Rediscover F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and Damned
Meaningless is a great way to describe Anthony and Gloria, the two main characters and namesakes of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful and Damned. Published in 1922, Fitzgerald’s second novel (after This Side of Paradise) explores meaningless lives in very meaningful ways.
Anthony Patch is deeply in love with his wife Gloria. They are beautiful people. Life has given them all they need. Life is all about hanging in the best café’s and drinking with the beautiful people. The Jazz Age is on the cusp of exploding and Anthony is due a huge inheritance! Life is great! But hold your horses. Anthony and Gloria are damned by their own indifference. Things don’t go as planned. Life is all about choices, isn’t it?
This is a complex novel but a rewarding one. Fitzgerald knows the crowd he writes about and it shows. When he writes about alcoholism he knows what he’s talking about. But his flowery word choices never diminish the power of his vision. Many critics claim this novel is a sort of autobiography of Fitzgerald’s own failed relationship with his beloved wife Zelda. Only Fitzgerald knows for sure, but he sure knew about The Beautiful and Damned.
Dan @ Central