Fitzgerald Musings

The Disenchanted by Buss Schulberg

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 20:38:00 +0000

This was taken from my reading Blog 481 Laurel

Not that this blog is being written for anyone besides myself and my records, but sometimes I get back logged on getting my entries in. The Disenchanted is one of those books causing a lull. I knew that for me it was going to be a difficult review to write, so I thought I would just push ahead to the next book, but now 5 1/2 books later I figured I need to just write what I can and realize that it may not make any sense or be complete, and that is OK.

I was interested in this book because of the author, Budd Schulberg and the subject matter, a young screen-writer who works along side his literary hero and is witness to his demise.

In real life, a young Budd Schulberg was hired by the studios to work out a script with F Scott Fitzgerald. Schulberg had been a fan of FSF in college, but thought the author had died, but was thrilled to have the opportunity to work so closely with such a great writer. They are asked to work on a script that takes place at a winter carnival on an East Coast campus, and are sent there to "capture the flavor". During this point in his life Fitzgerald was with Sheila Graham and working on his sobriety, trying to put his life back together and move forward. This trip to Dartmouth would prove to be a disaster.

Knowing that the book was rooted in reality, I was fascinated as I read, and always looking for Fitzgerald in the character Halliday. It was not to hard to find him, and the events of that infamous weekend. I found much of it familiar and kept thinking there was a short storywritten on the event, but I was unable to find it. I think most of the info I gathered were from Bruccoli and Graham herself.

I do wonder if I would have found the book as good if the Fitzgerald connection was not there? I found the pacing a tad slow. But that could be because I knew where it was going. If I did not, I think the pacing could have been OK and actually works for the story as it is a slow decline of a man and by taking such a methodical approach would make sense. This story of the dissapation of a hero is a Fitzgerald theme and is another reason it interest me.

Would I recommend it as a read? Yes, but it would not be a book I recommend to everyone, only people who have an interest in Fitzgerald or the Old Hollywood movie scene. It is a shame, because it really is a moving story, but I am afraid many people are not satisfied with such a depressing ending to a book.

Unpubished Stories I was unable to find....

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 21:30:00 +0000

Here is a list of the stories I was unable to find and a brief blurb of what they were about

The IOU (1920) A satire on the Advertising industry
Recklessness (1922)
Nightmare (Fantasy in Black) (1932) Set in an institute for the insane
What to do About it (1933) About a Doctor
Daddy was perfect (1934) About a playwright
Travel Together (1935) About a scriptwriter
I'd Die For You (1935-36) About a Movie Star
The Pearl and The Fur (1936) A Gwen Bowers story
Cyclone in Silent Land (1936) Nurse named Trouble series
They Never Grow Old (1937) About a cartoonist
Offside Play (Athletic Interview) (1937) A football story
Temperature (The Woman on the House) (1939)
The Couple (?) A couple on the verge of divorce reunite
Salute to Lucie and Elsie (1939) A mans shock of hearing of his sons sexual exploits
The Gods of Darkness (1941) -Phillipe story, Historical fiction
Kingdom in the Dark (1935)-Phillipe story, Historical fictio
The Count of Darkness (1935)-Phillipe story, Historical fictio

If you know where I can get a copy let me know. I would like to read these as well.

Done Done Done

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 21:07:00 +0000

It has taken me much longer than I had expected, but I have done it. Here is the break down:

198 Short Stories
5 Novels
11 Biographies on Scott
2 Biographies on Zelda
4 Misc books or biographies of people surrounding Fitzgerald
3 Fitzgerald inspired novels
5 movies
1 play

Scott Fitzgerald Novels
This Side of Paradise 3/08* (Audio books as well)
The Beautiful & Damned 2/11
The Great Gatsby 11/10 & 7/12
Tender is the Night 4/09*
Love of the Last Tycoon 8/13
*I am positive I have read both This side of Paradise and Tender is the Night since I have started this blog but I can't find entries for them- Guess I will be reading them again soon

Biographies on Scott
Some Epic Grandeur 5/08 and off and on since then
Fitzgerald and Hemingway: A Dangerous Friendship 7/11
Hemingway vs Fitzgerald: The Rise and Fall of a Literary Friendship 7/11
Against the Current 4/13
College of One 6/13
Invented Lives 7/13
Beloved Infidel 8/13
The Real F Scott Fitzgerald: Thirty Five Years Later 8/13
Fool For Love 2/14
The Thoughtbook of F Scott Fitzgerald 5/14
The Perfect Hour 12/10
Still have another Sheila Graham memoir (The Rest of the Story)

Biographies on Zelda
Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald: An American Woman's Life 11/11
Sometimes Madness is Wisdom 3/14
I am also sure I have read the biography on Zelda by Nancy Milford, but again I do not hat it listed. I am sure I read it at the same time I read Zelda...An American Woman's Life. Nope I started it but did not finish it. Guess what I will be reading this summer.

Misc:
Everybody Was So Young (Gerald and Sara Murphy) 12/11
A Farewell to Arms (Hemingway) 1/12
The Real Midnight in Paris 9/13
Guide to F. Scott Fitzgerald's St.Paul 9/11

Movies
The Great Gatsby (1974 version) 5/11
The Great Gatsby (Luhrman) 5/13
Beloved Infidel 8/13
Midnight in Paris 7/11
F Scott Fitzgerald The Great American Dreamer (A&E) 8/10

Fitzgerald inspired Fiction
Gatsby's Girl 11/11
Call Me Zelda 8/13
Beautiful Fools 8/13

Now I will move on to the next phase. I hopefully will be able to identify the stories I would recommend.

The Last of the Belles- My final story

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Sat, 20 Sep 2014 21:04:00 +0000

After Atlanta's elaborate and theatrical rendition of Southern charm, we all underestimated Tarleton. It was a little hotter than anywhere we'd been....

Yes, this is another story that takes place in the mythical Georgia town of Tarleton that exists in Fitzgerald's mind.

As it is in this type of story the hero is a Northerner in the south for army training. Fitzgerald has this story taking place right at the end of the war. It is also a story where the hero never gets the girl. In fact he really does not realize that he is in love with her until years later, when it is far too late. Actually, in this story the girl never falls in love with the boy. I have to wonder why he falls in love with her, except we know Fitzgerald has a weak spot for this type of selfish, manipulating woman.

One of the lines that stuck out to me was...

"Beneath her mask of an instinctive thoroughbred she had always been on to herself, and she couldn't beleive that anyone not taken to the point of uncritical worship could really love her. That was what she called being "sincere"..."

As we all know I have trouble with his heroines, but I can appreciate that this was the type that made him weak in the knees. I am sure the type of man that is my Achilles heel also has some really unattractive traits. So I can move beyond it. So I will move beyond and talk about something else.

Written on 1929, it is the end of his debutante stories. At least that was what he wanted. To say, lets put a pin in it. He wanted to move on to other types of stories. And it is a good story to end them on. It seems obvious that he would link this last deb story to the end of the war. He has also linked that he did not "get over" to not getting the girl.

I have to confess, I also kept this story to be my last story, it seemed fitting to me to have this one end my journey as well.

Crazy Sunday (1932)

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Tue, 27 May 2014 19:03:00 +0000

It was Sunday-not a day, but rather a gap between two other days.

It always seemed strange to me that Fitzgerald was not a success in Hollywood as a screen writer. It seems like it should have been a natural fit, but the truth was he just did not cut it. Whether it was due to his lack of faith in the medium, or his personal demons (alcohol and women) he was put into an environment that he did not flourish. However, being a person who soaks up his surroundings, he could not help but write stories of Hollywood. Later he would die working on his Hollywood novel, one that could have been a masterpiece.

In Crazy Sunday, we see a bit of the Hollywood scene. The parties and the small community that made up the Hollywood system. There is also a bit of personal history that he includes, in the story as in life the protagonist embarrasses himself in front of the Hollywood elite.

This is not one of my favorites, but there is much that seems to be a prelude to The Love of the Last Tycoon.

The Swimmers (1929)

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Tue, 27 May 2014 14:29:00 +0000

In the Place Benoit, a suspended mass of gasoline exhaust cooked slowly by the June sun. It was a terrible thing, for, unlike pure heat, it held no promise of rural escape, but suggested only roads choked with the same foul asthma.

This was a story published in October 1929, right before the the Big Crash.

Although Fitzgerald was among the expats that lived in Europe in the time between the wars, it does not seem he took to France as others did. He always seemed to keep a distance. It was like he was always a tourist, and always American. In this story he works out the American Ideals set against the Continental. Henry is an American who has given up his country in order to marry the French Choupette. In one of their conversations Choupette is talking about the differences in women in Europe and how they stay in their classes when she spies a young American and says....

"But that young lady may be a stenographer and yet be compelled to warp herself, dressing and acting as of she had all the money in the world."
"Perhaps she will have, someday." (Henry)
"That's the story they are told; it happens to one, not the ninety-nine. That is hwy all their faces over thirty are discontented and unhappy."

Which is still a pretty accurate statement for today. Even if we Americans know that the dream only happens to a select few, we hold that ideal and know that who the "few" are could be any of us, if we work hard enough and have enough luck on our side. We are not content to just live with our lot in life.

Another line from the story simply states...

"American men are incomplete without money."

Still true.

Interestingly enough, after Choupette moves to America, she is wooed by the luxury and life that American money and ideals provide, and Henry goes back to Europe after he makes enough money.

It is interesting when Fitzgerald writes about life in Europe. I always get the feeling that he is hoping to find something there. He is not in love with the Culture, or the people. When he did travel there he kept to other Americans, but he held out hope that they will be happy and he will be able to write and they could live cheaply. But in life it is not where you are, it is who you are and the change of scenery does not change the problems, you just take them with you and "they" live in surrounded by new scenery. It is a thread that runs through his work. Whether it be love stories, "class" stories or location stories. You are where you are, you are who you are and your struggles are internal and will always be your struggles, no matter the situation. Place, money or love does not ease the strain.

Majesty (1929)

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Mon, 26 May 2014 16:15:00 +0000

The Extraordinary thing is not that people in a lifetime turn out worse or better than we had prophesied; particularly in America that is to be expected.

Majesty is a princess fairy tale done Fitzgerald style or in this case the girl skips the princess phase and goes straight to Queen. Of course in any Fitzgerald story there is a hint of tragedy. Even though Emily has her wish of living the life as she believes is her due, she has to live in on a compromise.

What I did appreciate in this story was not so much the Emily character, which is the prototypical Fitzgerald girl, but her cousin Olive, who is more serious and down to earth. Typically Fitzgerald does not put this girl in the favorable light, but here she gets the happy and fulfilling life. The characters remind me a bit of Scarlett O'Hara and Melanie.

What a Handsome Pair (1932)

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Sat, 24 May 2014 23:13:00 +0000

Published in 1932, What a Handsome Pair is a response to the publication of Zelda's Save Me the Waltz. A story of two couples, one who have everything in common and one who have nothing in common.

Here Fitzgerald cautions against having to much in common with your spouse in case you become too competitive. In any competition there is a winner and a loser and there is no good outcome to this in a marraige. Obviously this is a reflection of the Fitzgerald's competition in the writing field. You can see how Scott feels he had to sacrifice his novel for the slicks to make the money and that allowed Zelda the freedom to pursue her writing as she did not have the responsibility to pay the bills.

However, I do not agree with his assessment of having nothing in common with your spouse or at least in the arrangement of marriage in this story. Here the husband is far above the wife. He is cultured and successful and she is of low birth and is lucky to have found him. He is a philanderer and she is left to be OK with the situation. There is merit in opposites attract, but this arrangement is just wrong.

There is a passage that I did really like about 2 men who have loved the same woman...

"The two men regarded each other with curious impotence of expression; there can be no communication between men in that position, for their relationship is indirect and consists in how much each of them has possessed or will possess of the woman in question, so that their emotions pass through her divided self as through a bad telephone connection"

The Bowl- A football story worth reading (from a sport-hating reader)

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Sat, 24 May 2014 21:38:00 +0000

This is a story that I have been dreading reading. A football story. I had read it before years ago, and did not have a dreaded remembrance of it, but for some reason when I picked it up again and started reading it I would stop and set it aside. I do not like sports stories. I really don't like sports much at all.

With all that said, I did like this story. Not the actual sports stuff, that I would have been fine not reading, but I did like the emotional story. I guess it is like a good sports movie. I can do with out the sports action, but I usually like the emotional and spiritual journey the story is really telling.

So lets see. The non-football story in this sports story involves a guy who is good at football, but really is unsatisfied with it. He falls in love with a girl who hates football and will have nothing to so with the sport. The guy finds a way to remove himself from the game and is happy in love for most of the season. He gradually starts to realize that he missed the sport and is compelled to play again. She gives him an ultimatum, the reasons she has for hating the sport is not like mine, just a preference, she has personal, emotional reasons for not liking the game, and for her it is a treasonous act for him to want to go back. He decides he must go on.

What I really like about this story is that Fitzgerald does not have to rely on plot twist to get the ending right. So in the end, this is one of his good stories. Don't pass over it just because you dislike sports stories, you will be missing out.

The Rough Crossing, Magnetism

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Sat, 24 May 2014 19:36:00 +0000

The Rough Crossing was published on 1929 and is a story of a couple who is dealing with a rough patch in their marriage. On this particular crossing the boat encounters a hurricane. This stories metaphor to parallel the rocky marriage with the hurricane may be a tad to obvious to make it a good story and if there was more to it I did not find it.

Magnetism (1928): I found this interesting, not a fantastic story, but one that felt like it had some depth to it. Simply it is about a man with charm, and how the charm can negatively effect his life. There are layers to the story that could have been worked on to maybe make it more or longer.

Magnetism and The Rough crossing were 2 stories I found online, ones I was not able to find in any collection at this time.

Family in the Wind & On Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Sat, 24 May 2014 16:05:00 +0000

I read these a while back, but never got around to the write up. So here goes my brief synopsis.

Family in the wind- (1932)
An interesting story with a tornado at the center of the action. I can't remember if he used weather like this before. Of course there is an alcoholic at the center of the story and a little girl. Themes he has used before and relevant to his life at the time of writing.

On Schedule- (1933)
Written while Zelda was in Hospital and Scott was dealing with being a "single" parent. It is a story of how a single dad is trying to keep his family running when every one has different activities. The family he is keeping going consists of a daughter, the father, the hospitalized mother and a young girl the father is in love with. Of course this type of story lends itself to being one of miss connections and misplacement of the schedule.

Not great stories, so there is not really too much to say.

The Count of Darkness Series-In The Darkest Hour

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Sat, 24 May 2014 15:59:00 +0000

At one time Fitzgerald wanted to produce a series the takes place in 9th century France. He created some short stories that were published around this idea. His protagonist was named Phillipe and was based on Hemingway. They were not a successful lot of stories, as they did not fit with the idea readers had of what a Fitzgerald story should be. Couple that with the strange voice his dialogue took on (Phillipe spoke like a hard-boiled detective) they seemed to flop.

The stories included:
In the Darkest Hour (1934)
The Count of Darkness (1935)
The Kingdom in the Dark (1935)
Gods of Darkness (1941)

The only story I am able to locate at this time is In the Darkest Hour.

I agree that it is not what I expect from Fitzgerald, and the language is weird. The story is weird.

Not saying I could not get on board a historical novel by FSF, it just would need to be better than this. The language would need to be re-written.

Authors House, 100 False Starts & Ten Years in Advertising

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Sat, 24 May 2014 14:32:00 +0000

I am coming to the end of my reading project. I have around a dozen stories left to read and I can say I have read all that I could get my hands on.

Today I have finished 3 essays that focus on his writing, Author's House, 100 False Starts and Ten Years in Advertising. The reading of this particular cluster was a happy accident. I did not set them aside to read together, but they fit nicely together.

Ten Years in Advertising is a very short essay where he explores the start of his writing career in advertising, it was never a job he was satisfied with. In the start of the essay he is asking for a raise and is told his advertising idea is not going to be used. It then shifts to a decade later where the same boss is needing his celebrity to help sell a product.

100 False Starts picks up on his career as he is starting to struggle with his craft. It is all about the starting of the writing process and how many of the ideas are non-starters. There is a great section on how to approach the memory of Ginevra and how he uses her in his fiction.

My favorite is probably Author's House. I love the description of his basement and the 2 graves. This essay was written after the "Crack up" essays and give a more somber look at his process and what it means to him to be a writer.

Bits of Paradise and Zelda Stories

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Sun, 18 May 2014 21:17:00 +0000

The collection title Bits of Paradise is where I found Zeldas stories along with some Scott stories. Most of what I will write about here will be Zeldas stories, but I will include some Scott stories as well.

I know that Zelda stories that were published with Scott by lines or with dual by lines are controversial. For my purposes of reading Scotts work I don't feel I need to include her stories in my project, however, since some of these were published under his name I feel I should include them. I also want to see the difference in their styles. Who knows, after all I may become a fan of Ms. Zelda by the end of this whole project after all.

Our Own Movie Queen: (1925)
I felt that most of this story could have been edited down. The part I did respond to was the climax and felt that the rest was a bit unfocused. Now to be fair I did not know the "history" of this story before I read it. But from what I understand is that this was mainly a Zelda story, but Scott helped with the climax.

The Original Follies Girl: (1929)
I thought this was better than Our Own Movie Queen, but still felt there was no plot.

A Penny Spent: (1925)
This reads as a Scott story, twist and all. Here a man who likes to spend money is given a job where he needs to learn how to not spend. It reads like Fitzgerald wishful thinking, that maybe being irresponsible with money is a good thing and better than being financially sound, which we all know he was not. Not one of his best.

The Dance: (1926)
This is a Scott story that doesn't really read as a Scott story, and yet it is not a Zelda story. That may have to do with it being a Who-dun-it. I did however like line he wrote about small southern towns "The men and girls speak a language wherein courtesy is combined with violence, fanatic morality with corn-drinking recklessness..."

Ok Here is the skinny- I have spent the afternoon reading The Southern Girl, The Girl the Prince Liked and The Girl with Talent. I have lost interest in all of them about half way through the story. I find them wordy and they go nowhere. I am tempted to skip the rest of her "girl" stories as I fear they are just more of the same. I can pull out that I did like the 1st paragraph of The Girl the Prince Liked, too bad it did stay that focused.

I tried to read both Miss Ella and A Couple of Nuts and have decided to scrap the rest of Zelda's stories. I won't be reading them as I do not enjoy them. Maybe I will try again someday, but not today.

The stories I am skipping are...Millionaires Girl, Poor Working Girl, Miss Ella, A Couple of Nuts and the Continental Angle.

Apprentice Fiction of F Scott Fitzgerald

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Sat, 17 May 2014 22:50:00 +0000

I am finally getting around to writing about his apprentice fiction stories which I read on our vacation in the Dominican Republic.

I can't say I was expecting a lot from these stories, yet the interest in seeing how he developed in his early days was a lure. I found these in "The Apprentice Fiction of F Scott Fitzgerald". The stories sort of fall into categories as he progresses in his craft.

The first few stories are somewhat uneven.
The Mystery of the Raymond Mortage
Reade, Substitute Right Half
A Debt of Honor
& The Room with the Green Blinds

They include a Detective story, a Football story and 2 Civil war stories. Out of the 4 the only story I had much of an interest in was The Room With The Green Blinds which was a sort of an alternate history story involving John Wilkes Boothe.

The next set of stories start to be recognizable as Fitzgerald stories. Here is where he introduces his "girl".
A Luckless Santa Claus sees a man manipulated a beauty.
The Trial of the Duke causes a man to run a fools errand
and then there is
Pain and the Scientist, which does not have a girl in it, but employs the "twist" that many of his stories rely on.

From here the stories move into his Princeton years. Shadow Laurels and The Ordeal were written before he left Princeton for the 1st time.

I like The Ordeal, a Catholic story. Here he deals with the inner emotions and internal forces. He just needed to add a girl and it would bring it all together.

The final stories were written when he returned to Princeton, and these stories are much more indicative of his later work.
The Debutante is a play with the Girl and he starts showing his insight on women.
The Spire & The Gargoyle. This story was one I have been curious about. It is one of his Princeton stories, and a good one at that. It points out how college can effect they young, whether they are successful at school or not.
Sentiment & the Use of Rouge a sort of war story. This one deals with the loosening of morals that was a side effect of the War. The soldier who returns is unhappy with how society has changed and has much to think about. This is the kind of story that makes me sad that he died so young. What would Fitzgerald think of how society loosened up after WWII and then Vietnam.
The Pierian Springs & the Last Straw, a story of looking back on love. One that I will need to add to "my collection".

In this collection was also Babes in the Woods- which is a story I love and The Tarquin of Cheepside, a story I did not like the first time I read it. I still love Babes in the Woods, and The Tarquin, I understand a tad bit more, but still do not care for.

Also I had finished The Thought Book of F Scott Fitzgerald, which is his boyhood diary. It was a good companion book to read along with his apprentice fiction. It would also be good to read with the Basil stories.

Outside the Cabinet-makers (1928)

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 23:29:00 +0000

The automobile stopped at the corner of Sixteenth and some dingy looking street. The lady got out. The man and the little girl stayed in the car.

This is a short little gem. It may have more resonance to parents than non-parents, but I think any adult will understand the loss of magic and joy felt so easily by children. It is poignant that as parents we work so hard on giving children fantastical stories and memories, but are unable ourselves to be as submersed in the magic.

"See Daddy, the good fairies are winning again."

The man was old enough to know that he would look back to that time-the tranquil street and the pleasant weather and the mystery playing before the child's eyes, mystery which he had created, but whose luster and texture he could never see or touch anymore himself..."

Credit

Please read it for yourself: Outside the Cabinet-maker's

Sometimes Madness is Wisdom: Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald A Marriage by Kendall Taylor

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 12:46:00 +0000

Ok my friends, I have finally found a biography of Scott and Zelda that makes me like Zelda...a little bit.

I enjoyed this bio. I felt it did a good job of presenting both Scott and Zelda as they were. Showing the good and the bad and not making either one of them to be the demise of the other. Kendall Taylor presents situations and then presents evidence of how both of them reacted, giving a more rounded picture of situations.

As the title suggests, this is a book that focuses on Zelda more than Scott, but as it is it is too hard to have a biography on Zelda where he is not looked at as well. In the future this is going to be the biography I recommend when asked.

Check it out for yourselves: Sometimes Madness is Wisdom: by Kendall Taylor

On a side note: I was struck by this picture of Zelda. When I saw it in the book I was sure she reminded me of someone. It took me a while but I new the voice and the movements, I just couldn't place it.

Then I got it. This picture reminded me of Lady Mary Crawley of Downtown Abbey. What do you think?

Anyways. Cheers

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 19:35:00 +0000

One Interne, The Pusher-in-the face, The Third Casket, The End of Hate, Six of One-, New Types, Her Last Case, No Flowers, I Got Shoes, The Family Bus, Diagnosis, The Rubber Check, One of my Oldest Friends, Not in the Guidebook, John Jackson's Arcady, The Unspeakable Egg, Diamond Dick and the first Law of Woman

I was sitting around realizing that I have been very neglectful on my goal of finishing all of Fitzgerald's short stories. I was feeling sort of a failure for this project taking so long to complete, that it should have only been a year or at most 2 and it is much more than that. Then I turned it around and reminded myself that this is a project for fun and it will take me as long as it takes me. So here it is, even if I haven't read a short story of his since December I can still get back in the game. And that is what I did. This past weekend, my husband and I took the kids for a extended weekend stay at the Great Wolf Lodge. As the kids went swimming and played the Magi game, I would try and find a quiet place and read. I brought a collection of stories and had made a list of all the remaining stories I needed to read. I wanted to get at least 5 of them done, but I really made some progress and finished 17. As I read I jotted down thoughts in a notebook. I will try to condense these into a quick write up.

Lets see how these shake out....
"One Interne" (1932) and "Her Last Case" (1934) are both stories that take place in a medical setting. There are other stories where he writes of doctors and nurses, and it makes sense as he is in and out of hospitals for both his health and Zeldas. Between the two stories, One Interne works better than Her Last Case which I have to say I hated. You don't hear me say that too often, but in the case of Her Last Case I just could not get on board any of the story and found it completely unbelievable. It is only interesting in that it is playing out some sad fantasy that he must have been nurturing while he was lonely, feeling unsuccessful and drunk.

Now "One of Six-" written in 1932 is one of the good stories he wrote during his drunk years. It is a story that goes back to his fascination with the rich, but in this case he is smearing the glamor. It is based on the idea that youth raised in the lap of luxury don't have to fight and therefore will be not be as successful as men who come up from the ranks, that all the average boy needs is the financial help to make his way. This man provides that help and the story goes on to play out the future of these 12 boys. What I like about this story is that you are able to see that Fitzgerald did not only see the glitter of the rich, but like in "The Rich Boy" he was able to see the hollowness that underlies their existence.

The other ones I enjoyed from this bunch of stories include "Rubber Check", "John Jackson's Arcady", "No Flowers", "I Got Shoes", and "New Types". I am not going to say any of these should be considered amoungst his best work, but as they are they are worth considering.

"Rubber Check" (1932) goes back to the poor boy/rich girl storyline, which I happen to like very much. Here is one where the poor boy is definitley trying to get himself in with the upper crowd, and is put into a precarious position where he is forced to cover a large meal and cannot cover his check. This situations follows him for years and he is just unable to "make good". Later in the story the rich are all finding that the stock market crash has made them poor. And even then the rich have a way of isolating and insulating themselves that somehow still keep them apart from the poor.

"No Flowers" (1934), is another story where he is looking back to times that were happier for him. This time he returns to Princeton. It is a story that contrasts the past "golden age" to the then present "tin age" of the crash years. It is a story of debuatantes and college dances. It is a near miss, meaning it has a good story line, but I am not sure he was able to insert his magic, just a little off his game.

I feel the same way about "New Types" (1934), I think he was looking at the present and wanting to go back (as I am sure so many did) and was trying to juxtapose the times. If only he was on his game and not drinking so much he may have been able to pull these types of stories off. For me this one lost it when the "dead" woman starts to speak.

"I Got Shoes" (1933) is another story that is from the depression years. I have some mixed feelings on this one. I don't think it is a great story, but I am interested in how it seems to highlight how the generation who lived through the depression will value their possessions. This is a story of an actress who as she was coming up had very little, and once she was able to get some of the necessities she held on to them, even when the need of them was passed. The holding on of the shoes was a reminder of where she came from.

"John Jackson's Arcady" (1924)- Yes there is an over sentimental ending to this story, and that could put a lot of readers off this one, however the I like to focus more on the heart of the story. John Jackson is a man who tries to do his best and tries to do his best for others. He wakes up one day to realize that by living this way he is may leave himself open for people to take advantage. He decides that he is no longer going to let this happens. He has a plan to let everyone know that life will only dissapoint you and you need to do your best to not let that happen. In the end he is privy to the honest thoughts and views of his life. He realizes that instead of taking advantage of John Jackson, the people of his town and life hold him in great regard and realize that because of his generosity things have gotten done, and he has made good. It is a good reminder story and one I relate to.

The following stories relied heavily on plot twist or gimmicks...
"The Pusher-in-the-Face" (1925) is the story of the mild manner bachelor who never made waves, then one day he snaps and pushes a lady in the face. He finds his power in this act and is transformed.

"The Family Bus" (1933) based on an old run down family car. This story started strong, but fell apart when the car is lost and becomes valuable and the hunt for it ensues.

"One of My Oldest Friends" (1925) plays with the imagery of the crucifix. Again, this one could have been a better story if he stayed away from the "gimmick" and went with the inner struggle.

"Diamond Dick and the First Law of Woman" (1924)- I loved the imagery of Diana taking up the persona of Diamond Dick as a child, and it was a good ride, until...we find out they were secretly married. Too bad he went the plot twist route on this one. But the first part is worth reading.

"The Unspeakable Egg" (1924)- This one is a warmed over Offshore Pirate and done without any of the magical writing. Actually, if you go back and read what I thought of The Offshore Pirate you will see that the plot of that story I did not like, but I loved his writing. I think in this story I prefer the plot but wish the writing was more ephemeral.

"The End of Hate" (1940)- Scott was always fascinated with the Civil war, and this was one of his few stories he set in that time. Unfortunately, I am not a civil war buff and much of the specifics of that war are not readily known to me as they may have been to the readers of his time. With all of that said, this story was not one that resonated with me. If you are a civil war history buff I would be more interested in how you responded to this one.

"Not in the Guidebook" (1925)- A story of a girl who marries a "War Hero" and they decide to make a new life for themselves in Europe. Once they hit the Continent the war hero abandons his bride. She is left to fend for herself and comes in contact with a tour guide who takes her in. He falls in love with her, but she wants to wait for her husband. Eventually she realizes that she has had hero worship for the wrong man and finally marries the tour guide in the end who is the hero she thought her ex husband was.

"The Third Casket" (1924)- Even after reading this I am not sure why it is titled "The Third Casket". The story is basically about a business man who is getting ready to retire but has no heirs to inherit his business. He decides to contact 3 friends and interview their sons to see if he can find a replacement. There is a bit of a gimmick here that never really pays off.

"Diagnosis" (1932)- I hate to end on a downer, but all I jotted down after reading this one was just didn't capture any interest. I wasn't sure if I was tired or distracted but I just didn't care. And honestly, I don't remember much about this story.

So there you have it. 17 stories read. I wish I could give more attention to some of these, but I either get to read a bunch and make my way through or read one or two and wait a month or so to get to blogging about them. I am not sure which way is best.

Ponjola Bob? Anyone?

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 23:14:00 +0000

I am reading a book about the Fitzgerald's and came across a description to a type of bob, not that I am an expert on all of the names given to bobs in the 1920's but this one sounded unfamiliar. It was the "Ponjola" bob. So as curiosity does in the age of the internet, I went to Google and tried to look it up. Unfortunately I was not rewarded with an answer, so I am digging deeper to see what I find.

It looks like Ponjola was a movie in1923, which was based on a book. Sounds like a good start. The Movie stars Anna Q. Nilsson, who I am not familiar with. According to Wikipedia she was a well known silent film actress, actually...."In 1926 she was named Hollywood's most popular woman."

Anna Q Nilsson?

Here are some images I pulled when I Googled her name. I wonder if these are the Ponjola bob. In the book it was referenced that they were shaving the back of Zelda's neck to show off the bob. So these would fit.

So that is what I have found. If any one really knows or has a picture of a Ponjola bob I would love to see it.

Also I ran across this blurb taken from an article written in 1926 about the origin of the term "Flapper". I thought it was interesting and I had not heard it put exactly in this way before.

The term "flapper" was used originally in England to designate the girl between fourteen and seventeen years of age. And as the name implies, it meant the awkward age, before she had acquired poise and dignity. She was supposed to need a certain type of clothes—long, straight lines to cover her awkwardness—and the stores advertised these gowns as "flapper-dresses."

Thats all for now

Various stories from 1935: The Fiend, Night at Chancellorsville, Zone of Accident, Intimate Strangers, Passionate Eskimo & Shaggy's Morning

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 20:36:00 +0000

Ah more stories from 1935, stories published and/or written after the publication of Tender is the Night. This is a time that is not associated with his best works. In this cluster I read:

The Fiend
The Night of Chancellorsville
Zone of Accident
The Intimate Strangers
The Passionate Eskimo
Shaggy's Morning

The Fiend and The Night of Chancellorsville were collected in Taps at Reveille, stories chosen by Fitzgerald to collect for publication.

The Fiend is interesting, but not well written. It is a story of a man whose family was murdered, and he is consumed by his grief and the revenge that he is going to atoll on the man who killed his family. After he realizes he will not be able to physically harm The Fiend, he decides he is going to torture him mentally, and goes about it by a visit every 2 weeks where he tortures the man with books of sexual diseases, and stories of lust where the pages of the consummation are torn out. He keeps this up for decades only to find that when the man dies of natural causes he is friendless and alone in the word. I think the whole premise is interesting, but the torture that Fitzgerald dreams up is not conveyed in a compelling manner.

Fitzgerald also collected The Night Before Chancellorsville in Taps at Reveille. This is a very short story, almost more of a sketch. I have to say I did not enjoy it, a story of some Baltimore girls who are heading to Virginia on the eve of the battle at Chancellorsville. If you read this one you need to be familiar with Hooker's Army.

I found Zone of Accident and The Intimate Strangers in The Price Was High.

So that leaves The Passionate Eskimo and Shaggy's Morning, both of which I found online, and there is a reason that these have not been collected anywhere else.

Shaggy's Morning is a story about the morning in the life of a dog. That's it, that is all I am going to say about it.

The Passionate Eskimo also left me cold (haha see what I did there.) It takes place during the Chicago World's Fair and is about a Eskimo who goes out and sees a bit of Chicago before he has to go back home. Even with his broken English he manages to get himself involved in a love triangle. No he is not a part of the triangle, but we have a typical Fitzgerald triangle with a girl and 2 guys. It seems like a stretch to me.

Next up I am going to tackle the 10 remaining stories from 1933-34. At a quick glance it looks like I will be able to read 8 of the 10.

New Year, New Goal

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 00:27:00 +0000

Yes this is the required New Years post. Where I state all the things I want to accomplish in 2014. Where Fitzgerald Musings is concerned all I really want to accomplish is to finally complete the remaining stories I have to complete my reading of Fitzgerald's work. I am so close, but as you may have noticed I am not what one would consider a fast reader. As of right now I have 71 stories still left on my list, 13 are his apprentice works and 11 of them are Scott + Zelda's work, whatever that means.

I think this is a reasonable goal, and I am confident that I am able to do this.

1926-1927: Presumption, The Adolescent Marriage, The Love Boat, Your Way and Mine, and Jacob's Ladder

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Sat, 21 Dec 2013 20:25:00 +0000

Well, again it has been a spell since I have been able to get a few of the remaining short stories under my belt. Once I hit mid-terms my time is just eaten up with projects until finals. By the way I had a great term and was very happy with both my projects.

Anyways, back to Fitzgerald. This time I am working through the remaining stories of 1926-1927. It seems that this was a period of transition. Scott was trying to work on Tender is the night, and struggling. The stories of this period are not so great as they were written for the money.

The six stories I am writing about today are:
Presumption
The Adolescent Marriage
Your Way and Mine
The Love Boat
Jacob's Ladder

I found Presumption, The Adolescent Marriage, Your Way and Mine, and The Love Boat in the Bruccoli collection "The Price Was High".

I love that Bruccoli adds a brief description regarding the story and thoughts Fitzgerald had about them or insight on what was happening in his life that may have affected his writing.

"Your Way and Mine" was a story that Fitzgerald was not proud of. He specifically asked Ober not to offer it to the Post. He said : "it's the lousiest I have ever written, just terrible." And he was right. "Your Way and Mine" just does not live up to his standard. It is a mess and is not worth reading, unless you are a completest like me and feel the need to read all of the stories. Basically it is a bout a man who is fat, lazy and pig-headed. He does things in his own way. He is forced to become more productive and has a nervous breakdown and becomes paralyzed because he is forced to do things not in his own way. This part is not good all on its own, but he does not leave it at that, no. He then feels the needs to tack on a bit about his daughter and her suitors. This part does not make it better and really had no point. It is just a mess of a story.

The Adolescent Marriage, Presumption, and the Love Boat were better. These are all stories that go back to relationships. "Presumption" is a dating story of a cocky young guy, who falls for a girl in a station above his own. It was written after Gatsby and has a bit of that feel to it. It is a typical Fitzgerald story, where the boy falls for the girl, but she cannot be with him because of the money situation. Boy goes and makes something of himself. He comes back to her believing that she loves him and wants to be with him. This story wants you to believe that the girl has moved on and wants nothing to do with him, but it is a case of mistaken identity. She does love him and they end up happily married. Yay!

"The Adolescent Marriage" is about a young couple who run off impetuously to get married, and shortly after learn that maybe they should not have done that. They look to get the marriage annulled. The boy of this story throws himself into his work, he is an architect. They run into each other and it brings up all sorts of angry feelings. We learn that the girl is about to marry another. The architect wins a contest and had his dream house built and it is then that he realizes that the girl was the inspiration and he really does love her. The annulment never happened. It sounds trite, but I did enjoy this story. It was not overly sappy, I don't know I just liked it.

"The Love Boat" moves into longing for a lost love, or a lost idea of what could be. This time the boy is the rich one and the girl is too poor. I am not sure if this has been the case very often in his works. He loves her, but is informed by his parents that it could never work out. He does genuinely fall in love with someone else and starts a family. Eleven years go by, and he is starting to get bored or nostalgic or whatever. He thinks back to the girl he loved all those years ago and wishes he could go back. That is what he tries to do. He goes back to see the girl, of course she has moved on with her life and married one of the boys college friends and is happy and successful. She has not pined for his as he has for her. He then goes back to the "scene of the crime" where he met the girl and tries to relieve the moment he met her. Here it gets a bit creepy where an older man dances and flirts with High School girls. He finds out he can't recreate the past, that it is gone. I did really like this one, and will probably read it again. It stared slow for me, but when I got to the second part, after the marriage, I liked where he went with it.

These 3 are a good cluster to read together.

I found "Jacob's Ladder" in Bruccoli's the Short Stories of F Scott Fitzgerald. This is a story I have read before back in 2008.

Jacob's Ladder is the best of this bunch of stories. But even with it being the best I always struggle with it. I have a hard time relating to the characters. And older man falling in love with a young girl of 16. This time I was fascinated with Jenny, the young, uneducated girl who matures from simple and naive to important and sure of herself. The story of Jacob is equally interesting, of a older man who knows she is too young to an older man who can't help himself from loving. He has insight and knows that he should not move forward but he is in the grip of love so he does nothing. Like I said it is a really good story and has some very interesting parts to mull over, but I just struggle with reading it and I am not really sure why.

Indecision, Between Three and Four, and A Change of Class: Rounding out 1930-31 ...And Flight and Pursuitclusters

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 20:12:00 +0000

These 4 stories are not one I consider to be good. What I have blogged about is more a documentation that I did in fact read these. I am sure they will be stories I soon forget.

Indecision: Story of a man who can't make up his mind on which girl he should marry. When he is one girl he is thinking of the other. I have often said I like that Fitzgerald stories have complex characters, and you don't always have characters that you can like, but usually those characters seem real. In Indecision the characters are not likeable but they are not complex enough to see parts of yourself in them, instead the story of a man who can't make up his mind on which girl to marry seems trivial.

Between Three and Four: Not much to say about this one. Here is a story where Fitzgerald tries to write about the Depression. He knew it was not good, and I know it is not good. Doesn't seem like the topic he wanted to write about.

A Change of Class: Another Depression story. I am not sure I like his Depression stories. This one is about a Barber who makes it rich on tips in the stock market and then loses it all. They go from being working class to middle class then fall back, but his wife doesn't want to loose her status. Again, there could be more to the story, but it just falls flat. This may be because Fitzgerald was living in Europe and also he was not really affect by the crash, as he had not invested in it.

Oops- for some reason I went on and read Flight and Pursuit (form a different cluster), which in the end is no big deal as I will eventually be getting to it. My only complaint is, that so far many of the stories in the 1930-31 cluster have been pretty good, this one is not his best and made me a little sad.
Not that the story itself was sad, no, just that the story read like Fitzgerald was trying to go back to his early stories and recapture the magic. In short it did not happen.

Lets see if I can sum it up quickly....Girl gets her heart broken and runs off and gets married to someone else. Boy realizes too late that he loves her. Girls marriage is bad, she gets a divorce, but swears off men forever. Boy spends the next few years trying to get her back, and when that fails he sets up a life where she can be happy. She finds out he has done this when she gets very sick. She still tells him she is through with men. Eventually, she gets a telegram saying the boy has gone missing. She realizes that she loves him. She gets another message where he says he is OK. She is relived and they live happily ever after.

Puke. Sounds like it could be the basis for any number of chick flicks. This story would not be on my list of recommendations, but here it is if you are so inclined- Flight and Pursuit.

A New Leaf and The Hotel Child

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 20:15:00 +0000

I am so glad that midterms are over and I have a little break before I have to dive into my finals. This little break means I am able to get through a few more short stories. Today I finished "A New Leaf", and "The Hotel Child".

"A New Leaf" is one of the Fitzgerald confronts his demon alcohol and his belief that he was able to quit drinking any time he wanted. It is the type of story I was expecting to be collected in "On Booze" that dealt with Fitzgerald and booze.

"The Hotel Child" is another Tender cluster story and feels like a familiar Fitzgerald story. It takes place in a hotel that gathers the "suspect" Europeans, the ones that may be a bit down and out, or not accepted in polite society. And at the heart of it all is a beautiful, yet clueless American girl just turning 18. It is a fun story, not one that is personal or deep, like many of the others written at this time.

I am keeping this short to allow me to do more reading.

A New Leaf
The Hotel Child

Babylon Revisited- one of Fitzgerald's best stories and a bit of a rant from an obsessed reader

noreply@blogger.com (Laurie Jensen) — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 02:00:00 +0000

"Babylon Revisited" has been cited as one of Fitzgerald's best short stories, and I am not one to argue with that assessment. It is a story of a man who is coming to terms with his past dissipation. A story of a man who is facing his past misdeeds and trying to put them behind him and make a better world for himself. In the story he is not trying to justify his past actions, in fact he is fully aware of how damaging they were, and it is because he realizes this that he knows what he needs to do. However, the rest of the world is unwilling to let him forget the past. It is a very personal story, one that feels the insight that Fitzgerald had about his life and his own misdeeds.

As I sit here and type about "Babylon Revisited" I want to shout out to all the people I have talked to who have read books on Zelda, and make the generalizations that Scott was just a drunk and how he kept her from the success she should of had. I want to shout to them -PLEASE READ SOME OF HIS STORIES- and then come and talk to me. Read stories like Babylon Revisited, and see that he was more that a blundering drunk. See that he struggled with his actions, see that he agonized over fights he had in his marriage, see that he knew of his faults. It has always come back to his words, and with his words you see the man who is just trying to make it through his massively fucked up life.

OK, so there is that. All that is left is for you to read it for yourself.....Babylon Revisited