Flappers and Philosophers

Published in 1920, “Flappers and Philosophers” was F. Scott Fitzgerald’s first collection of short stories. First appearing separately in such magazines at The Saturday Evening Post and Esquire, these eight stories were collected and published the same year has his first novel, This Side of Paradise. It was the novel that turned Fitzgerald into an overnight literary sensation – and at age 24. But it was the short stories that he continued to write for the rest of his life that supported him financially.The stories are generally about people in the upper middle and upper classes. They’re set in the first two decades of the 20th century and are something of period pieces – the slang, the music references, and social manners mark them with their time. Two of the stories, “The Offshore Pirate” and “The Ice Palace,” also contain references that today, 100 years after their publication, could only be called racist.“The Offshore Pirate” is about a young woman who is bored with life and chooses only the worst men, whose uncle and guardian is at his wits end to marry her off (and make someone else responsible for her). She’s agreeably kidnapped on her uncle’s yacht by a young irate who, with his band of musicians, is making off with a stolen fortune. “The Ice Palace” is about a young woman from the South who’s determined to escape her town (and the young men it contains) and marry a Northerner. She almost gets her wish.“Head and Shoulders” concerns what seem to be a highly mismatched couple, a brainy man who exists only for the study of his books and a stage actress. They’ll end up changing positions. “The Cut-Glass Bowl” is the story of a woman of fading beauty mirrors the decline in the family wealth.“Bernice Bobs Her Hair” is set right at the beginning of the flapper age. A young woman visiting her cousin undergoes something of a “Pygmalion” change at the hands of the cousin, whose verbal cruelty will eventually get its comeuppance. “Benediction” is something of an abrupt change of subject – a young woman visits the brother she hasn’t seen for 17 years – the brother who is studying to become a Jesuit priest. During the visit, she has an unexpected experience.“Dalyrimple Goes Wrong” is about a war hero from the Great War who comes home to adulation which quickly fades. He takes something of a menial job, until he realizes that burglary might be more lucrative. And “The Four Fists” is the story of a young men who’s punched in the jaw on four separate occasions of his life – and each punch teaches him something important.The collection is eight very different stories, showing Fitzgerald at the very beginning of his literary career. Each has something of a surprising twist. And each has characters who are recognizable, even at a distance of a century.

It's difficult to write a review for this collection of short stories. The last six short stories are very well written, although not always politically correct by today's standards. (These stories were written in the 1920's, after all.)It's the first two short stories that brought this review down.The Offshore Pirate begins this collection. The dialog is horrible, the characters are cliché, and the whole story feels like it was written by an amateur. In fact, I almost stopped reading this collection after this first story. The Offshore Pirate is worth two stars at best.The next story, The Ice Palace, is much better. It also feels like it was lifted straight out of Zelda Fitzgerald's diary. During his lifetime, F Scott Fitzgerald had been accused of using his wife's diary for "inspiration" on several occasions. His is quoted with saying, "plagiarism begins at home." Whether or not this is true with this short story, I'm not sure. However, it is clear that Zelda Fitzgerald is the inspiration behind the protagonist in this story. It's a good story. I'm just unclear who should be getting credit for it.The last six stories felt like original works, worth four or five stars each, so this collection is worth reading. I'd say these stories are suitable for older teens to adults due to mild language and content.

From the title you might expect this book to have the 8 short storied from the 1920 book titled Flappers and Philosophers. Well you'd be wrong. This has selections from that book and many more short stories. I've listed the contents below.I. From Flappers and Philosophers (1920) and Tales of the Jazz Age (1922) Bernice Bobs Her Hair The Icy Palace The Jelly-Bean The Cut-Glass Bowl May Day The Lees of Happiness The Curious Case of Benjamin Button The Diamond as Big as the RitzII. From All the Sad Young Men (1926) and Taps at Reveille (1935) Winter Dreams Absolution Gretchen's Forty Winks 'The Sensible Thing' The Baby Party The Rich Boy A Short Trip Home Magnetism Basil: The Freshest Boy Josephine: A Woman with a Past The Last of the Belles The Rough Crossing Two Wrongs The Bridal Party Babylon Revisited Crazy SundayIII. Uncollected Stories (1937-40) Pat Hobby's Cristmas Wish A Man on the Way 'Boil some Water - Lots of It' Teamed with Genius Pat Hobby and Orson Welles Pat Hobby's Secret Pat Hobby, Putative Father The Homes of the Stars Pat Hobby Does His Bit Pat Hobby's Preview No Harm Trying On the Trail of Pat Hobby Pat Hobby's College Days A Patriotic Short Fun in an Artist's Studio Two Old-Timers Mightier than the Sword An Alcoholic Case Three Hours between Planes Financing Finnegan The Lost Decade

I might be being overgenerous here, but I so enjoyed these stories. This is Fitzgerald's first collection, and while they may lack the substance matter of his later works, there's such grace, elegance and beauty here, albeit somewhat ephemeral. More flappery than philosophical, certainly. And yet, these 8 tales perfectly encompass the zeitgeist of the 1920s, dealing with mainly flirting, dating, romance, but occasionally more profound subjects too, such as choosing one's path, whether it is presented, guided along or beaten into one, literally. For sheer reading pleasure this is a literary equivalent of a marshmallow or something equally light, pleasant and delicious. It's absolutely worth reading just to temporary armchair travel to a different era. Utterly charming. Sincerely recommended.

It's fair to say that this collection would look somewhat like a bell curve - his best short stories, including my favourite, "Winter Dreams", are somewhere amidst the starter-panic and the flat, weariness Fitzgerald wore toward the end of his career - and life. That's not to say those stories at the beginning and the end of the story aren't good, because the Pat Hobby stories? So funny! But they didn't have the morale, or the elegance, that is associated with Fitzgerald. All-in-all, a stunning collection of short stories that any reader should be delighted to have on their shelves.Also, the idea that this book contains the "collected short stories" of Fitzgerald is false. More notably, I noticed that "The Offshore Pirate was missing from this collection.

Writing aside, the cover is beautiful. I gave it as a gift and it has been treasured.

Very pretty metallic cover

La letra es un poco pequeña para mi gusto pero la encuadernación es de buena calidad y la edición preciosa. Buen producto.

Très beau livre, conforme à la photo.