Brigette Reviews Tender Is The Night

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?

Pete and Brigette Review Friends With Kids

Friends With Kids

Describe it in 25 words or less.

Pete: Two friends of opposite gender decide to have a child together but with the idea of being able to have sexual relationships with others.

Brigette: An intimate look at the ways in which having kids changes your life.

Genre:

Pete & Brigette: Drama

Who was your favorite character and why?

Pete: Alex because he was the only one that made me laugh.

Brigette: Kurt because I felt that he learned a lot from his divorce.

Who was your least favorite character and why?

Pete: Jason Fryman because he came off as being a huge jerk.

Brigette: Mary Jane because she was incredibly immature and selfish.

Did it grab you immediately or did it take a while?

Pete: It confused me a little at first and when I understood what was happening it became rather thought provoking, but all too predictable in the end.

Brigette: It was immediately intriguing but also quickly became incredibly uncomfortable.

Favorite quote:

Pete:
Ben: “So, why didn’t you guys ever even try to get together?”
Jason Fryman: “It’s too much familiarity. It’s like she’s one of my limbs.”
Ben: “And that’s bad, because…?”

Brigette:
Jason: “But then after all the hoopla, nobody sleeps for what, like a year?”
Julie: “Yeah, a year or two.”
Jason: “Right…that’ll make you mean.”

How was the soundtrack?

Brigette: It suited the film to a T, however many of the songs were very difficult to find. We’ve added as many as possible to Grooveshark and the rest that we could find are linked here for your perusal.
All The Places by Jacob Steele
Losing Control by Oliver Butler and Fergus Williams
Sugar Way by The Clovers
Don’t Cha by Richard Freita
Django Festival by Stefano Torossi and Federico Ferrandina
M-O-M by Tim Hockenberry

How was the ending?

Pete: Too predictable.

Brigette: Completely unrealistic and sappy.

What was the moral of the story?

Pete: Avoid succumbing to peer-group pressure.

Brigette: Having kids will change your life one way or another.

Who would you recommend it to?

Pete: Anyone who has friends with children and are thinking about having children themselves.

Brigette: To anyone who believes having children won’t change anything.

Won’t Eat Their Cereal Opportunity: Jon Hamm Won’t Eat His Cereal

Recipe: Quiche Lorraine

Artwork:

source

Craft/Activity: Make your own abacus wall art.

Beer Pairing: (Pete’s specialty) Bell’s Brewery’s Oarsman Berliner Weisse

Favorite Architectural Detail: (Pete’s other specialty)
The Met

What was the most significant way having kids changed your life?

Gable Reviews The Bad Beginning

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

Describe it in 25 words or less. Three children are suddenly orphans and sent to live with a distant relative who they aren’t sure they can trust.

Any particular reason for choosing this book? Morgan has read it and it sounded quite interesting.

Who was your favorite character and why? Violet because she was very smart and knew how to take care of her younger siblings.

Who was your least favorite character and why? Count Olaf; you’ll have to read it to know what I mean.

Did it grab you immediately or did it take a while? One of the reasons I liked this book was because it got right to the point.

Was it plot or character driven? Plot.

What did you think of the ending? It was about 90% sad and 10% happy.

Did you learn anything? The meaning of the words blanched, standoffish, incentive, and nuptial, how to make puttanesca sauce, how to make a grappling hook from scratch, and the Latin translation of “in loco parentis.”

Favorite quote: “Unless you have been very very lucky, you have undoubtedly experienced events in your life that have made you cry. So unless you have been very very lucky, you know that a good, long session of weeping can often make you feel better, even if your circumstances have not changed one bit afterward.” – Lemony Snicket.

Have you read other books in the series? I plan on reading the whole series this year.

Who would you recommend it to? People who like mixed endings in their books, fans of Kate DiCamillo’s The Tale of Despereaux, orphans, or people who feel like they have a very miserable life and no one else understands how it feels to have one.

Number of unknown words: 0

Recipe: Puttanesca Sauce

Artwork: The False Mirror by Rene Magritte

What was the most depressing event in your childhood?