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Transgresoras y filósofos
Flappers and Philosophers, primer libro de relatos de Scott Fitzgerald, surgió de una estrategia de la casa editorial Scribner´s: tras una novela exitosa había que publicar de inmediato un libro de cuentos.
En marzo de 1920 su ópera prima, A este lado del paraíso, se había convertido a los pocos días en la Biblia de su generación y de una frase publicitaria para promoverla Fitzgerald tomó el título para su nuevo libro: “Una novela sobre flappers [jóvenes transgresoras e independientes] para filósofos”. Es Fitzgerald un autor un tanto eufórico que con la publicación de cuentos en revistas pasa de ganar ochocientos setenta y nueve dólares en 1919 a dieciocho mil ochocientos cincuenta dólares al año siguiente; se trata de un autor que ya apostaba en su vida y obra al futuro, a la juventud y a la ambición, y que incorpora en su literatura inicial todos los elementos y la sutileza que lo convierten en una de las figuras centrales de la literatura del siglo veinte.
En marzo de 1920 su ópera prima, A este lado del paraíso, se había convertido a los pocos días en la Biblia de su generación y de una frase publicitaria para promoverla Fitzgerald tomó el título para su nuevo libro: “Una novela sobre flappers [jóvenes transgresoras e independientes] para filósofos”. Es Fitzgerald un autor un tanto eufórico que con la publicación de cuentos en revistas pasa de ganar ochocientos setenta y nueve dólares en 1919 a dieciocho mil ochocientos cincuenta dólares al año siguiente; se trata de un autor que ya apostaba en su vida y obra al futuro, a la juventud y a la ambición, y que incorpora en su literatura inicial todos los elementos y la sutileza que lo convierten en una de las figuras centrales de la literatura del siglo veinte.
308 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1920
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7957 people want to read
About the author
F. Scott Fitzgerald
1,736 books25.4k 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 479 reviews
May 12, 2023
Flappers and Philosophers are the tales of youth, mostly… Stories of young dreamers and their beautiful dreams being broken. And I admired how excellently the spirit of that rather rebellious epoch was preserved in the tales.
The language is elaborately metaphoric and light irony prevails while the plots are always intriguing and original.
In its mood The Cut-Glass Bowl differs from the other stories – it a kind of a sarcastically dark allegory of fate…
And this splendid bowl has unexpectedly turned into the instrument of doom…
“At eighteen our convictions are hills from which we look; at forty-five they are caves in which we hide.”
Our expectations for the future are always greater than our disappointments in the past.
Ardita scrutinized him carefully — and classed him immediately as a romantic figure. He gave the effect of towering self-confidence erected on a slight foundation — just under the surface of each of his decisions she discerned a hesitancy that was in decided contrast to the arrogant curl of his lips.
Being a supreme egotist Ardita frequently thought about herself; never having had her egotism disputed she did it entirely naturally and with no detraction from her unquestioned charm. Though she was nineteen she gave the effect of a high-spirited precocious child, and in the present glow of her youth and beauty all the men and women she had known were but driftwood on the ripples of her temperament. She had met other egotists — in fact she found that selfish people bored her rather less than unselfish people — but as yet there had not been one she had not eventually defeated and brought to her feet.
The language is elaborately metaphoric and light irony prevails while the plots are always intriguing and original.
In its mood The Cut-Glass Bowl differs from the other stories – it a kind of a sarcastically dark allegory of fate…
…the night I told him I was going to marry Harold, seven years ago in ninety-two, he drew himself way up and said: ‘Evylyn, I’m going to give a present that’s as hard as you are and as beautiful and as empty and as easy to see through.’ He frightened me a little — his eyes were so black. I thought he was going to deed me a haunted house or something that would explode when you opened it. That bowl came, and of course it’s beautiful.
And this splendid bowl has unexpectedly turned into the instrument of doom…
“At eighteen our convictions are hills from which we look; at forty-five they are caves in which we hide.”
Our expectations for the future are always greater than our disappointments in the past.
September 16, 2020
This was a lot of fun. Exceedingly. Awfully Fun. The sort of telling that I feel I had been not wasting time. And, extra to it, I am certainly much obliged to Daniel Coenn (whose name I’ve heard not until couple of weeks ago and for sure I'll easily forget, knowing and trusting my memory), as by fortunate accident I’ve found a little e-book named Francis Scott Fitzgerald: His Words, while I was in a random search for a new entry to start reading (although I have plenty of books in my own library that I have not yet read...). So, my attention was gripped firmly while reading quite a bunch of the most famous quotes that populated this American writer works. I’ve always liked F. Scott F. and have read most of his novels and will most probably come back to them over time. So, reading some quotes from this e-book, I felt like refreshing my acquaintance with F. Scott F. and easily available – of course I look up first on free of charge offers – was this really very entertaining collection of short stories dated back 1920. Well, how about that? 100 years gone since its publication and my time of read. As we like to say, it is never too late. Fortunately!
≪ In the millennium an educational genius will write a book to be given to every young man on the date of his disillusion. This work will have the flavor of Montaigne's essays and Samuel Butler's note-books—and a little of Tolstoi and Marcus Aurelius. It will be neither cheerful nor pleasant but will contain numerous passages of striking humor. Since first-class minds never believe anything very strongly until they've experienced it, its value will be purely relative . . . all people over thirty will refer to it as "depressing. This prelude belongs to the story of a young man who lived, as you and I do, before the book. ≫
This little extraction is the start-up quote from the 7th short story,’Dalyrimple goes wrong’, who is a character torn between self and society. I found it very valuable, through its most obvious irony: does Dalyrimple “go wrong” when he chooses to become a masked burglar to make ends meet (though he wanted to work honestly)- or when he is, by a stroke of fate, rewarded at the end because he has learned to “cut corners’ and land on “the right side of the fence”? 😊
Sliding swiftly and with style, or better said serpentlike intensity through these eight short stories, I wholeheartedly may say that I’m mighty glad of now having read them and, if I can give a verdict, these stories are to get you going good 😉
Being an impressionistic nature, I was definitely attracted by both words from the title: flappers and philosophers, and I have had a little bit of time dedicated to google-ing to read more about these “flappers” thing. It’s always good to put together as many pieces of the puzzle (I sincerely confess I was somehow ignorant of the history of “flappers”), especially when this word is assigned to stories written by the famous Jazz age iconic writer.
I have been awfully overjoyed by the story ‘Bernice bobs her hair’, this could justify why I have posted so many quotes from this story, almost an entire chapter at some point. I have very personal reasons, of course. I felt myself part of the story – both as a character but also symbolically, I mean even before getting to this collection of stories I have taken the decision to ‘bob my hair’.
It was great to see what were the so-called social standards for a generation of young Americans, what were in their mind the secrets of popularity, what were you supposed to say at a dinner table or on the dance floor, overall how a girl should make herself more socially appealing. As we well know this involves a lot of advice on conversation, poise, carriage, dancing, expression, dress, and personality, etc etc. I wasn’t myself in a similar situation (or perhaps I was, yes-yes I was some good years back, if I take into account three weddings that I was invited to attend and where some high personages wanted to make me ‘look’ more socially appealing, haha), but I did make a pledge to ‘bob my hair’ if I pass successfully the entry exams for university (actually in the those old gone years I had had very long hair, and quite beautiful for that young age, and of course I had proceeded to sacrifice this beloved possession - my tresses 😊(how silly and funny we’re when we’re young). Nowadays, to ‘bob my hair’ has less traumatic effects. I guess after a certain age, things to be done not only feel less painful, mentally-wise, but also you realize that you like yourself no matter the length of the hair.
Curiously enough, I have arrived at the end enthusiastically and smiling and smiling and being rather absurdly happy 😉 That is to count for a gay time I’ve been having, and concluding this is an absolute jewel – I mean reading was such a little thing, and surprisingly a happy thing. Hope this makes sense!
I have tremendously enjoyed all of the stories, and I was very pleased to see that each one had a surprising closing effect, something that I was not prepared for. Well, of course they are not thrillers or crime-based history, but the conclusion is in the opposite direction with the general flow of the story. I guess that is what made me loved the stories even more. Still the general effect is that misty waves have been passing before my eyes, I felt too gay and fickle and cheerfully collapsing backward upon my bed, upon each story closing.
≪ “I want to be a society vampire, you see,” she announced coolly, and went on to inform him that bobbed hair was the necessary prelude. She added that she wanted to ask his advice, because she had heard he was so critical about girls.”
≪ In the millennium an educational genius will write a book to be given to every young man on the date of his disillusion. This work will have the flavor of Montaigne's essays and Samuel Butler's note-books—and a little of Tolstoi and Marcus Aurelius. It will be neither cheerful nor pleasant but will contain numerous passages of striking humor. Since first-class minds never believe anything very strongly until they've experienced it, its value will be purely relative . . . all people over thirty will refer to it as "depressing. This prelude belongs to the story of a young man who lived, as you and I do, before the book. ≫
This little extraction is the start-up quote from the 7th short story,’Dalyrimple goes wrong’, who is a character torn between self and society. I found it very valuable, through its most obvious irony: does Dalyrimple “go wrong” when he chooses to become a masked burglar to make ends meet (though he wanted to work honestly)- or when he is, by a stroke of fate, rewarded at the end because he has learned to “cut corners’ and land on “the right side of the fence”? 😊
Sliding swiftly and with style, or better said serpentlike intensity through these eight short stories, I wholeheartedly may say that I’m mighty glad of now having read them and, if I can give a verdict, these stories are to get you going good 😉
Being an impressionistic nature, I was definitely attracted by both words from the title: flappers and philosophers, and I have had a little bit of time dedicated to google-ing to read more about these “flappers” thing. It’s always good to put together as many pieces of the puzzle (I sincerely confess I was somehow ignorant of the history of “flappers”), especially when this word is assigned to stories written by the famous Jazz age iconic writer.
I have been awfully overjoyed by the story ‘Bernice bobs her hair’, this could justify why I have posted so many quotes from this story, almost an entire chapter at some point. I have very personal reasons, of course. I felt myself part of the story – both as a character but also symbolically, I mean even before getting to this collection of stories I have taken the decision to ‘bob my hair’.
It was great to see what were the so-called social standards for a generation of young Americans, what were in their mind the secrets of popularity, what were you supposed to say at a dinner table or on the dance floor, overall how a girl should make herself more socially appealing. As we well know this involves a lot of advice on conversation, poise, carriage, dancing, expression, dress, and personality, etc etc. I wasn’t myself in a similar situation (or perhaps I was, yes-yes I was some good years back, if I take into account three weddings that I was invited to attend and where some high personages wanted to make me ‘look’ more socially appealing, haha), but I did make a pledge to ‘bob my hair’ if I pass successfully the entry exams for university (actually in the those old gone years I had had very long hair, and quite beautiful for that young age, and of course I had proceeded to sacrifice this beloved possession - my tresses 😊(how silly and funny we’re when we’re young). Nowadays, to ‘bob my hair’ has less traumatic effects. I guess after a certain age, things to be done not only feel less painful, mentally-wise, but also you realize that you like yourself no matter the length of the hair.
Curiously enough, I have arrived at the end enthusiastically and smiling and smiling and being rather absurdly happy 😉 That is to count for a gay time I’ve been having, and concluding this is an absolute jewel – I mean reading was such a little thing, and surprisingly a happy thing. Hope this makes sense!
I have tremendously enjoyed all of the stories, and I was very pleased to see that each one had a surprising closing effect, something that I was not prepared for. Well, of course they are not thrillers or crime-based history, but the conclusion is in the opposite direction with the general flow of the story. I guess that is what made me loved the stories even more. Still the general effect is that misty waves have been passing before my eyes, I felt too gay and fickle and cheerfully collapsing backward upon my bed, upon each story closing.
≪ “I want to be a society vampire, you see,” she announced coolly, and went on to inform him that bobbed hair was the necessary prelude. She added that she wanted to ask his advice, because she had heard he was so critical about girls.”
December 16, 2021
DNF
The first story in this collection, THE OFFSHORE PIRATE, did nothing to alter my opinion that Fitzgerald was a tedious, meandering, mostly uninteresting writer who used too many words to get to the point. Others have a different opinion and enjoy his writing.
Someone whose opinions I value suggested that before I give up on Fitzgerald, I should read further into this collection. I read ICE PALACE, the second story. His description of the ice palace and the things which occurred there was pretty good. The lead up to that point in the story was long, wordy and some what dull. The ending was good but drawn out.
I have now read the third story, HEAD AND SHOULDERS about a.young genius academic lured from academia by love. It's ok but a.little long.
The fourth story, CUT GLASS, concerns adultery and is almost pointless unless the.point is that Mrs. Piper is "hard, beautiful, empty, and easy to see through." However I did not understand the story that way.
I found the fifth story, BERNICE BOBS HER HAIR, truly tiresome. I don't care if she bobs het hair or her nose for that matter. I have no interest in the things she does to become popular. Maybe someone who reads romance fiction may like it.
Kindle edition free from Amazon.
The first story in this collection, THE OFFSHORE PIRATE, did nothing to alter my opinion that Fitzgerald was a tedious, meandering, mostly uninteresting writer who used too many words to get to the point. Others have a different opinion and enjoy his writing.
Someone whose opinions I value suggested that before I give up on Fitzgerald, I should read further into this collection. I read ICE PALACE, the second story. His description of the ice palace and the things which occurred there was pretty good. The lead up to that point in the story was long, wordy and some what dull. The ending was good but drawn out.
I have now read the third story, HEAD AND SHOULDERS about a.young genius academic lured from academia by love. It's ok but a.little long.
The fourth story, CUT GLASS, concerns adultery and is almost pointless unless the.point is that Mrs. Piper is "hard, beautiful, empty, and easy to see through." However I did not understand the story that way.
I found the fifth story, BERNICE BOBS HER HAIR, truly tiresome. I don't care if she bobs het hair or her nose for that matter. I have no interest in the things she does to become popular. Maybe someone who reads romance fiction may like it.
Kindle edition free from Amazon.
April 27, 2010
This little book of eight short stories took me about a week to read, and now I’m very sorry that it’s over. All of the stories were very entertaining and vivid. It made me feel like I was a nineteen-year-old girl in the first or second decade of the twentieth century. Many of the stories in this book are focused on girls of that age, and I thought it was quite strange that Fitzgerald could write so well about them. Almost all of the stories can be classified as "coming of age" stories in the early twentieth century.
The book starts off with a strong and rebellious nineteen-year-old girl in “The Offshore Pirate.” That first story was probably my favorite. My second favorite was probably “Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” which was also about a nineteen-year-old who was figuring herself out a lot more than the heroine from the first story, who knew exactly who she was and what she wanted. I also liked “The Ice Palace” in which a very vivacious teenager named Sally Carroll visits a Northeastern city in the hopes of marrying, and finds out that she misses the colorful southern town where she grew up.
The last story in the collection, “The Four Fists,” features a manly man who gets knocked down by four punches in his lifetime, each of which teaches him an important lesson, and the story takes him from New York to the oil fields of Texas and the ranches of New Mexico. It felt rather refreshing to read a burly story after all the quite feminine ones, but I truly liked them all. The second-to-last story, “Dalyrimple Goes Wrong,” also features a male character and his descent into shadiness. What I noticed is how differently Fitzgerald writes about male characters than female characters – there’s less internal monologue and descriptions of thoughts and conversations, and more action at a swiftly moving pace. One story, “Head and Shoulders” does a beautiful job of explaining a role reversal of sorts, in which the female character shines and the male character withers.
To read this book was to be transported back to a totally different time – anywhere from the 1890’s to the 19-teens, and to totally different places – usually New England towns, Ivy League educational institutions, and country clubs. I enjoyed the scenes about fox trots and flappers and jazz music and I wished, sometimes, that I could have lived back then. But Fitzgerald had great sympathy for his female characters – “The Cut-Glass Bowl” featured a downfall of one of them, and the strong character of Marjorie in “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” explains how the young girls can become withered and unloved housewives, many of whom are disapprovingly interspersed into that story.
In fact, if I carry one thing away from Flappers and Philosophers other than hours of entertaining reading, it is a remark on the position of young women in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Many of the stories feature girls at the cusp of womanhood who wear rose-tinted glasses and think that life is about dances and social events. Yet the men are the ones getting an education, seeing the world and taking part in all of the action (again with the exception of the uniquely witty “Heads and Shoulders” plot). In this sense I am very happy to be living in the 21st century and just reading about these female characters in the early 20th century.
The book starts off with a strong and rebellious nineteen-year-old girl in “The Offshore Pirate.” That first story was probably my favorite. My second favorite was probably “Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” which was also about a nineteen-year-old who was figuring herself out a lot more than the heroine from the first story, who knew exactly who she was and what she wanted. I also liked “The Ice Palace” in which a very vivacious teenager named Sally Carroll visits a Northeastern city in the hopes of marrying, and finds out that she misses the colorful southern town where she grew up.
The last story in the collection, “The Four Fists,” features a manly man who gets knocked down by four punches in his lifetime, each of which teaches him an important lesson, and the story takes him from New York to the oil fields of Texas and the ranches of New Mexico. It felt rather refreshing to read a burly story after all the quite feminine ones, but I truly liked them all. The second-to-last story, “Dalyrimple Goes Wrong,” also features a male character and his descent into shadiness. What I noticed is how differently Fitzgerald writes about male characters than female characters – there’s less internal monologue and descriptions of thoughts and conversations, and more action at a swiftly moving pace. One story, “Head and Shoulders” does a beautiful job of explaining a role reversal of sorts, in which the female character shines and the male character withers.
To read this book was to be transported back to a totally different time – anywhere from the 1890’s to the 19-teens, and to totally different places – usually New England towns, Ivy League educational institutions, and country clubs. I enjoyed the scenes about fox trots and flappers and jazz music and I wished, sometimes, that I could have lived back then. But Fitzgerald had great sympathy for his female characters – “The Cut-Glass Bowl” featured a downfall of one of them, and the strong character of Marjorie in “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” explains how the young girls can become withered and unloved housewives, many of whom are disapprovingly interspersed into that story.
In fact, if I carry one thing away from Flappers and Philosophers other than hours of entertaining reading, it is a remark on the position of young women in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Many of the stories feature girls at the cusp of womanhood who wear rose-tinted glasses and think that life is about dances and social events. Yet the men are the ones getting an education, seeing the world and taking part in all of the action (again with the exception of the uniquely witty “Heads and Shoulders” plot). In this sense I am very happy to be living in the 21st century and just reading about these female characters in the early 20th century.
January 4, 2021
It now have been cleare to me that no matter how much I try to read F. Scott Fitzgerald I'm not a huge fan of his writing, it's not bad by any means just not my cup of tea. Don't get brain tingles from it and I'm not overly entertained by them.
November 25, 2016
This is not his best writing. I'm guessing Zelda didn't help much. These stories just kept him in the bucks. I'm not shying away from reading his novels because of these short stories. I don't feel like these reflect his talent.
August 19, 2025
#️⃣4️⃣0️⃣9️⃣ Read & Reviewed in 2025 ☁️🪨
Date : 🌬️ Sunday, August 17, 2025 🌪️🌫️☕
Word Count📃: 43k Words 🐑⛰️
⋆𖦹⋆ˎˊ˗ 〰️〰️〰️ ──── .✦
₍^. .^₎⟆ My 31th read in "But I can see us lost in the memory. August slipped away into a moment in time. 'Cause it was never mine" August 🤍
4️⃣🌟, quick fun classic short story collection.
——————————————————————
➕➖0️⃣1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣4️⃣5️⃣6️⃣7️⃣8️⃣9️⃣🔟✖️➗
So this book contains six very short short stories...(I don't know how to review short story collections)... I loved almost every single story featured in here most especially the two last short stories, THE FOUR FISTS & DALYRIMPLE GOES WRONG. The writing is exquisite & one that is completely reminiscent of old classic stories. It is almost slice-of-life but not reaching at that point because there are still many things to learn about all the lives of these different people and the one that you would get small dosages of lessons underneath. Most of them are coming of age and there are many internal monologues that completely immerses you to the point of view of every single character on each short story. Ok that's it
Date : 🌬️ Sunday, August 17, 2025 🌪️🌫️☕
Word Count📃: 43k Words 🐑⛰️
⋆𖦹⋆ˎˊ˗ 〰️〰️〰️ ──── .✦
₍^. .^₎⟆ My 31th read in "But I can see us lost in the memory. August slipped away into a moment in time. 'Cause it was never mine" August 🤍
4️⃣🌟, quick fun classic short story collection.
——————————————————————
➕➖0️⃣1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣4️⃣5️⃣6️⃣7️⃣8️⃣9️⃣🔟✖️➗
So this book contains six very short short stories...(I don't know how to review short story collections)... I loved almost every single story featured in here most especially the two last short stories, THE FOUR FISTS & DALYRIMPLE GOES WRONG. The writing is exquisite & one that is completely reminiscent of old classic stories. It is almost slice-of-life but not reaching at that point because there are still many things to learn about all the lives of these different people and the one that you would get small dosages of lessons underneath. Most of them are coming of age and there are many internal monologues that completely immerses you to the point of view of every single character on each short story. Ok that's it
January 20, 2014
Flappers and Philosophers: http://readwithstyle.wordpress.com/20...
I must admit what drew me to the collection, despite of course the name of Fitzgerald, is the title. I mean, come on, Flappers and Philosophers is simply genial. I doubt anyone in the 1920s would ever use the word philosopher do describe a flapper. Flappers, for those of you who don’t know, were a “new breed” of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior. Flappers were seen as brash for wearing excessive makeup, drinking, treating sex in a casual manner, smoking, driving automobiles, and otherwise flouting social and sexual norms.” First rule of every student – when possible, always use Wikipedia (even one of the professors in the ever so acclaimed HEC cited Wikipedia in a finance class, so I don’t feel guilty at all). I wouldn’t provide a definition of a philosopher here, except to say that for most people it would be the exact opposite to a flapper. And yet somewhat magically Fitzgerald manages to balance the duality of flapper and the philosopher in his characters. I must say, all of us women are flappers and philosophers, simultaneously. Whatever works for us at that particular moment.
The stories in Flappers and Philosophers are of course about the Jazz Age – the excess, the debauchery and the greed associated with it. Fitzgerald’s characters in this collection foreshadow his more complex characters in the future novels to come – shallow, self-absorbed, obsessed with beauty, money, and power, greedy, and sometimes extremely cruel. And yet, exactly these flappers produce so profound conclusions about life that the reader has nothing else to do but gasp with astonishment:
Read more: http://readwithstyle.wordpress.com/20...
I must admit what drew me to the collection, despite of course the name of Fitzgerald, is the title. I mean, come on, Flappers and Philosophers is simply genial. I doubt anyone in the 1920s would ever use the word philosopher do describe a flapper. Flappers, for those of you who don’t know, were a “new breed” of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior. Flappers were seen as brash for wearing excessive makeup, drinking, treating sex in a casual manner, smoking, driving automobiles, and otherwise flouting social and sexual norms.” First rule of every student – when possible, always use Wikipedia (even one of the professors in the ever so acclaimed HEC cited Wikipedia in a finance class, so I don’t feel guilty at all). I wouldn’t provide a definition of a philosopher here, except to say that for most people it would be the exact opposite to a flapper. And yet somewhat magically Fitzgerald manages to balance the duality of flapper and the philosopher in his characters. I must say, all of us women are flappers and philosophers, simultaneously. Whatever works for us at that particular moment.
The stories in Flappers and Philosophers are of course about the Jazz Age – the excess, the debauchery and the greed associated with it. Fitzgerald’s characters in this collection foreshadow his more complex characters in the future novels to come – shallow, self-absorbed, obsessed with beauty, money, and power, greedy, and sometimes extremely cruel. And yet, exactly these flappers produce so profound conclusions about life that the reader has nothing else to do but gasp with astonishment:
Read more: http://readwithstyle.wordpress.com/20...
March 5, 2018
I adored this collection of eight short stories from early in F. Scott Fitzgerald's writing career. They are largely comings of age, many from surprisingly believable female perspectives. Remarkably fresh, tender, funny, well crafted—free from the tropes that drive me nuts in a lot of contemporary short fiction: the bogs of interior monologues, the random slices of life in which nothing happens (and what's the point...?), the let's stop the story abruptly on the cusp of the action "technique."
A stubborn young woman's ship is overrun by "pirates" and she makes a surprising course correction.
A Southern woman visits her fiancé's family up North for the first time and experiences culture shock.
A promising young philosopher marries an entertainer in an amusing story of conjugal role reversal.
A large cut-glass bowl watches over an unraveling life and marriage.
An out-of-towner learns the secrets of popularity from her scheming cousin.
A young woman on the cusp of a romantic rendezvous visits her brother, a monk.
A young man hears the siren song of easy criminality.
A man is punched in the face four times throughout his life: each time, his life and character improve.
Reviewers say that Fitzgerald gets even better later in his career.
A stubborn young woman's ship is overrun by "pirates" and she makes a surprising course correction.
A Southern woman visits her fiancé's family up North for the first time and experiences culture shock.
A promising young philosopher marries an entertainer in an amusing story of conjugal role reversal.
A large cut-glass bowl watches over an unraveling life and marriage.
An out-of-towner learns the secrets of popularity from her scheming cousin.
A young woman on the cusp of a romantic rendezvous visits her brother, a monk.
A young man hears the siren song of easy criminality.
A man is punched in the face four times throughout his life: each time, his life and character improve.
Reviewers say that Fitzgerald gets even better later in his career.
September 30, 2013
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s prose is like pizza and sex. Even when it’s bad, it’s good. Flappers and Philosophers, published in 1920, is a collection of mostly forgettable stories that lionize the rich and rarely challenge the reader’s world view. But that only explains why they’re annoying, not why they’re inferior.
The opening story, “The Offshore Pirate” is inferior because of its jaw-dropping sexism. Ha-ha-ha lets manipulate a head-strong girl because we men know how what’s best for her. Fitzgerald is obsessed by head-strong girls, and nearly every story paints her in vivid colors. Fitzgerald is a genius of characterization. When he describes a person, you see him or her instantly, and you start comparing people you know in real life with them. The women in these stories are clever but not threatening. When a woman does succeed by her wits, such as in “Head and Shoulders,” it’s by luck and the patronage of besotted men. “Head and Shoulders” is a story that works however because its premise is interesting: A philosopher and a flapper fall in love and trade places in the social hierarchy. If you can turn a blind eye to the patronizing framework, the story is well-crafted and filled with wry wit.
“Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” is as dumb as you would expect. Rarely does a title so aptly telegraph a story’s weight. Fitzgerald lurches into a proto-feminism at the end, when Bernice enacts revenge and apparently becomes a free-agent. One suspects that nobody really gave him much credit for that lurch, though, and he never developed feminist sensibilities further. It’s as if he wants to make his women characters stronger, but he just doesn’t know how. He’s different from Anthony Trollope, who, while being a far inferior writer, on rare occasions let his women characters dance closer to the edge of impropriety (The first half of Miss Mackenzie and much of Can You Forgive Her?) Trollope seems to consciously bar the gate of where women can and can’t go, whereas Fitzgerald doesn’t seem capable of imagining women crossing into a feminist threshold.
But boy, does he love to watch them run headlong into the forbidden zone. Gloria’s epic midnight run in Beautiful and Damned has several antecedents here. “The Ice Palace” and “Benediction” both feature women who have some sort of psychological breakdown that acts as a sort of epiphany. These early attempts suffer from a sense that they just seem too contrived, that Fitzgerald is trying stuff out or simply didn’t know how else to end the story.
I found “Benediction” the most interesting story because it deals head-on with religion. I’m sorry Gatsby fans, but Dr. T. J. Eckleburg is more of a dodge than a statement on God and religion. Just because you yourself might be vague and uncertain on religion doesn’t mean that a vague and uncertain take on religion shows genius. In “Benediction” a flapper visits her brother, who is in a seminary. Here issues of belief and non-belief, and the proper role of a Christian are addressed. Is it better to lead a monastic life or to live life in the world? Hold on – is this Fitzgerald or Dostoyevsky? What’s great about short stories is that it allows readers to discover aspects of authors that are absent in novels. “Benediction” shows that Fitzgerald wasn’t ignorant about religion any more than Jane Austen was ignorant about Napoleon (as evidenced in her uncompleted novel Sandition.
Fitzgerald seems to have been rather ignorant or lazy about business as evidenced by “Four Fists.” A somewhat humorous story about how a guy got hit in the face four times because he was a douchebag at various times in his life is marred by the details of the fourth fist. A rancher hits him because he’s buying him out and this is bad…why? We’re supposed to feel sympathy for the rancher, but Fitzgerald’s sketchy details about the deal make this all but impossible. It has the feel of Seinfeld’s Art Vandelay Import/Export business.
While many of the stories have a modern feel, or more precisely, a 1950’s feel, there are occasionally jarring references to an earlier time. For example, in “The Cut-Glass Bowl” (spoiler alert!) a girl has her hand amputated after she gets blood poisoning. As Owen Wilson declared in Midnight in Paris, “These people didn’t have antibiotics!”
So is this short story collection worth reading? Definitely if you’re a Fitzgerald fan. You can only read Gatsby so many times. To better understand its true genius you need to read his other work so you can better understand what he kept and what he kept out.
The opening story, “The Offshore Pirate” is inferior because of its jaw-dropping sexism. Ha-ha-ha lets manipulate a head-strong girl because we men know how what’s best for her. Fitzgerald is obsessed by head-strong girls, and nearly every story paints her in vivid colors. Fitzgerald is a genius of characterization. When he describes a person, you see him or her instantly, and you start comparing people you know in real life with them. The women in these stories are clever but not threatening. When a woman does succeed by her wits, such as in “Head and Shoulders,” it’s by luck and the patronage of besotted men. “Head and Shoulders” is a story that works however because its premise is interesting: A philosopher and a flapper fall in love and trade places in the social hierarchy. If you can turn a blind eye to the patronizing framework, the story is well-crafted and filled with wry wit.
“Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” is as dumb as you would expect. Rarely does a title so aptly telegraph a story’s weight. Fitzgerald lurches into a proto-feminism at the end, when Bernice enacts revenge and apparently becomes a free-agent. One suspects that nobody really gave him much credit for that lurch, though, and he never developed feminist sensibilities further. It’s as if he wants to make his women characters stronger, but he just doesn’t know how. He’s different from Anthony Trollope, who, while being a far inferior writer, on rare occasions let his women characters dance closer to the edge of impropriety (The first half of Miss Mackenzie and much of Can You Forgive Her?) Trollope seems to consciously bar the gate of where women can and can’t go, whereas Fitzgerald doesn’t seem capable of imagining women crossing into a feminist threshold.
But boy, does he love to watch them run headlong into the forbidden zone. Gloria’s epic midnight run in Beautiful and Damned has several antecedents here. “The Ice Palace” and “Benediction” both feature women who have some sort of psychological breakdown that acts as a sort of epiphany. These early attempts suffer from a sense that they just seem too contrived, that Fitzgerald is trying stuff out or simply didn’t know how else to end the story.
I found “Benediction” the most interesting story because it deals head-on with religion. I’m sorry Gatsby fans, but Dr. T. J. Eckleburg is more of a dodge than a statement on God and religion. Just because you yourself might be vague and uncertain on religion doesn’t mean that a vague and uncertain take on religion shows genius. In “Benediction” a flapper visits her brother, who is in a seminary. Here issues of belief and non-belief, and the proper role of a Christian are addressed. Is it better to lead a monastic life or to live life in the world? Hold on – is this Fitzgerald or Dostoyevsky? What’s great about short stories is that it allows readers to discover aspects of authors that are absent in novels. “Benediction” shows that Fitzgerald wasn’t ignorant about religion any more than Jane Austen was ignorant about Napoleon (as evidenced in her uncompleted novel Sandition.
Fitzgerald seems to have been rather ignorant or lazy about business as evidenced by “Four Fists.” A somewhat humorous story about how a guy got hit in the face four times because he was a douchebag at various times in his life is marred by the details of the fourth fist. A rancher hits him because he’s buying him out and this is bad…why? We’re supposed to feel sympathy for the rancher, but Fitzgerald’s sketchy details about the deal make this all but impossible. It has the feel of Seinfeld’s Art Vandelay Import/Export business.
While many of the stories have a modern feel, or more precisely, a 1950’s feel, there are occasionally jarring references to an earlier time. For example, in “The Cut-Glass Bowl” (spoiler alert!) a girl has her hand amputated after she gets blood poisoning. As Owen Wilson declared in Midnight in Paris, “These people didn’t have antibiotics!”
So is this short story collection worth reading? Definitely if you’re a Fitzgerald fan. You can only read Gatsby so many times. To better understand its true genius you need to read his other work so you can better understand what he kept and what he kept out.
May 13, 2016
I might be being overgenerous here, but I so enjoyed these stories. This is Fitzgerald's first collection, and while they may lack the substance matter of his later works, there's such grace, elegance and beauty here, albeit somewhat ephemeral. More flappery than philosophical, certainly. And yet, these 8 tales perfectly encompass the zeitgeist of the 1920s, dealing with mainly flirting, dating, romance, but occasionally more profound subjects too, such as choosing one's path, whether it is presented, guided along or beaten into one, literally. For sheer reading pleasure this is a literary equivalent of a marshmallow or something equally light, pleasant and delicious. It's absolutely worth reading just to temporary armchair travel to a different era. Utterly charming. Sincerely recommended.
July 25, 2022
I think F. Scott has some of the prettiest writing in the history of the world.
That being said the stories themselves are often long and depressing.
This collection of short stories was meh. There were a few of them that were awful:, long, boring, weird and depressing. There were a couple that were excellent, the first story and the last were really good and Bernice Bobs her hair is excellent. Those 3 saved the book and that’s coming from a big fan of Fitzgerald.
That being said the stories themselves are often long and depressing.
This collection of short stories was meh. There were a few of them that were awful:, long, boring, weird and depressing. There were a couple that were excellent, the first story and the last were really good and Bernice Bobs her hair is excellent. Those 3 saved the book and that’s coming from a big fan of Fitzgerald.
June 6, 2011
"You've been through all of F. Scott Fitzgerald's books
You're very well read
It's well known"
-Bob Dylan "Ballad of a Thin Man"
I could tell that "Flappers" was the work of a young writer. Some of the stories felt a little formulaic and predictable. You could see their bones sticking out. Other times it felt like Mr. Fitzgerald was trying to pop off the page saying, "Ooh! Look! I interrupt the flow of this story to remind you that I'm the author! Look how intricate these sentences are! Isn't my dialogue believable?" I guess subtlety was not young Mr. Fitzgerald's strong suit: his narrative voice can be at times like a megaphone.
THAT having been said, I enjoyed the crap out of these stories. They are all well written fun to read. And there's nothing I like more than a good book of good short stories. Four stars for that. I'm going to read more of this man's work in the near future.
Also: this book has a great cover. It would make a really cool tattoo.
You're very well read
It's well known"
-Bob Dylan "Ballad of a Thin Man"
I could tell that "Flappers" was the work of a young writer. Some of the stories felt a little formulaic and predictable. You could see their bones sticking out. Other times it felt like Mr. Fitzgerald was trying to pop off the page saying, "Ooh! Look! I interrupt the flow of this story to remind you that I'm the author! Look how intricate these sentences are! Isn't my dialogue believable?" I guess subtlety was not young Mr. Fitzgerald's strong suit: his narrative voice can be at times like a megaphone.
THAT having been said, I enjoyed the crap out of these stories. They are all well written fun to read. And there's nothing I like more than a good book of good short stories. Four stars for that. I'm going to read more of this man's work in the near future.
Also: this book has a great cover. It would make a really cool tattoo.
January 13, 2021
If you have the Penguin Modern Classics "The curious case of Benjamin Button and six other stories", I do not recommend getting this one, because half of the stories are the same. I really like Fitzgerald's writing, unfortunately as he's not a Good Person at all. I do recommend it if you like short stories!
June 29, 2024
Overall, it is a solid read. Although all stories are different. And I would still prefer Fitzgerald’s novels to his short stories. 3-3.5 stars, no doubts.
The Offshore Pirate – 4 stars
“All life is just a progression toward, and then recession from, one phrase – ‘I love you’.”
Wonderful story. Inspired by love, voyage, and the value of imagination. And the end was just brilliant. Will you swear, Mr. Fitzgerald, that it was entirely a product of your own brain? Because if so, “I want you to lie to me just as sweetly as you know how for the rest of my life.”
The Ice Palace – 1 star
This story did not impress me at all. Especially after the previous one. What’s the point? Roots more than love? Jazz lady scared of cold and ice? Or was the emphasis on the differences between the South and the North? Whatever...it was elusive to me.
Head and Shoulders – 2 stars
“Poor gauzy souls trying to express ourselves in something tangible. Marcia with her written book; I with my unwritten ones. Trying to choose our mediums and then taking what we get—and being glad.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if I found this story in O’Henry’s book. And if Marcia didn’t sing and dance, I’d be surprised to find it in Fitzgerald’s book. A short, quick, easy look at such a usual unusual life of people. Readable, but nothing on top of it.
The Cut-Glass Bowl – 4 stars
“There was a rough stone age and a smooth stone age and a bronze age, and many years afterward a cut-glass age…” What a beautiful beginning and what a depressing continuation…
Short stories are usually not very impressive. It’s hard to create a deep emotional connection with something that’s 20 pages long. But “The Cut-Glass Bowl” is not only capable of making an impression, but it can also be one of the best examples of an approach where a tragic story is built on a connection with an object.
One man said: “Evylyn, I’m going to give a present that’s as hard as you are and as beautiful and as empty and as easy to see through.” He gave her the cut-glass bowl. Many years later, her daughter cut her hand and got blood-poisoning with it. Her husband got drunk from it and lost his business. And finally, she found a letter in it. “It was long and narrow like an advertisement, but up in the corner in large letters it said ‘War Department’”.
Bernice Bobs Her Hair – 3 stars
If Fitzgerald had not become a writer, he would have had a brilliant career in psychology. Short and funny: don’t mess up with girls. Especially with those who have bobbed hair. Especially if they have not bobbed their hair yet. And definitely, if they had done that already.
Benediction – 1 star
I did not get it. Was it about an important decision made despite common sense? If so, if the heart wins over the brain again, then it was vague and not so interesting in this short story. But why Italy? Was it there to outline “new world” vs. “old world” people and their behavior? Or just a shelter for socialists, not able to make life in Fitzgerald’s understanding?
Dalyrimple Goes Wrong – 3 stars
This story represents the book name to it best.
“But when the shouting died he realized that for a month he had been the house guest of the mayor, that he had only fourteen dollars in the world and that "the name that will live forever in the annals and legends of this State" was already living there very quietly and obscurely.”
After the minute of glory, a young man faces the reality of the world. Philosopher turns to the flapper and almost commits to “the other side of the fence” when a proposal of his life arrives. The State Senate… will he turn back to the philosopher?
The Four Fists – 4 stars
Great story! Important life lessons frequently arrive together with fists. Four fists, four lessons... Funny, but with a lot of meaning.
I admire the main character. And not only because of his ability to learn and self-reflect. After all, four fists are not much to succeed. But also for the kindness he was able to demonstrate. And I also admire Fitzgerald for such a wonderful happy ending to this story.
The Offshore Pirate – 4 stars
“All life is just a progression toward, and then recession from, one phrase – ‘I love you’.”
Wonderful story. Inspired by love, voyage, and the value of imagination. And the end was just brilliant. Will you swear, Mr. Fitzgerald, that it was entirely a product of your own brain? Because if so, “I want you to lie to me just as sweetly as you know how for the rest of my life.”
The Ice Palace – 1 star
This story did not impress me at all. Especially after the previous one. What’s the point? Roots more than love? Jazz lady scared of cold and ice? Or was the emphasis on the differences between the South and the North? Whatever...it was elusive to me.
Head and Shoulders – 2 stars
“Poor gauzy souls trying to express ourselves in something tangible. Marcia with her written book; I with my unwritten ones. Trying to choose our mediums and then taking what we get—and being glad.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if I found this story in O’Henry’s book. And if Marcia didn’t sing and dance, I’d be surprised to find it in Fitzgerald’s book. A short, quick, easy look at such a usual unusual life of people. Readable, but nothing on top of it.
The Cut-Glass Bowl – 4 stars
“There was a rough stone age and a smooth stone age and a bronze age, and many years afterward a cut-glass age…” What a beautiful beginning and what a depressing continuation…
Short stories are usually not very impressive. It’s hard to create a deep emotional connection with something that’s 20 pages long. But “The Cut-Glass Bowl” is not only capable of making an impression, but it can also be one of the best examples of an approach where a tragic story is built on a connection with an object.
One man said: “Evylyn, I’m going to give a present that’s as hard as you are and as beautiful and as empty and as easy to see through.” He gave her the cut-glass bowl. Many years later, her daughter cut her hand and got blood-poisoning with it. Her husband got drunk from it and lost his business. And finally, she found a letter in it. “It was long and narrow like an advertisement, but up in the corner in large letters it said ‘War Department’”.
Bernice Bobs Her Hair – 3 stars
If Fitzgerald had not become a writer, he would have had a brilliant career in psychology. Short and funny: don’t mess up with girls. Especially with those who have bobbed hair. Especially if they have not bobbed their hair yet. And definitely, if they had done that already.
Benediction – 1 star
I did not get it. Was it about an important decision made despite common sense? If so, if the heart wins over the brain again, then it was vague and not so interesting in this short story. But why Italy? Was it there to outline “new world” vs. “old world” people and their behavior? Or just a shelter for socialists, not able to make life in Fitzgerald’s understanding?
Dalyrimple Goes Wrong – 3 stars
This story represents the book name to it best.
“But when the shouting died he realized that for a month he had been the house guest of the mayor, that he had only fourteen dollars in the world and that "the name that will live forever in the annals and legends of this State" was already living there very quietly and obscurely.”
After the minute of glory, a young man faces the reality of the world. Philosopher turns to the flapper and almost commits to “the other side of the fence” when a proposal of his life arrives. The State Senate… will he turn back to the philosopher?
The Four Fists – 4 stars
Great story! Important life lessons frequently arrive together with fists. Four fists, four lessons... Funny, but with a lot of meaning.
I admire the main character. And not only because of his ability to learn and self-reflect. After all, four fists are not much to succeed. But also for the kindness he was able to demonstrate. And I also admire Fitzgerald for such a wonderful happy ending to this story.
October 1, 2023
Table of Contents
— The Offshore Pirate (21/09/23) ★★★★★
— The Ice Palace (24/09/23) ★★★
— Head and Shoulders (22/10/22) (read in Five by Fitzgerald: Classic Stories of the Jazz Age - collection rated ★★★)
— The Cut-Glass Bowl (25/09/23) ★★★★★
— Bernice Bobs Her Hair (22/10/22) ★★★★★
— Benediction (26/09/23) ★★★★
— Dalyrimple Goes Wrong (26/10/22) (read in Five by Fitzgerald: Classic Stories of the Jazz Age - collection rated ★★★)
— The Four Fists (27/09/23) ★★★★
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Offshore Pirate (21/09/23) ★★★★★
A frivolous tale about a rebellious “spoiled rich girl” who has finally met her match. Fitzgerald earns a fifth star for the stunning surprise ending!
The Ice Palace (24/09/23) ★★★
On a tall hill outlined in vivid glaring green against the wintry sky stood the ice palace. It was three stories in the air, with battlements and embrasures and narrow icicled windows, and the innumerable electric lights inside made a gorgeous transparency of the great central hall.
A Southern belle who is engaged to a Northern gentleman spends the month before the date set for the wedding as a guest in the home of his parents. A few faux pas appear to have the potential of jeopardizing the marriage ceremony but the visit to The Ice Palace proves to be the ultimate challenge to the longevity of the relationship!
The Cut-Glass Bowl (25/09/23) ★★★★★
Weird and wonderful! Edith Wharton meets Edgar Allan Poe. You won’t want to miss this one!
. . . this cold, malignant thing of beauty, a gift of enmity from a man whose face she had long since forgotten. With its massive, brooding passivity it lay there in the centre of her house as it had lain for years, throwing out the ice-like beams of a thousand eyes, perverse glitterings merging each into each, never aging, never changing.
Benediction (26/09/23) ★★★★
This comparatively tame tale about a short visit by a young woman to her much older brother (who is a monk) tries to be eerie and falls flat — but the ending will leave you asking “What was that really about?”
The Four Fists (27/09/23) ★★★★
Snobbishness is, after all, merely good breeding grown dictatorial . . .
Fitzgerald takes the high road to the end of this collection with a wise tale of the transformation of an obnoxious young man who has a habit of looking down on other people.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
— The Offshore Pirate (21/09/23) ★★★★★
— The Ice Palace (24/09/23) ★★★
— Head and Shoulders (22/10/22) (read in Five by Fitzgerald: Classic Stories of the Jazz Age - collection rated ★★★)
— The Cut-Glass Bowl (25/09/23) ★★★★★
— Bernice Bobs Her Hair (22/10/22) ★★★★★
— Benediction (26/09/23) ★★★★
— Dalyrimple Goes Wrong (26/10/22) (read in Five by Fitzgerald: Classic Stories of the Jazz Age - collection rated ★★★)
— The Four Fists (27/09/23) ★★★★
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Offshore Pirate (21/09/23) ★★★★★
A frivolous tale about a rebellious “spoiled rich girl” who has finally met her match. Fitzgerald earns a fifth star for the stunning surprise ending!
The Ice Palace (24/09/23) ★★★
On a tall hill outlined in vivid glaring green against the wintry sky stood the ice palace. It was three stories in the air, with battlements and embrasures and narrow icicled windows, and the innumerable electric lights inside made a gorgeous transparency of the great central hall.
A Southern belle who is engaged to a Northern gentleman spends the month before the date set for the wedding as a guest in the home of his parents. A few faux pas appear to have the potential of jeopardizing the marriage ceremony but the visit to The Ice Palace proves to be the ultimate challenge to the longevity of the relationship!
The Cut-Glass Bowl (25/09/23) ★★★★★
Weird and wonderful! Edith Wharton meets Edgar Allan Poe. You won’t want to miss this one!
. . . this cold, malignant thing of beauty, a gift of enmity from a man whose face she had long since forgotten. With its massive, brooding passivity it lay there in the centre of her house as it had lain for years, throwing out the ice-like beams of a thousand eyes, perverse glitterings merging each into each, never aging, never changing.
Benediction (26/09/23) ★★★★
This comparatively tame tale about a short visit by a young woman to her much older brother (who is a monk) tries to be eerie and falls flat — but the ending will leave you asking “What was that really about?”
The Four Fists (27/09/23) ★★★★
Snobbishness is, after all, merely good breeding grown dictatorial . . .
Fitzgerald takes the high road to the end of this collection with a wise tale of the transformation of an obnoxious young man who has a habit of looking down on other people.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
August 12, 2025
8 somewhat short stories written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and narrated by William Dufris.
NOTE: i really struggled to get over how much this narrator irritated me—it's not his voice exactly, but his style and the way he does the female characters. they were all so whiny and i swear it took all the stories down at least a star.
The Offshore Pirate: features the most insufferable female mc in literary fiction—a spoiled, self-obsessed 19-year-old named Ardita who is tricked by her fed-up uncle the narration contributed heavily to my dislike of this one. may give it another try eventually...2 stars.
The Ice Palace: Sally Carrol, a Georgia Belle with a lot of Southern pride, falls in love with a man from the north and takes a trip with him to icy Minnesota. as her fiancé shows her around, Sally Carrol begins to realize how much she misses the warmth and languor of the South... the story comes to a climax at the local ice festival, where she finds herself left behind in the awe-inspiring ice palace. once again, it was probably the narration at fault (or maybe it's just me): 2 stars.
Head and Shoulders: teenage philosophy prodigy Horace Tarbox is surprised in his rooms one day by a young actress named Marcia Meadows, sent as a joke by a friend. the socially inept Horace is almost instantly smitten, and gives up the intellectual life to care for Marcia, who loves him very much in turn. follows the ups and downs of their poor married life. a very sweet romance that ends in a Wilde-esque twist. 4.5 stars.
The Cut-Glass Bowl: Poe vibes. a young woman named Evelyn finds her life falling apart after receiving a large, exquisite glass punch bowl as a parting gift from a shunned lover. the bowl, "as hard...as beautiful and as empty and easy to see through" as Evelyn herself, seems to bring only misfortune...a loveless marriage, a crippled daughter, business deals that fall through, and finally death. 4 stars.
Bernice Bobs her Hair: Bernice, though pretty, is a very unpopular figure at the local dances. uninteresting, dull, and unfashionably dressed, she is avoided and made fun of by everyone, even her cousin Marjorie. Marjorie is everything Bernice is not, and has men falling over themselves to dance with her; though unkind and spiteful, Marjorie agrees to give her cousin some tips. when Bernice eclipses her in popularity, Marjorie goads her cousin into the mortifying act of bobbing her hair. a rather satisfying revenge ensues. 3 stars.
Benediction: Lois, yet another 19-year-old girl, visits her much older brother Keith after many years apart. Keith is studying to become a Jesuit priest, and is completely submerged in the world of the church, while Lois is distracted by lovers and insecurities and the outside world. despite their differences, the two siblings find each other becoming very close in the one evening they have together. Lois struggles with her own faith and desires, and she must decide between her lover and the religion that Keith so firmly believes in. 3 stars.
Dalyrimple Goes Wrong: a returned war hero named Brian Dalyrimple finds himself quickly forgotten and in want of a job. he finally manages to get a position as a lowly grocery clerk. discontent with his pay and lot in life, Dalyrimple turns surprisingly quickly to a life of petty crime; a side-hustle while working his job. soon, however, his seeming "contentment" and "perseverance" in the low-paying position earns him the attention of more influential men, and Dalyrimple is offered a shot at congressman. crime pays. 3 stars.
The Four Fists: this is one of my favorite ones. it follows businessman Samuel Meredith throughout his life, and recounts the four lessons he learned thanks to several good punches to the face. the first, when Meredith was just a boy in boarding school, knocked out "his personal unpleasantness"; the second, dealt by a tired laborer, had "jarred the snobbishness out of his system". the third punch he received from an angry husband, which put a dent in his self-centeredness, and the fourth blow showed him the injustice of his business dealings. 4 stars.
in summary: Fitzgerald's writing is fantastic and his characters, if annoying at times, are real and believable. hoping to come back someday and reread this as a physical book. 3 stars.
NOTE: i really struggled to get over how much this narrator irritated me—it's not his voice exactly, but his style and the way he does the female characters. they were all so whiny and i swear it took all the stories down at least a star.
The Offshore Pirate: features the most insufferable female mc in literary fiction—a spoiled, self-obsessed 19-year-old named Ardita who is tricked by her fed-up uncle the narration contributed heavily to my dislike of this one. may give it another try eventually...2 stars.
The Ice Palace: Sally Carrol, a Georgia Belle with a lot of Southern pride, falls in love with a man from the north and takes a trip with him to icy Minnesota. as her fiancé shows her around, Sally Carrol begins to realize how much she misses the warmth and languor of the South... the story comes to a climax at the local ice festival, where she finds herself left behind in the awe-inspiring ice palace. once again, it was probably the narration at fault (or maybe it's just me): 2 stars.
Head and Shoulders: teenage philosophy prodigy Horace Tarbox is surprised in his rooms one day by a young actress named Marcia Meadows, sent as a joke by a friend. the socially inept Horace is almost instantly smitten, and gives up the intellectual life to care for Marcia, who loves him very much in turn. follows the ups and downs of their poor married life. a very sweet romance that ends in a Wilde-esque twist. 4.5 stars.
The Cut-Glass Bowl: Poe vibes. a young woman named Evelyn finds her life falling apart after receiving a large, exquisite glass punch bowl as a parting gift from a shunned lover. the bowl, "as hard...as beautiful and as empty and easy to see through" as Evelyn herself, seems to bring only misfortune...a loveless marriage, a crippled daughter, business deals that fall through, and finally death. 4 stars.
Bernice Bobs her Hair: Bernice, though pretty, is a very unpopular figure at the local dances. uninteresting, dull, and unfashionably dressed, she is avoided and made fun of by everyone, even her cousin Marjorie. Marjorie is everything Bernice is not, and has men falling over themselves to dance with her; though unkind and spiteful, Marjorie agrees to give her cousin some tips. when Bernice eclipses her in popularity, Marjorie goads her cousin into the mortifying act of bobbing her hair. a rather satisfying revenge ensues. 3 stars.
Benediction: Lois, yet another 19-year-old girl, visits her much older brother Keith after many years apart. Keith is studying to become a Jesuit priest, and is completely submerged in the world of the church, while Lois is distracted by lovers and insecurities and the outside world. despite their differences, the two siblings find each other becoming very close in the one evening they have together. Lois struggles with her own faith and desires, and she must decide between her lover and the religion that Keith so firmly believes in. 3 stars.
Dalyrimple Goes Wrong: a returned war hero named Brian Dalyrimple finds himself quickly forgotten and in want of a job. he finally manages to get a position as a lowly grocery clerk. discontent with his pay and lot in life, Dalyrimple turns surprisingly quickly to a life of petty crime; a side-hustle while working his job. soon, however, his seeming "contentment" and "perseverance" in the low-paying position earns him the attention of more influential men, and Dalyrimple is offered a shot at congressman. crime pays. 3 stars.
The Four Fists: this is one of my favorite ones. it follows businessman Samuel Meredith throughout his life, and recounts the four lessons he learned thanks to several good punches to the face. the first, when Meredith was just a boy in boarding school, knocked out "his personal unpleasantness"; the second, dealt by a tired laborer, had "jarred the snobbishness out of his system". the third punch he received from an angry husband, which put a dent in his self-centeredness, and the fourth blow showed him the injustice of his business dealings. 4 stars.
in summary: Fitzgerald's writing is fantastic and his characters, if annoying at times, are real and believable. hoping to come back someday and reread this as a physical book. 3 stars.
December 26, 2020
It’s always difficult to comment on a collection of short stories as they vary, and a common thread is often hard to discern. But Fitzgerald, who selected these early stories, may have given a clue with his title. Flappers are associated with attractive young women in the l920’s who often flaunted conventional behavior, and philosophers one associates with more fundamental meanings, implied by the reader, not explicitly stated by Fitzgerald.
In nearly all of the eight stories, a situation is set up and at the end there is always disillusionment when the chief character becomes like Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner, sadder and wiser. In the first story, “The Offshore Pirate”, a 19 year old Ardita is kidnapped by a modern day “pirate” who convinces her that he has stolen money and is about to embark for south America. She believes him, finds out the truth, considerably less glamorous than she had been led to believe, but ironically finds this fiction to be more pleasurable than the dull and spoiled rich life she had been leading.
“The Ice Palace” similarly has a change of locale from an easy-going South to a more formal and rigid North. It is the middle of winter in New England, and a young woman has a nightmarish vision of being trapped in a literal ice palace, metaphorically a culture where she is out of place. Disillusionment again, but this time, though, she wants to return to where she came from, unlike the first story.
In a third story , “Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” with a young female protagonist, there is a return to where one came from, but in this case, the disillusionment comes with a triumphant note. The unpopular Bernice is tormented by her pretty and popular cousin who she is visiting. She manages to turn the table and return home, but before she does, she cuts off the locks of her cousin’s hair while she is sleeping. It’s going home with a victorious vengeance.
In”The Cut Glass Bowl” a marriage symbolically comes to pieces with tEvelyn dropping a huge cut cut glass bowl that shatters into a thousand pieces of broken glass. Relationships - do they ever last?
Not all of the stories feature women. Three concentrate on men, but again there are the abrupt endings. Fitzgerald essentially writes the same story over and over, but the details of the variations are scrupulously crafted, and once a reader is hooked , there is no escaping the pleasure and fascination of his fiction.
In nearly all of the eight stories, a situation is set up and at the end there is always disillusionment when the chief character becomes like Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner, sadder and wiser. In the first story, “The Offshore Pirate”, a 19 year old Ardita is kidnapped by a modern day “pirate” who convinces her that he has stolen money and is about to embark for south America. She believes him, finds out the truth, considerably less glamorous than she had been led to believe, but ironically finds this fiction to be more pleasurable than the dull and spoiled rich life she had been leading.
“The Ice Palace” similarly has a change of locale from an easy-going South to a more formal and rigid North. It is the middle of winter in New England, and a young woman has a nightmarish vision of being trapped in a literal ice palace, metaphorically a culture where she is out of place. Disillusionment again, but this time, though, she wants to return to where she came from, unlike the first story.
In a third story , “Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” with a young female protagonist, there is a return to where one came from, but in this case, the disillusionment comes with a triumphant note. The unpopular Bernice is tormented by her pretty and popular cousin who she is visiting. She manages to turn the table and return home, but before she does, she cuts off the locks of her cousin’s hair while she is sleeping. It’s going home with a victorious vengeance.
In”The Cut Glass Bowl” a marriage symbolically comes to pieces with tEvelyn dropping a huge cut cut glass bowl that shatters into a thousand pieces of broken glass. Relationships - do they ever last?
Not all of the stories feature women. Three concentrate on men, but again there are the abrupt endings. Fitzgerald essentially writes the same story over and over, but the details of the variations are scrupulously crafted, and once a reader is hooked , there is no escaping the pleasure and fascination of his fiction.
November 23, 2016
I like F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, so I had some expectations about this book. It is his first short story collection, and I have been on a short story binge lately. "The offshore pirate" is the first story in this book, and I have to admit that I almost gave up after that one. I found it rediculous, and I think it is the worst story in the collection.
Luckily I continued and read the next one which is "The ice palace". I think that one is among the best stories in the book. It is a story about the difficulties that can arise in relationships between people of different cultural background. My other favorite in the book is "Bernice bobs her hair" which I found delightful. It is a story about two young women, and their rivalry, I suppose one could call it.
There are other stories like "Head and shoulder" which are interesting, but lack something to become really good. With "Head and shoulder" it is that the characters that are just a little too talented, a little too great, for the story to become interesting.
It is a fair enough first collection, with some very good stories, some okay ones, and others that really don't work for me at least.
Luckily I continued and read the next one which is "The ice palace". I think that one is among the best stories in the book. It is a story about the difficulties that can arise in relationships between people of different cultural background. My other favorite in the book is "Bernice bobs her hair" which I found delightful. It is a story about two young women, and their rivalry, I suppose one could call it.
There are other stories like "Head and shoulder" which are interesting, but lack something to become really good. With "Head and shoulder" it is that the characters that are just a little too talented, a little too great, for the story to become interesting.
It is a fair enough first collection, with some very good stories, some okay ones, and others that really don't work for me at least.
May 8, 2019
A collection of 8 short stories, all quite easy to read in a short amount of time. I feel the book is best read backwards so you finish with the better stories as sadly after a really great start this fizzled out somewhat in the last few tales. However that being said the writing was lovely throughout, a great style of writing which was a pleasure to read and he somehow cleverly manages to create real depth to these stories which is hard to do when they are so brief. Each had some wonderful characters which he brought to life so well, some great strong female characters too which I loved. Do read this book, but do start with the 8th story and work your way back from there.
January 30, 2019
3.5/5*
I did really enjoy the writing style of this book. However, I did not completely love the style and structure of this short story collection. Well written, but the stories fell flat and they were cut short too often. I never truly became engulfed in any story.
I did really enjoy the writing style of this book. However, I did not completely love the style and structure of this short story collection. Well written, but the stories fell flat and they were cut short too often. I never truly became engulfed in any story.
May 27, 2022
In 1976 Shelley Duvall played Bernice in Bernice Bob her Hair--I still think of her as "Olive Oyl" in Popeye! There's shades of the song "popular" from the musical Wicked here in this story.
![benicebobs](https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/bernice-bobs-her-hair.jpg")
These short stories have a different feel than his later novels. They're not as heavy and the moral is always right there. (Ha! In the story The Four Fists it's like a punch to the mouth.) A free read for Kindle from Amazon.
These short stories have a different feel than his later novels. They're not as heavy and the moral is always right there. (Ha! In the story The Four Fists it's like a punch to the mouth.) A free read for Kindle from Amazon.
September 1, 2016
This set of eight Fitzgerald short stories was first published by Scribner's in 1920. The plots seem mostly contrived but they are definitely written by a master, as they are still interesting and readable today. In particular, the details of the story present a fascinating glimpse into the times in which Fitzgerald lived. Some jarring notes include the casual and flippant racist slurs and stereotypes found in one or two stories. Fitzgerald, though, indicates awareness of the impact of racism (and a lack of geographical knowledge), by having the main character in "The Offshore Pirate," say, "If he'd been white he'd have been king of South America by now," and go on to praise the man's intelligence (which the female he speaks to finds ridiculously funny). In this way, Fitzgerald is showing us how the rich and fashionable set of that time thinks, but we can't assume that he, too, buys into it, at least not from this story.
Some of the details I found most interesting were in "The Cut Glass Bowl," where a family's fortunes start plummeting in multiple ways after the man of the house drinks too much at a dinner party for his new business partner. Another story, "The Ice Palace," strongly resembles the courtship between Scott (from Minnesota) and Zelda (from Alabama). Everything is perfect when Harry meets Sally Carrol in her home in the deep south, but when she goes north in the winter, she finds almost nothing to like. In particular, she's disappointed that men won't flirt with her after they find out that she's engaged to Harry. And she finds the women to be cold and silent, like "glorified domestics. Men are the centre of every social group." In this case, the romantic relationship does not withstand their cultural differences. I wonder what Fitzgerald was thinking about his own marriage when he wrote it.
The stories included are quite different from each other, with "The Benediction," about a religious experience, leaving me completely mystified about what happened and why, and "The Four Fists" a well-done character-driven story built built around four violent episodes in a man's life. The most famous is "Bernice Bobs her Hair," an interesting take on society's expectations of middle class young ladies. According to the introduction, the "rules" Bernice gets from her cousin that turn her from wallflower to the life of the party were actually drawn from advice that Fitzgerald gave to his sister.
None of this is great literature, but the stories are rich for insight into the social history of the time. There's an element of truth found in each of these and that's surely what editors and readers of the time responded to: Fitzerald's potential to tell us a lot about themselves and the times they lived in.
Some of the details I found most interesting were in "The Cut Glass Bowl," where a family's fortunes start plummeting in multiple ways after the man of the house drinks too much at a dinner party for his new business partner. Another story, "The Ice Palace," strongly resembles the courtship between Scott (from Minnesota) and Zelda (from Alabama). Everything is perfect when Harry meets Sally Carrol in her home in the deep south, but when she goes north in the winter, she finds almost nothing to like. In particular, she's disappointed that men won't flirt with her after they find out that she's engaged to Harry. And she finds the women to be cold and silent, like "glorified domestics. Men are the centre of every social group." In this case, the romantic relationship does not withstand their cultural differences. I wonder what Fitzgerald was thinking about his own marriage when he wrote it.
The stories included are quite different from each other, with "The Benediction," about a religious experience, leaving me completely mystified about what happened and why, and "The Four Fists" a well-done character-driven story built built around four violent episodes in a man's life. The most famous is "Bernice Bobs her Hair," an interesting take on society's expectations of middle class young ladies. According to the introduction, the "rules" Bernice gets from her cousin that turn her from wallflower to the life of the party were actually drawn from advice that Fitzgerald gave to his sister.
None of this is great literature, but the stories are rich for insight into the social history of the time. There's an element of truth found in each of these and that's surely what editors and readers of the time responded to: Fitzerald's potential to tell us a lot about themselves and the times they lived in.
December 15, 2015
THE OFFSHORE PIRATE 3
Ardita rebels against her uncle, who wishes her to behave as a respectable lady. He leaves her alone, and the ship is taken by Carlyle and his group of pirates. Things aren't all as they seem.
THE ICE PALACE 4
Sally Carrol thinks that she wants a different life than the one she leads in the South, with a man who isn't like the boys she grew up with. Her engagement to Henry and her trip North show her what that different life would be like.
HEAD AND SHOULDERS 3.5
Horace Tarbox is known as a prodigy. He sees a plan for his life, until he meets Marcia Meadow. The knock at his door changes all the plans he thought he had.
THE CUT-GLASS BOWL 5
Evylyn and Harold Piper experience many events throughout their marriage, some pleasant and some tragic.
BERNICE BOBS HER HAIR 4.5
Marjorie's attempts to improve Bernice's social skills has unexpected consequences.
BENEDICTION 3
In the midst of a major life decision, Lois reacquaints herself with her older brother who is training to be a Jesuit priest.
THE FOUR FISTS 3
Samuel Meredith recalls some pivotal moments in his life.
from http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/84/flappers...
Ardita rebels against her uncle, who wishes her to behave as a respectable lady. He leaves her alone, and the ship is taken by Carlyle and his group of pirates. Things aren't all as they seem.
THE ICE PALACE 4
Sally Carrol thinks that she wants a different life than the one she leads in the South, with a man who isn't like the boys she grew up with. Her engagement to Henry and her trip North show her what that different life would be like.
HEAD AND SHOULDERS 3.5
Horace Tarbox is known as a prodigy. He sees a plan for his life, until he meets Marcia Meadow. The knock at his door changes all the plans he thought he had.
THE CUT-GLASS BOWL 5
Evylyn and Harold Piper experience many events throughout their marriage, some pleasant and some tragic.
BERNICE BOBS HER HAIR 4.5
Marjorie's attempts to improve Bernice's social skills has unexpected consequences.
BENEDICTION 3
In the midst of a major life decision, Lois reacquaints herself with her older brother who is training to be a Jesuit priest.
THE FOUR FISTS 3
Samuel Meredith recalls some pivotal moments in his life.
from http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/84/flappers...
September 11, 2015
F. Scott Fitzgerald is a master at evoking the era he coined The Jazz Age. Each story in this collection is cinematic in tone and made me feel as if I had stepped back in time and become immersed in the world of the roaring twenties. As is the case with short story collections, I liked some stories much more than others. The wonderful thing about Fitzgerald, though, is that even if I hated the premise of a story or the characters within it, by the end I was still shaking my head and admitting his story-telling genus.
**A warning for modern audiences: Fitzgerald's characters use racial slurs on occasion. This made me uncomfortable even though I understand these stories are of their time.**
**A warning for modern audiences: Fitzgerald's characters use racial slurs on occasion. This made me uncomfortable even though I understand these stories are of their time.**
October 1, 2023
Sekiz öyküden oluşan bu derlemeyi çok sevdim. Fitzgerald’ı okurların büyük bir kısmı gibi Muhteşem Gatsby ile tanıyordum. Ama yalnızca Gatsby’i okumak yazara haksızlık olur. Edebiyatının merkezinde Jazz Age var. Bu kayıp kuşağın çelişkilerini ve kaygılarını aktarırken aslında daha fazlasını anlatıyor. Derlemedeki öyküleri okuduktan sonra Fitzgerald’a bakışım tamamen değişti. Varlıklı ve eğlence düşkünü insanların döneme ait olabilme uğraşlarını, varoluş çelişkilerini evrensel bir üslupla anlatıyor. Yalnızca eğlence peşinde olan gençliğin aslında daha fazlasını barındırdığını ve günümüzde bile çelişkilerinin anlamlı olduğunu görmek beni epey şaşırttı.
September 14, 2020
I would start with saying that I've loved Fitzgerald since the first story I've read by him. His style of writing is underestimated and it can be difficult to comprehend if one doesn't understand American slang from the "roaring twenties", but as you read along the stories you can get a good idea of what he is trying to say. Fitzgerald builds his characters in a way that fascinate and stick with the reader (at least in my case) and his writing completely inserts the reader into a scene, like they, themselves are present and/or are one of the characters. This specific collection of short stories is his most prized and famous one, and for a reason. I would recommend it to any lover of American literature who wants to get sucked into this fabulous whirlwind of quality, well-written stories that Fitzgerald has to offer. I look forward to reading more from him.
January 11, 2021
I read the stories in this collection and a few more collected elsewhere. The Diamond as Big as the Ritz was the one I enjoyed the most, but it was not in this collection.
December 31, 2013
As with much other Fitzgerald work, this collection of eight stories ignites joy and admiration.
A reader can see early imprints of Gatsby in “The Offshore Pirate” although the racial epithets at various points shock a bit. Upon review, however, the reader also can trace the characters’ differing “world points-of-view” and thinking based on the tones and utterances of these.
“The Ice Palace,” a re-read for me, reveals a deeper, more complex writer, and again “hidden” points of view and prejudices rise and reveal themselves.
“Head and Shoulders” simply is a “fun” story. Its transverse plot line, reminiscent of Dreiser’s Sister Carrie, leaves the reader in the world of comedy rather than tragedy, however.
Not so with his next story, “The Cut Glass Bowl.” And, like “The Ice Palace,” this story seems more complex. Not intending to continue with the author / plot / style comparisons, I nevertheless cannot help but feel and hear echoes of Wharton, here.
“Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” another re-read, represents perhaps the “typical” or most expected Fitzgerald-type story. It reveals the indifference, selfishness, cruelty, and mean dispositions of various elite characters. Re-reading this, I cannot remember if the little film with Shelley Duval, (as Bernice), deviated from the original story’s plot. Casting Duval, however, does “shift” the reader’s / viewer’s conception of Bernice.
“Benediction” either may frustrate or inspire the reader. And, it’s placement within the collection almost seems a natural counter to the rest of the stories presented.
“Benediction” precedes my favorite within this collection, “Dalyrimple Goes Wrong.” Here is, perhaps, a most problematic story—one infused with great irony. Due to the particulars, one could, I think, read, re-read, and read again this story to “pin down” for clarity or intention certain elements or points of view. This story also becomes striking since it is the first time we see a Fitzgerald protagonist who attended a state college versus the usual Ivy League or small private academy / school.
And appropriate to this, “The Four Fists” follows. The conclusion is wonderful; and, like his acquaintances, readers finally can come to find Samuel “likable.” One wonders, though, given the violence here—and the social outlay, whether this story could find “light” and success today? Hmmm.
Like the other short story collections of Fitzgerald, almost all, if not all, the stories bring a joy in the reading. "Yes," some are more "shallow" than others. But, his particular insights coupled with his style always seem to achieve both the “entertaining” aspect of fiction with the deeper “messaging” aspect of fiction. Pretty wonderful.
A reader can see early imprints of Gatsby in “The Offshore Pirate” although the racial epithets at various points shock a bit. Upon review, however, the reader also can trace the characters’ differing “world points-of-view” and thinking based on the tones and utterances of these.
“The Ice Palace,” a re-read for me, reveals a deeper, more complex writer, and again “hidden” points of view and prejudices rise and reveal themselves.
“Head and Shoulders” simply is a “fun” story. Its transverse plot line, reminiscent of Dreiser’s Sister Carrie, leaves the reader in the world of comedy rather than tragedy, however.
Not so with his next story, “The Cut Glass Bowl.” And, like “The Ice Palace,” this story seems more complex. Not intending to continue with the author / plot / style comparisons, I nevertheless cannot help but feel and hear echoes of Wharton, here.
“Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” another re-read, represents perhaps the “typical” or most expected Fitzgerald-type story. It reveals the indifference, selfishness, cruelty, and mean dispositions of various elite characters. Re-reading this, I cannot remember if the little film with Shelley Duval, (as Bernice), deviated from the original story’s plot. Casting Duval, however, does “shift” the reader’s / viewer’s conception of Bernice.
“Benediction” either may frustrate or inspire the reader. And, it’s placement within the collection almost seems a natural counter to the rest of the stories presented.
“Benediction” precedes my favorite within this collection, “Dalyrimple Goes Wrong.” Here is, perhaps, a most problematic story—one infused with great irony. Due to the particulars, one could, I think, read, re-read, and read again this story to “pin down” for clarity or intention certain elements or points of view. This story also becomes striking since it is the first time we see a Fitzgerald protagonist who attended a state college versus the usual Ivy League or small private academy / school.
And appropriate to this, “The Four Fists” follows. The conclusion is wonderful; and, like his acquaintances, readers finally can come to find Samuel “likable.” One wonders, though, given the violence here—and the social outlay, whether this story could find “light” and success today? Hmmm.
Like the other short story collections of Fitzgerald, almost all, if not all, the stories bring a joy in the reading. "Yes," some are more "shallow" than others. But, his particular insights coupled with his style always seem to achieve both the “entertaining” aspect of fiction with the deeper “messaging” aspect of fiction. Pretty wonderful.
October 20, 2015
Classic Fitzgerald stories. If you read these unaware of the author, I think you'd guess in a minute. As always with a collection, there were some better than others, but overall they worked very well. Glad to have ticked this off my Fitzgerald list and I think, just maybe, I've read all of his short stories now. Still a couple of novels to go though!
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