F. SCOTT FITZGERALD AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES

by William Goldhurst ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

A closely documented, smartly colorful, certainly hero-worshipping account of Scott Fitzgerald, his era and his friends. The author, apparently a rather young man, won't win many laurels for literary criticism- mostly loosely reasoned comments and little magazine cliches- but he can communicate the camaraderie and champagne complexes of the '20's, Fitzgerald's attachment to and subsequent disillusionment with the American Dream, and the whole aura of the artist-in-progress route which he shared with four famous men. Edmund Wilson was his intellectual mentor, Mencken taught him a blend of aesthetic and social sophistication; through Lardner's syncopated satires he uncovered the seamy side of ragtime's mores and materialism; and in Hemingway he encountered a father-figure along with all the ambivalent attributes. A wonder boy when Ernest was a nobody, it all boomeranged later on: ""I talk with the authority of failure"", said Scott, ""Ernest with the authority of success"". The scenes cover Princeton, Paris, N.Y., Hollywood. Accented always is Fitzgerald's constant preoccupation with craft and character. More fascinating memorabilia for the addict; a closed circuit for anyone else.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: World

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1963

Categories: NONFICTION