Rereading F. Scott Fitzgerald

Despite being a big fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald, I must confess that it has been a while since I’ve read any of his work. Luckily for me, in my early days of reading Fitzgerald, I bought many of his novels and short story collections – so I have no shortage of reading material.

But back then I was young and lacked any formal literary education (except what I received in public high school, which can hardly be called formal). I didn’t understand where Fitzgerald and his work fit in the canon of American literature. And I still don’t. Why? Because it’s been so long since I’ve read any of his stories and novels.

I figured now is as good a time as ever to start revisiting some of Fitzgerald’s major and minor works. Especially nowadays, with the economy being compared to the Great Depression, Fitzgerald’s writing is more relevant now than ever. His own life revolved around "making it big" as did many of the themes in his writing.

The part of Fitzgerald’s work that always struck me was his style: So eloquent and descriptive. His sentences are long and flowing, yet still perfectly crafted. From what I read about Fitzgerald at work, is that he poured a tremendous amount of energy into his writing and it left him physically drained.

Where will I start? Probably by rereading my favorite short stories, and if I’m so inclined, might make a few comments and observations here. But once I start reading Fitzgerald’s novels, you can bet I’ll be writing about it. I’ll try to give some advance warning before I start reading, so if you wanna read along you may!

What about "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"? Yes, there is a movie out based on the story. And as I have said before, it was a good story when I first read it almost a decade ago, just like it’s a good story now. The movie didn’t change that. If I see the movie I might talk about it, but otherwise I’ll only comment on that particular story if I decide to read it again and want to make some comments, just like with everything else I read.

Have you read anything by F. Scott Fitzgerald? If so, what and what were your thoughts? Don’t be shy and leave a comment below!

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