writing displays such a high degree of sensitivity. Some passages of his prose have a quality of delicacy and fragility.Here’s one of my favorite descriptive passages from Gatsby:
And so it happened that on a warm windy evening I What a dynamic description of mere lawn! |