EXILES FROM PARADISE

by Sara Mayfield ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 30, 1971

The exiles, or rather revenants, are the Fitzgeralds and those who read Miss Mayfield's earlier book about Mencken (The Constant Circle -- 1968) can anticipate what she will say here. Namely that any ""fair-minded critic"" will have no ""doubt as to which of them had the native wit, brilliance and originality (i.e. Zelda) and which one of them was the competent professional writer."" This is iterated throughout, hardly in the interests of fair-minded criticism or even common sense. Miss Mayfield knew Zelda as a young girl back in Montgomery and their paths crossed now and again in New York and in Paris and in Hollywood although nothing she contributes in her first person is particularly revealing and some of it is mawkish -- she reads Zelda's Save Me the Waltz and it ""stirs (her) to tears."" In her retelling of the entire story from drink to quarrel to drink to debt to drink, Scott not only suffers but Zelda gains very little; Miss Mayfield confirms here, chides and corrects there (without notes), claims at one point that Scott's ""off color"" jokes were responsible for Zelda's crack-up, tampers with some of the relative knowns (the Josanne -- here Jozan -- affair becomes an ""infatuation"") and one is left feeling that the book is a disservice to Zelda as well as Scott. Particularly in the cold daylight of Miss Mayfield's ""grist to the mill"" prose, who will give up their illusions of the night that was not only tender but tragic?

Pub Date: March 30, 1971

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Delacorte

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1971

Categories: NONFICTION