Customer Reviews
A 'Beautiful' writer in a 'Damned' era - By: Penelope, 11 Oct 2007 
F.Scott Fitzgerald is a writer of remarkable talent. His prose sparkles with a beauty that juxtaposes with his often tragic subject matter. 'The Beautiful & Damned' explores some of the issues that would plague his own career as a writer who never reallly managed to top the acclaim bestowed upon 'The Great Gatsby', a devastatingly beautiful & seminal piece of 20th century literature. 'The Beautiful & Damned' boasts an array of would-be writers, actresses & dancers whom epitomise an era of of vanity, excess & alcohol. But underneath the shiny veneer lurks the inner turmoil of Anthony's talent that is never successfully fulfilled & capricious Gloria's despair that her good looks cannot be maintained. Anthony's descent into alcohol & depression is truely heartbreaking, especiallly as it ironicallly peaks as both the main protagonists' bad luck is about to change. This is perhaps telling of the era that Fitzgerald evoked in lucid vitality with the hustle & bustle of fashion, jazz, & alcoholic delights, but at the same time viewed with cynicism. As Gloria bemoans that she cannot afford a much in vogue grey squirrel fur coat, & her husband self medicates with copious amounts of alcohol, Fitzgerald's prose exposes the subtle horrors of innocence lost to an era of excess.
Important development on the way to writing The Great Gatsby - By: , 30 Jun 1999 
This is by no means Fitzgerald's greatest work - it pales in comparison to The Great Gatsby. Still, it is extremely funny, well-written & at times intelligent. But Fitzgerald almost spoils his own work by his unnecessary use of sub-titles & his ocassional descents into a overly self-conscious writing style - reference is even made to his first novel, This Side Of Paradise. I actuallly think that The Beautiful And Damned, despite its obvious flaws, is much better than This Side Of Paradise, which is rather disjointed.
A Lost Jewel - By: , 25 Nov 1998 i enjoyed this book much more than The Great Gatsby. I true masterpiece & a must-read for alll thinking young people.
The Beautiful and Damned -- Damned Beautiful! - By: , 03 Dec 1997 We're coming into an age referred to by many as the "Cocktail Nation," & our youth is experimenting with swing dancing, swing music, making bathtub absinthe, & trying to recreate the air of my most favorite decade of alll times: the roaring '20s.
"The Beautiful & Damned," is by far the best work by the man who almost single-handedly created the image of the flapper. F. Scott Fitzgerald was as much the voice of his generation as we claim modern alternative musicians are the voice of ours.
