If you’re a junior or senior chances are you’ve already read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most cherished and well-remembered novel, The Great Gatsby. If you really enjoyed it, and are hungry for more of Fitzgerald’s prose, then I present to you This Side of Paradise, Fitzgerald’s debut novel. A semi-autobiographical study of youth in post-war in America, This Side details the life of the passionate youth Amory Blaine, and his quest for love and glory as he enters adult life. Laden with Fitzgerald’s characteristic lyrical prose and plenty of experimentation with structure, This Side of Paradise is a worthy, unusual read, if you’ve got the time to sink into it.

Perhaps the strangest thing about this book is the narrative structure. The book does not have what would be considered a normal plot arc, but instead dallies between events in Amory’s life, starting from his early childhood in the Midwest, to his years in Princeton, to the years following his service in World War I. The crux of the narrative is Amory’s love life, which is heavily based on that of Fitzgerald’s own. In addition, the actual structure of the novel frequently changes – the text in interladen with poetry, and at one point Fitzgerald even switches, just briefly and without explanation, to a screenplay format. While this may be off-putting for some readers, and there were certainly times it was confusing and or completely unnecessary, on the whole I felt that it really fit in with the fragmented nature of the story itself. It adds a surreal, dreamlike quality to the text. Towards the end, however, Fitzgerald’s segways into stream-of-consciousness can make it hard to follow.

Fitzgerald’s mastery of the English language is what really makes this book worth reading. His imagery throughout the novel is rich, particularly when it comes to describing the mannerisms and appearances of the characters. Managing to tread that careful line between being meticulously descriptive and overly verbose, he paints clear scenes with his words. The dialogue, too, is often top notch, both illustrating the free-thought of the 1920s while also showing  the hypocrisy and shallowness of the upper class during the era. It’s witty, amusing, and provides a lot of depth into the characters – particularly Amory, whose affected, pretentious, and often sickeningly poetic way of speaking really shows why Fitzgerald refers to him as “The Romantic Egotist.” Seeing as the plot is meandering and floaty, I really judged the worth of reading this book upon the quality of the writing.

This Side of Paradise is a good springboard from which to jump into F. Scott Fitzgerald’s other works. It provides the reader with a good deal of background information about his own life and psyche. It’s an enjoyable read, but not what I’d necessarily call a page-turner. It’s a slow read, and towards the end it really becomes necessary to slow down in order to keep up with increasing lapses in narrative. It’s by no means a perfect piece, but really tells of the genius to come from this Jazz Age author down the road.
★★★☆☆