I would like somebody to lock me up in a spiritual chastity belt.
Title: Save Me the Waltz
Author: Zelda Fitzgerald
First Published: 1932
My Rating: 3 of 5 stars (average rating on Goodreads: 3.62)
I would recommend this book to: Anyone curious about the Fitzgeralds
The Beginning: ‘Those girls,’ people said, ‘they think they can do anything and get away with it.’
I had been looking very much forward to this one. I adore Scott Fitzgerald’s writing and was curious to read the novel written by his wife (and editor). I know it’s unfair to compare them, but it’s difficult not to. Would Zelda’s writing and story telling skills live up to Scott’s? The answer (for me) is no. I found the writing messy and unfocused, nothing like Scott’s amazing way with words. There were a few one-liners that made me smile, but nothing really impressive.
I’m much too proud to care – pride keeps me from feeling half the things I ought to feel.
The story, though, is quite amazing. Let’s face it, the Fitzgeralds are an interesting couple. But I made the huge mistake to read Zelda’s novel so soon after reading a novel about her (Z: A novel of Zelda Fitzgerald). These two books are practically the same. The same plot, the same characters, the same scenes. Only, in Zelda’s own novel, the names are changed, and the husband is a painter instead of a writer. And our heroine doesn’t end up in a mental institution like Zelda did. That was a bit disappointing to me – it would have been very interesting to get this part of the story from her own point of view.
I am only really myself when I’m somebody else whom I have endowed with these wonderful qualities from my imagination.
It’s a shame you were disappointed by this.
I do adore the fact that the author is called Zelda though haha.
Lipstick and Mocha
Yes, but I guess it would have been a different reading experience if I hadn’t read the novel about her first.