Six Tales of the Jazz Age: And Other Stories

By F. Scott Fitzgerald and Fitzgerald F. Scott

Book Overview

From Simon & Schuster and one of the greatest writers of his generation, F. Scott Fitzgerald, comes a masterful collection of short stories that encapsulate the Jazz Age. Tales of the Jazz Age, F.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 068471762X
• ISBN13: 9780684717623
• Release Date: January 1966
• Publisher: Scribner
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.8" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

One of the best American books of short stories

I've read many books of short stories in my life, by authors such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Ernest Hemingway, Jorge Luis Borges, Saul Bellow, Haruki Murakami, Julio Cortazar, Ian McEwan etc. (all great writers in their own right), but none of these authors has been able to write stories as exciting, complete, and satisfying as Fitzgerald's in "Six Tales of the Jazz Age and other stories." In this book, Fitzgerald combines wit, Jazz Age glamour, emotions and moral messages to perfect effect. "The Jelly-Bean" is a tale of love and longing between a Southerner and a wild woman. "The Adjuster" tells of a wife who learns to be less selfish in her demands of her husband, and in "'O, Russet Witch!'" a woman symbolizes a man's desire to be irresponsible and spontaneous as he tries to live up to the responsibility that society and his family demand of him. "Gretchen's Forty Winks" is about the balance between work and responsibility to one's partner. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" narrates the (somewhat) absurd story of a man born old who lives his life getting steadily younger (I was reminded of Alejo Carpentier's "Viaje a la semilla" (Journey to the Seed), but Fitzgerald's story is better and slightly more daring). "The Camel's Back" is a lighter tale of confused identities, while "Hot and Cold Blood" ponders the conflicting responibilities to family and society. Any writer could match Fitzgerald's moral demands, but few would be able to make such stories as entertaining and fast-paced as he does. I used to hate Fitzgerald as a writer--due in large part to being too young to appreciate what "The Great Gatsby" was really about (I read it in high school)--but these stories have inspired me to try to read (and in the case of the "Gatsby," re-read) the rest of his works. I highly recommend this book to all those who love great, profound, and thoroughly entertaining literature.