Tender Is The Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Describe it in 25 words or less. The story of Dick and Nicole Diver’s marriage in the 1920’s.
Any particular reason for choosing this book? I thought this was the novel that was a fictionalization of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald’s lives together, but now I’m told it was The Beautiful And The Damned. I don’t know if I can stand to read another Fitzgerald novel, but I really wanted to compare it with Zelda Fitzgerald’s Save Me The Waltz.
Genre: Classic/Drama
Who was your favorite character and why? Kaethe because she was the only character in the whole novel who said what she meant and meant what she said.
Who was your least favorite character and why? I disliked just about every character in this book, which was unfortunate since it was an intense character study, but I would have to say I disliked Dick Diver the most because he was a very boring and cliche psychiatrist with major problems.
Did it grab you immediately or did it take a while? Was it worth the wait? It took about 200 pages for me to finally interest me, but it was definitely NOT worth the wait.
What did you think of the ending? One of the worst I’ve read in a long time. It made me feel as if I’d read the entire novel in vain.
Favorite quote: “The father, normal and conscientious himself, had tried to protect a narrow brood from life’s troubles and had succeeded merely in preventing them from developing powers of adjustment to life’s inevitable surprises.” – Dick
What would you change? I would have made it MUCH shorter. So much of it was unnecessary and confusing. I guess that’s what happens when an author publishes in serial.
Have you read other books by the same author? I’ve read The Great Gatsby which I did not like very much, but I liked it more than this one.
How does the book compare to the film? I cannot believe anyone would want to make this book into a film, and I have absolutely no intention of seeing it but here’s the trailer for anyone interested.
Song/Soundtrack Recommendations: I’ve put a few of the songs mentioned in the book on YouTube here.
Who would you recommend it to? To people who like their novels to meander around at a lackadaisical pace and yet not really ever arrive anywhere.
Number of unknown words: 45 (many of which were foreign words)
Recipe: Bouillabaisse
What’s the secret to a good marriage?
Chapters & Scenes 