1920s – DaneCobain.com

F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Diamond as Big as the Ritz and Other Stories | Review

Title: The Diamond as Big as the Ritz and Other Stories

Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Type: Fiction

Page Count: 240

Rating: 4/5

Whatever “it” is, F. Scott Fitzgerald has it. I’ve read three or four individual works by him now, and every one of them has been a cracker. They all have that same level of quality that we get from The Great Gatsby, and so while he’s certainly not the kind of writer who’s perfect for everyone, if you like one of his books then you’ll probably like all of them.

This little collection contains seven stories and is the first volume in what I guess amounts to the collected stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Seven stories is just about the right length for a book like this though, and in fact I used it as a little bit of a palette cleanser between two Agatha Christies.

The stories themselves are very much rooted in 1920s flapper culture, and this collection includes The Cut-Glass Bowl, May Day, The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, The Rich Boy, Crazy Sunday, An Alcoholic Case, The Lees of Happiness.

All of them were pretty good, although I think May Day was my least favourite because it was far too long. Although it did at least end with a bang, so to speak. And I’d recommend this as a whole.

Learn more about The Diamond as Big as the Ritz and Other Stories.

J. R. R. Tolkien – The Book of Lost Tales I | Review

Title: The Book of Lost Tales I

Author: J. R. R. Tolkien

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 297

Rating: 6/10

J.R.R. Tolkien – The Book of Lost Tales I

The Book of Lost Tales is an eclectic collection of the early work of J. R. R. Tolkien – in many ways, it’s the precursor to the Silmarillion, the infamous book of lore which no casual reader has ever struggled through. I haven’t even dared to start it, although I am looking forward to it.

Edited by Christopher Tolkien, the youngest son (now 89) of the great writer, it’s a fascinating insight in to the earlier thought processes and plot-lines that Tolkien documented as far back as the 1920s, but it’s only for hardcore readers – in all honesty, you should only really read it if you’ve already read the Silmarillion and you want to dig even deeper. In fact, it’s the first in a series of twelve books which Tolkien Jr. edited and published as The History of Middle-Earth.

And his father’s writing is excellent – even though it’s a little archaic, it’s understandable and interesting. The nuances might be lost, but you get the gist of the story-line and his descriptive prose is a wonder to behold. But then Christopher follows each tale with an essay in which every single nuance is pointed out and analysed to such a degree that the essays are often twice as long as the stories.

I know you can skip them, but that always feels like cheating – if you include notes and appendices then expect people to read them. If you expect people to read them, make them readable. My warning to you would be, ‘If you’re going to read it then don’t read the commentary – just lose yourself in Tolkien Snr.’s early, wonderful words.’