This Side of Paradise

This Side of Paradise (1920) - debut novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The title comes from a line in Rupert Brookes' poem called Tiare Tahiti:
Well this side of Paradise!...
There's little comfort in the wise



It was always the becoming

His young ego was a flower and a weight
A smug flower and a leaden weight
But he was no aristocratic stereotype

He was a draft
A sketch in motion

He was willing to taste
The profits of the moneyed class
He was willing to see and hear 
The clubbing clamour of exclusive Princeton
He was willing to feel 
Love - of sorts
(Physical and spiritual)

But he preferred the scents of 
reading
writing poetry
and imaginative walks in the rain

He was a sketch in motion
Awaiting clear shape


It was always the becoming he dreamed of
never the being

MY GOOD READS REVIEW
This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So the young upper class have it all? They have endless money? They have status that leads to opportunities beyond the lower classes? Amory Blaine is born into privileged society in pre World War 1 years, but his growing up years are hardly smooth, bearing little connection to an easy lifestyle. Amory's entrance into Princeton University does not guarantee he fits in with the university characters, club cultures or expectations. His birthplace mansion on Lake Geneva doesn't help him win his love for Rosalind. In fact, the debt attached ensures Rosalind's eyes seek matrimony elsewhere. She cannot contemplate a life in a small apartment on Amory's wage as a writer. This book offers an intriguing dive into the shadows behind aristocratic glamour. All is not what it seems. And Amory is far more than a snobbish, insensitive character with a burgeoning ego. Even Amory himself keeps searching for what he could be and what he could become. We follow his journey through his readings, his poetry and his regular walks in the rain.

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MY AMAZON REVIEW
What Paradise? 
Growing up can be be a confusing battle ground. For Amory Blaine, at first, a privileged young traveller, the journey involves attacking and deflecting the onslaught of traditional ideals and values. Money from his parents' exclusive estate in Geneva does not guarantee happiness (because it dwindles by his mother Beatrice's death) and nor do the exclusive clubs at Princeton University. Women play Amory's emotions until the appearance of Rosalind Connage. But Amory's love of Rosalind cannot match with Rosalind's need for the mighty flow of money. She chooses money over love. Monseigneur Darcy, as a father figure, offers Amory spiritual happiness, but that is not enough for Amory. So Amory wins and loses friends, dreams, writes poetry and walks in the rains hoping to find some reality he can call his own. This book is an amazing glimpse of upper class American lifestyles pre, during and maybe after World War I.