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May Day
Pulling her cloak close about her Edith darted across the Avenue. She started nervously as a solitary man passed her and said in a hoarse whisper --"Where bound, kid do?" She was reminded of a night in her childhood when she had walked around the block in her pajamas and a dog had howled at her from a mystery-big back yard.
68 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1920
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1179 people want to read
About the author
F. Scott Fitzgerald
2,331 books25.5k followersFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald, widely known simply as Scott Fitzgerald, was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age, a term he popularized in his short story collection Tales of the Jazz Age. During his lifetime, he published four novels, four story collections, and 164 short stories. Although he achieved temporary popular success and fortune in the 1920s, Fitzgerald received critical acclaim only after his death and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.
Born into a middle-class family in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Fitzgerald was raised primarily in New York state. He attended Princeton University where he befriended future literary critic Edmund Wilson. Owing to a failed romantic relationship with Chicago socialite Ginevra King, he dropped out in 1917 to join the United States Army during World War I. While stationed in Alabama, he met Zelda Sayre, a Southern debutante who belonged to Montgomery's exclusive country-club set. Although she initially rejected Fitzgerald's marriage proposal due to his lack of financial prospects, Zelda agreed to marry him after he published the commercially successful This Side of Paradise (1920). The novel became a cultural sensation and cemented his reputation as one of the eminent writers of the decade.
His second novel, The Beautiful and Damned (1922), propelled him further into the cultural elite. To maintain his affluent lifestyle, he wrote numerous stories for popular magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's Weekly, and Esquire. During this period, Fitzgerald frequented Europe, where he befriended modernist writers and artists of the "Lost Generation" expatriate community, including Ernest Hemingway. His third novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), received generally favorable reviews but was a commercial failure, selling fewer than 23,000 copies in its first year. Despite its lackluster debut, The Great Gatsby is now hailed by some literary critics as the "Great American Novel". Following the deterioration of his wife's mental health and her placement in a mental institute for schizophrenia, Fitzgerald completed his final novel, Tender Is the Night (1934).
Struggling financially because of the declining popularity of his works during the Great Depression, Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood, where he embarked upon an unsuccessful career as a screenwriter. While living in Hollywood, he cohabited with columnist Sheilah Graham, his final companion before his death. After a long struggle with alcoholism, he attained sobriety only to die of a heart attack in 1940, at 44. His friend Edmund Wilson edited and published an unfinished fifth novel, The Last Tycoon (1941), after Fitzgerald's death. In 1993, a new edition was published as The Love of the Last Tycoon, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli.
Born into a middle-class family in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Fitzgerald was raised primarily in New York state. He attended Princeton University where he befriended future literary critic Edmund Wilson. Owing to a failed romantic relationship with Chicago socialite Ginevra King, he dropped out in 1917 to join the United States Army during World War I. While stationed in Alabama, he met Zelda Sayre, a Southern debutante who belonged to Montgomery's exclusive country-club set. Although she initially rejected Fitzgerald's marriage proposal due to his lack of financial prospects, Zelda agreed to marry him after he published the commercially successful This Side of Paradise (1920). The novel became a cultural sensation and cemented his reputation as one of the eminent writers of the decade.
His second novel, The Beautiful and Damned (1922), propelled him further into the cultural elite. To maintain his affluent lifestyle, he wrote numerous stories for popular magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's Weekly, and Esquire. During this period, Fitzgerald frequented Europe, where he befriended modernist writers and artists of the "Lost Generation" expatriate community, including Ernest Hemingway. His third novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), received generally favorable reviews but was a commercial failure, selling fewer than 23,000 copies in its first year. Despite its lackluster debut, The Great Gatsby is now hailed by some literary critics as the "Great American Novel". Following the deterioration of his wife's mental health and her placement in a mental institute for schizophrenia, Fitzgerald completed his final novel, Tender Is the Night (1934).
Struggling financially because of the declining popularity of his works during the Great Depression, Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood, where he embarked upon an unsuccessful career as a screenwriter. While living in Hollywood, he cohabited with columnist Sheilah Graham, his final companion before his death. After a long struggle with alcoholism, he attained sobriety only to die of a heart attack in 1940, at 44. His friend Edmund Wilson edited and published an unfinished fifth novel, The Last Tycoon (1941), after Fitzgerald's death. In 1993, a new edition was published as The Love of the Last Tycoon, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews
December 17, 2014
Look, we all know that Fitzgerald can knock out a story, so let's just assume that this is pretty well written. The blurb says that this is Fitzgerald's most overtly political story, and I buy that. What I wasn't expecting is how current it felt--reading May Day was exactly like watching old episodes of West Wing. I kept thinking, Oh, this is still an issue today! Obviously the details have changed. We have fewer socialist Rabbis yelling in the streets, for example (I think. I haven't been to New York in a couple of years). But the feeling was there, the feeling that this might be a book that was published in 2014.
February 2, 2016
A very interesting and relevant story, brilliantly written, in which poor people drink with their enemies and then attack their own well-wishers, and rich people prioritize champagne with breakfast over helping friends in serious trouble. I think everyone should read this. It will give you a memorable intellectual reference point for any time you take a look at society/politics.
May 23, 2010
An interesting read. I was easily and quickly pulled in at the beginning. It is clearly a Fitzgerald book based with his very clear and distinctive way of describing people and settings. It goes through the course of two days with a cast of people. (Almost) each chapter switches to a new character after having passed/had an interaction with a previous chapter. I enjoyed it because I don't often read novellas. The ending was much more abrupt and sadder than I had expected or anticipated. This book definitely fits in after a post-WWI time.
April 17, 2018
I read this because of the title. It's set on May Day 1919 (and was published the following year) and I thought it might make a nice read as I prepare for May Day 2018.
Turns out the story doesn't have much to do with May Day per se. There is a political theme of class tension that runs throughout, and the fact that it's May Day seems to be provocation enough for a riot at the office of a radical press. That's about it.
Fitzgerald himself describes the story as "unpleasant," and so it is, but I took pleasure in his craft. He introduces a raft of characters, none sympathetic and most intoxicated, and weaves together three interlocking stories over the course of a day or two in New York City. I'd recommend it.
By the way, this is too long to be called a short story, but too short to be called a novella in my opinion. I'd call it a novelette.
Turns out the story doesn't have much to do with May Day per se. There is a political theme of class tension that runs throughout, and the fact that it's May Day seems to be provocation enough for a riot at the office of a radical press. That's about it.
Fitzgerald himself describes the story as "unpleasant," and so it is, but I took pleasure in his craft. He introduces a raft of characters, none sympathetic and most intoxicated, and weaves together three interlocking stories over the course of a day or two in New York City. I'd recommend it.
By the way, this is too long to be called a short story, but too short to be called a novella in my opinion. I'd call it a novelette.
October 5, 2016
Silk shirts and suicide, the perfect complimentary items for an F. Scott Fitzgerald story.
May Day, 1919 was a tumultuous one for America with riots breaking out and the discovery of an anarchist plot to mail-bomb a cross-section of prominent politicians. The country was euphoric that the war was over, but while the future looked bright for some it didn't look so appealing for others.
Fitzgerald taps into the hysteria as the 'Smart Set' of Yale graduates and moneyed 'flappers' dance the night away at swanky Delmonico's while disenfranchised returning soldiers cause a riot at the offices of the socialist New York Trumpet
Result: everyone gets sozzled, tragedies and pranks do the Charleston.
A quintessential tale of the Jazz Age.
Sample:
Dean emerged from the bathroom polishing his body.
"Saw an old friend of yours last night," he remarked. "Passed her in the lobby and couldn't think of her name to save my neck. That girl you brought up to New Haven senior year."
Gordon started.
"Edith Bradin? That whom you mean?"
"'At's the one. Damn good looking. She's still sort of a pretty doll—you know what I mean: as if you touched her she'd smear."
This story has plenty of smear.
May Day, 1919 was a tumultuous one for America with riots breaking out and the discovery of an anarchist plot to mail-bomb a cross-section of prominent politicians. The country was euphoric that the war was over, but while the future looked bright for some it didn't look so appealing for others.
Fitzgerald taps into the hysteria as the 'Smart Set' of Yale graduates and moneyed 'flappers' dance the night away at swanky Delmonico's while disenfranchised returning soldiers cause a riot at the offices of the socialist New York Trumpet
Result: everyone gets sozzled, tragedies and pranks do the Charleston.
A quintessential tale of the Jazz Age.
Sample:
Dean emerged from the bathroom polishing his body.
"Saw an old friend of yours last night," he remarked. "Passed her in the lobby and couldn't think of her name to save my neck. That girl you brought up to New Haven senior year."
Gordon started.
"Edith Bradin? That whom you mean?"
"'At's the one. Damn good looking. She's still sort of a pretty doll—you know what I mean: as if you touched her she'd smear."
This story has plenty of smear.
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November 1, 2019Evet kısa ve bir o kadar da açık ve net! 1 Mayıs 1919’u yani 1 günü gecesiyle birlikte, toplum yapısını da unutmadan tane tane anlatıyor: savaş bitmiş ve dönen askerlerin halleri, kahrolsun (?!) bolşevikler nefreti, sınıf sorunları, yoksulluk, alkol, kadın ve erkek rolleri, işsizlik....
June 16, 2017
Una prosa delicata che descrive le rivolte del dopoguerra Americano.
Consigliato!
Consigliato!
June 26, 2014
The first book in my self-imposed novella-a-day challenge was F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1920 novel, May Day. This novel lacks a lot of the finesse that is so obvious in Gatsby, for example, but I think it’s a lot more refined and readable than, say, This Side of Paradise, which I found too apologetic and juvenile. This skinny book is about postwar despair and the conflict between the rich, moneyed classes and those who have fallen below that level of luxury. The Roaring Twenties have just begun.
The first paragraph is nearly flawless:
"There had been a war fought and won and the great city of the conquering people was crossed with triumphal arches and vivid with thrown flowers of white, red, and rose. All through the long spring days the returning soldiers marched up the chief highway behind the strum of drums and the joyous, resonant wind of the brasses, while merchants and clerks left their bickerings and figurings and, crowding to the windows, turned their white-bunched faces gravely upon the passing battalions."
Gawgeous! World War I soldiers have returned to a hostile world and among the ruins of the war, New York City rises like a phoenix from the ashes. “Never had there been such splendor in the great city…”
An interesting ensemble of characters populate this concentrated novella. There’s the main protagonist, Gordon Sterrett, a Yale man who finds himself in very dire financial straits after the war, and who calls upon his old friend, Philip Dean, for financial assistance. Dean is a privileged former soldier whose only thoughts concern parties, booze, women, and the next thrill. He’s the quintessential 20s man.
Then there’s Edith Bradin, Gordon’s former sweetheart, moved on but never quite forgotten. This is a novel about the past and present, what could have been, and the ghosts of our former selves. There’s an energy that runs throughout the novel, an anxiety about the future that each character touches upon but never fully grasps emotionally. Edith is eager to make a good match but is constantly feeling nostalgic about her glory days as the most sought-after girl among Yale men. She’s seeking something that has already vanished.
These characters are set against a backdrop of growing American luxury, but also a changing political landscape. Fitzgerald described his novella as illustrating a “general hysteria…that inaugurated the Jazz Age…” I think that’s a succinct and almost chilling description of a haunting novella. It really did feel like a subtle setup of all the themes that Fitzgerald revisits in his later work: luxury, despair, love, a changing world. I didn’t love any of the characters which sort of separated me from the novel, but the ending had me reeling, and pondering the effects of a grand despair.
I would definitely recommend this book to any lover of modern literature or of Fitzgerald. It’s a must-read.
The first paragraph is nearly flawless:
"There had been a war fought and won and the great city of the conquering people was crossed with triumphal arches and vivid with thrown flowers of white, red, and rose. All through the long spring days the returning soldiers marched up the chief highway behind the strum of drums and the joyous, resonant wind of the brasses, while merchants and clerks left their bickerings and figurings and, crowding to the windows, turned their white-bunched faces gravely upon the passing battalions."
Gawgeous! World War I soldiers have returned to a hostile world and among the ruins of the war, New York City rises like a phoenix from the ashes. “Never had there been such splendor in the great city…”
An interesting ensemble of characters populate this concentrated novella. There’s the main protagonist, Gordon Sterrett, a Yale man who finds himself in very dire financial straits after the war, and who calls upon his old friend, Philip Dean, for financial assistance. Dean is a privileged former soldier whose only thoughts concern parties, booze, women, and the next thrill. He’s the quintessential 20s man.
Then there’s Edith Bradin, Gordon’s former sweetheart, moved on but never quite forgotten. This is a novel about the past and present, what could have been, and the ghosts of our former selves. There’s an energy that runs throughout the novel, an anxiety about the future that each character touches upon but never fully grasps emotionally. Edith is eager to make a good match but is constantly feeling nostalgic about her glory days as the most sought-after girl among Yale men. She’s seeking something that has already vanished.
These characters are set against a backdrop of growing American luxury, but also a changing political landscape. Fitzgerald described his novella as illustrating a “general hysteria…that inaugurated the Jazz Age…” I think that’s a succinct and almost chilling description of a haunting novella. It really did feel like a subtle setup of all the themes that Fitzgerald revisits in his later work: luxury, despair, love, a changing world. I didn’t love any of the characters which sort of separated me from the novel, but the ending had me reeling, and pondering the effects of a grand despair.
I would definitely recommend this book to any lover of modern literature or of Fitzgerald. It’s a must-read.
August 3, 2013
Review initially published on my blog, Writing by Numbers, here.
It has come to my attention that some people understand the word “decadent” to be a purely positive term, mostly reserved for chocolate cake. If that’s you, get your hands on some Fitzgerald, stat.
Folks, decadence isn’t just luxury. It’s both a wild party and the wreckage afterwards, it’s the rust behind the gilt. Nobody brings this concept to life better than Fitzgerald. His works, like The Great Gatsby and Tales of the Jazz Age, define the Roaring Twenties.
Like Fitzgerald’s more famous pieces, May Day captures the melancholy of people who have lost their way and how they hurtle desperately into society to seek it. It’s short but packed, tracking interactions between three former classmates and two soldiers over one intoxicated night. The booze swirls and so do the ethics. At times Fitzgerald is dryly funny, loading up characters with innocuous dialogue that doubles as incisive social commentary. But the momentum comes from lives spiraling out of control in the disorientation of post-WWI New York.
The pocket-sized volume is part of Melville House’s series devoted to showcasing novellas in minimalist bold-colored covers. It caught my queasy eye in an airport bookstore, both for the $10 pricetag and the sexy design, and proved just as sleek and sharp a read as I hoped.
The 213 in 2013 series chronicles every book I read in 2013. Each review contains exactly 213 words. For more, visit http://www.ararebit.wordpress.com.
It has come to my attention that some people understand the word “decadent” to be a purely positive term, mostly reserved for chocolate cake. If that’s you, get your hands on some Fitzgerald, stat.
Folks, decadence isn’t just luxury. It’s both a wild party and the wreckage afterwards, it’s the rust behind the gilt. Nobody brings this concept to life better than Fitzgerald. His works, like The Great Gatsby and Tales of the Jazz Age, define the Roaring Twenties.
Like Fitzgerald’s more famous pieces, May Day captures the melancholy of people who have lost their way and how they hurtle desperately into society to seek it. It’s short but packed, tracking interactions between three former classmates and two soldiers over one intoxicated night. The booze swirls and so do the ethics. At times Fitzgerald is dryly funny, loading up characters with innocuous dialogue that doubles as incisive social commentary. But the momentum comes from lives spiraling out of control in the disorientation of post-WWI New York.
The pocket-sized volume is part of Melville House’s series devoted to showcasing novellas in minimalist bold-colored covers. It caught my queasy eye in an airport bookstore, both for the $10 pricetag and the sexy design, and proved just as sleek and sharp a read as I hoped.
The 213 in 2013 series chronicles every book I read in 2013. Each review contains exactly 213 words. For more, visit http://www.ararebit.wordpress.com.
April 22, 2024
The writing was good but after the first couple chapters, I grew bored. 🤷 3 ⭐.
April 16, 2017
F.Scott Fitzgerald's works always call to mind a frothing, bubbling bottle of sparkling champagne. Rich and effervescent, full of the promise of light-hearted banter, flirations and tipsy swaying dances; it's all fun until the hangover kicks in and the luridness of everything around us comes to light. 'May Day' highlights the cruel obliviousness of high society, in all its glorious selfishness, for a world that is not within their sphere of concern. It shows the hypocrisy, not only of the classes that divide us, but of so-called friendships, of love which fizzles out the moment it is no longer comfortable to us, of deaths which as tragic more so because of their sheer pointlessness. Like a steadily increasing tempo of the tattoo of a drum, the story reaches a feverish climax, which seems to reach its peak as the clock in the book ticks on, and suddenly, chaos ensues and everything falls flat and apart, succumbing to the ultimate meaninglessness of it all (a common theme in most of Fitzgerald's works). And through it all, the rich and the elite drink and dance and frolic, careless to all that has happened around them. And this is why I find Fitzgerald's works to be eternally relevant for all generations.
November 6, 2015
I had a hard time reading this, and it took me several days to push through. If you know me, you know how absolutely absurd that sounds. I devour F. Scott Fitzgerald. I consume him like air or water.... but don't mistake my meaning. I enjoyed this, as much as one can enjoy this particular story, but it was tough. It's a side of Fitzgerald readers don't get much- it seemed personal and, yeah, maybe a little angry. He has a brief introduction at the beginning (of my copy, at least) where he states it was an attempt to tell the tale of New York in 1919, as he saw it, and to weave it all together as a larger narrative. He admits it might not be successful- and as much as it pains me to say, I have to say I'm of the same opinion. it has a particularly gruesome end, though I suppose it's not entirely unexpected.
But ultimately, this felt like I was reading something very close to Fitzgerald's heart and soul more than any of his other works. I think a person could study it very close, and walk away with a better understanding of Fitzgerald than even Gatsby, perhaps. I think it could be used just the same as a study of people, of culture, of the aftermath of war.
But ultimately, this felt like I was reading something very close to Fitzgerald's heart and soul more than any of his other works. I think a person could study it very close, and walk away with a better understanding of Fitzgerald than even Gatsby, perhaps. I think it could be used just the same as a study of people, of culture, of the aftermath of war.
October 26, 2019
Kitapta birbirinden bağımsız güzel hikayeler var. Fakat yazar bu hikayeleri birbirine çok iyi bağlayamamış. Ayrı ayrı çok güzel olan hikayeler arasındaki bağ güçlü değil. Ayrıca kitapta yazarın hayatından çok fazla iz vardı. Hikayedeki hangi kısmın yazarın hayatına ait olduğunu açıkça görebiliyorsunuz. Yazarın hayatını okuduktan sonra okunmasını tavsiye ederim.
April 17, 2023
La guerra è finita, i soldati tornano a casa e i giovani di buona famiglia all'università, o da essa si affacciano al mondo.
Le classi sociali si incrociano per strada, negli alberghi, nelle redazioni dei giornali, per divertirsi o per trovare un capro espiatorio.
Uno di loro ha errato, si è unito a una classe inferiore, e ora deve pagare.
Le classi sociali si incrociano per strada, negli alberghi, nelle redazioni dei giornali, per divertirsi o per trovare un capro espiatorio.
Uno di loro ha errato, si è unito a una classe inferiore, e ora deve pagare.
April 27, 2025
I didn't get it...
Is American society like this?
Was it?
"Socialists pro - Germans"?!! This is ridiculous. I mean... no comments.
And why one jumps out of the window?
And why Gordon shots himself?
The most strange story of Fitzgerald I have read.
Is American society like this?
Was it?
"Socialists pro - Germans"?!! This is ridiculous. I mean... no comments.
And why one jumps out of the window?
And why Gordon shots himself?
The most strange story of Fitzgerald I have read.
March 8, 2016
A short and interesting story
March 8, 2017
SIX WORD REVIEW: So that's why he is famous...
July 5, 2025
May Day is one of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s darker and more cynical short stories, capturing the chaos and disillusionment of post-World War I America. Set over the course of one night in 1919, the story follows a series of characters—disillusioned soldiers, wealthy socialites, and struggling journalists—as their lives intersect during a wild, tragic evening in New York.
Fitzgerald contrasts the careless extravagance of the privileged with the despair of those left behind by society, painting a grim picture of the so-called “Roaring Twenties.” With themes of social division, lost innocence, and moral decay, May Day feels raw, unsettling, and far less romantic than Fitzgerald’s more famous works like The Great Gatsby.
Overall, it’s a sharp, bleak, and powerful commentary on the fractured American Dream.
Fitzgerald contrasts the careless extravagance of the privileged with the despair of those left behind by society, painting a grim picture of the so-called “Roaring Twenties.” With themes of social division, lost innocence, and moral decay, May Day feels raw, unsettling, and far less romantic than Fitzgerald’s more famous works like The Great Gatsby.
Overall, it’s a sharp, bleak, and powerful commentary on the fractured American Dream.
July 30, 2024
Fitzgerald pushes us through our pleasures so that our displeasures sit right alongside us. But the lovely mystery of life sits right outside and yet some see this too as a facade. This might be the invention of the American teen story (popularized by the likes of John Hughes some 60 years later).
April 5, 2017
Always love Fitzgerald. Novella quick read and delightful.
April 21, 2023
100 years later and people are still the same. Getting drunk and acting stupid will sadly never change..
May 21, 2024
Mss 2,5. Wel veel hedendaagse passages zoals deze op p.13: “You’ve got to look at things as they are. If you haven’t got money you’ve got to work and stay away from women.”
November 15, 2020
Hazırlıksız yazılmış ve tamamlanmamış hissi uyandıran bir olay ve karakter kurgusu var. Çokça şey anlatılmak istenmiş ama sanki yazarın nefesi yetmemiş de sesini duyuramamış.
May 1, 2024
Recensione Dicembre 2021:
Una lettura molto veloce, uno dei racconti di Fitzgerald attraverso i quali si viene trascinati in un vortice di follia.
Sono tanti i protagonisti del racconto, tante storie di sregolatezze, balli e irascibilità da dopoguerra.
“Primo maggio” racconta di una notte in città (si riferisce al maggio del 1919) e si viene trasportati attraverso il tempo e lo spazio fino a sentirsi parte degli eventi narrati.
In perfetto stile Fitzgerald, questo racconto è travolgente e sconsiderato.
Update maggio 2024:
Resto dell’idea che sia un racconto davvero coinvolgente, intriso di malinconia e un pizzico di follia. Una storia che riesce e a trascinare all’interno delle dinamiche dei personaggi pur con così poche pagine.
-
“L’amore è fragile”, pensava intanto. “Ma forse sopravvivono i frammenti, le parole che mi sono rimaste sulle labbra, e che avrei potuto pronunciare […]” pag. 57
Una lettura molto veloce, uno dei racconti di Fitzgerald attraverso i quali si viene trascinati in un vortice di follia.
Sono tanti i protagonisti del racconto, tante storie di sregolatezze, balli e irascibilità da dopoguerra.
“Primo maggio” racconta di una notte in città (si riferisce al maggio del 1919) e si viene trasportati attraverso il tempo e lo spazio fino a sentirsi parte degli eventi narrati.
In perfetto stile Fitzgerald, questo racconto è travolgente e sconsiderato.
Update maggio 2024:
Resto dell’idea che sia un racconto davvero coinvolgente, intriso di malinconia e un pizzico di follia. Una storia che riesce e a trascinare all’interno delle dinamiche dei personaggi pur con così poche pagine.
-
“L’amore è fragile”, pensava intanto. “Ma forse sopravvivono i frammenti, le parole che mi sono rimaste sulle labbra, e che avrei potuto pronunciare […]” pag. 57
August 15, 2016
A novella based happenings in an Ohio town, but this story interweaves several plot lines in New York City. It's meshes together so well, in a style I feel like no one did until the 2000s. The characters feel like Fitzgerald's usually do - some reach, some very poor, some ex-soldiers, some beautiful, bored girls, and always, in true style, saying so much without coming out and just saying it. Fitzgerald really is a portrait artist. He doesn't tell you what to think or feel or understand, he just talks and you get the message.
January 2, 2016
This was a quick and easy read. Fitzgerald is such a master that I feel like I'm watching a movie when I read his books. I love the novella length (and must add that the way the publishers packaged/designed these novellas is so aesthetically pleasing that I want them all) but would have gladly continued reading. Of course I'd have liked the political plot to be developed more. Great and sometimes jarring read.
February 19, 2008
This beautifully packaged series of classic novellas includes the works of Anton Chekhov, Colette, Henry James, Herman Melville, and Leo Tolstoy. These collectible editions are the first single-volume publications of these classic tales, offering a closer look at this underappreciated literary form and providing a fresh take on the world's most celebrated authors.
January 13, 2017
In questo racconto emergono tutti i temi ricorrenti nei libri di Fitzgerald: musica, alcool, denaro, eccessi. Il racconto prende le mosse dal ricordo, che viene, però, ben presto abbandonato nel turbinio del presente vissuto dai personaggi. Si tratta di un libro intenso, dal ritmo incalzante e imprevedibile.
December 22, 2012
Another great novella from Melville House. The story takes place on May Day just after WW I and revolves around several archetypal characters of the era - society girl, Ivy Leaguer, radical, soldier, etc. they converge in interesting ways on a fateful day.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews