Book Review on Tender is the Night by F Scott Fitzgerald

This 1934 novel had its beginnings much earlier in the life of the controversial author and his wife, Zelda Sayre. While This Side of Paradise, his first novel, captured the young love and longing of protagonist Amory Blaine, the story reaches its tumultuous end in the pages of Tender is the Night. It has been said over and over that Scott Fitzgerald’s writings were based on his own life, that he was the Amory and the Dick of his novels. He wrote about his crisis filled personal life, making it more crazed and unhappy. In capturing the sadness of his own life, he left readers with a bittersweet longing for the age that he had lived in and embodied in spirit.

Tender is the Night was the last published novel of the author. And it was written after a considerably long bout of un-productivity in his career. It tells the story of a couple, the Diver’s, falling out of love after years of being regarded as “two bodies, one soul”. It is a sad, sometimes infuriating tale. One can see that Dick needs Nicole quite as much as Nicole needs him. In the years since their extraordinary courtship, they have developed a joint personality that people outside of their marriage almost revere.

But, as is the case with most marriages, the outsiders find a way in. Just as simply as guests were invited into their reverie on the French Riviera. It was, alas, a paradise that got trampled upon. There are a string of uninteresting characters who like to bask in the glamour of the Divers, one among them being a misguided, passionate young actress. She was awed by the Divers, perhaps more by Dick than by Nicole. Nicole’s character development shows a stark dissimilarity between her condition before and after their marriage. Her mental disposition and the reason behind it shock the reader.

The story ends depressingly, with the duo being separated by their own volition. It was an inevitable end. I can’t say I enjoyed the story, or the writing. In spite of his fame and the posthumous hype about him, I find F. Scott Fitzgerald lacking in originality and sometimes frivolous. Of the three works of his that I have read, I must say that I admire The Great Gatsby the best. Tender is the Night will, unfortunately, not hold a tender place in my heart.

Book Review on ‘A Strange and Sublime Address’ by Amit Chaudhuri

With every book that I read and review, I add a degree of significance to how I came across it. They are mostly bought or ordered, gifted by the family, sometimes borrowed from the library and rarely lent by a friend. I found this book in the most unlikely of places; my hostel room. Granted there are always piles of books on my side of the room, but to find one at my room-mates desk is once in a blue moon rare. After weeks of noticing it through the periphery of my vision, I borrowed it to read.

It is a hardcover edition celebrating the 25^th anniversary of the book. It fits snugly in my hands and the size, the paper quality, the font all come together to provide the perfect reading experience. For all the pros of a Kindle, it simply cannot give you this glorious sensation of holding, sniffing, snuggling a good book.

Getting to the matter of the book, it is a story of a young Indian boy who lives in Mumbai with his parents, but travels to Calcutta to spend his holidays with his maternal family. The events described in the book are in no particular chronological order. They simply narrate the experiences of the young protagonist, while capturing all the old world charm of Calcutta. The writing is absolutely brilliant, not a word wasted and not an emotion left untouched.

For someone who has been getting to know Kolkata first hand over the past year, this book was a joy to read. The habits and way of life of the quintessential Bengali household are depicted here gracefully. To anyone who lives in Kolkata and fails to feel a “connection” with the city, this book could be your “operator”.

Several times I felt the urge to underline parts of the prose because they were so beautifully framed, simple scenes so artfully captured. But as I did not own the copy, I did not put pencil to paper. Some day I shall buy a copy of it for my personal library and file it under the section called “personal connection”. The author is one of unmatched literary talent. I shall keep him closely after Vikram Seth and Amitav Ghosh on my list of of Favorite Authors of Indian Origin. Thank you Amit Chaudhuri for a beautiful read.