Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald: Summary and book reviews of Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Fowler, plus links to an excerpt from Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald and a biography of Therese Fowler.
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald
by Therese Fowler
Hardcover: Mar 2013,
352 pages.
A dazzling novel that captures all of the romance, glamour, and tragedy of the first flapper, Zelda Fitzgerald.
When beautiful, reckless Southern belle Zelda Sayre meets F. Scott Fitzgerald at a country club dance in 1918, she is seventeen years old and he is a young army lieutenant stationed in Alabama. Before long, the "ungettable" Zelda has fallen for him despite his unsuitability: Scott isn't wealthy or prominent or even a Southerner, and keeps insisting, absurdly, that his writing will bring him both fortune and fame.
Her father is deeply unimpressed. But after Scott sells his first novel, This Side of Paradise, to Scribner's, Zelda optimistically boards a train north, to marry him in the vestry of St. Patrick's Cathedral and take the rest as it comes.
Some of the recent comments posted about Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. Join the discussion! You can see the full discussion here.
How do you feel about Scott selling Zelda's short stories under both their names?
At first, I didn't feel like he was maliciously making the choice to put his name instead of hers, but then,... lateron, as the story progressed, I felt differently. I nearly felt as though the whole of the novel is written in Zelda's voice,... her... - jorie
Out of time
I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you'll get a chance to read it later. - lisag
Overall, what do you think of Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald?
Up to now, I have known very little about Scott and Zelda except for the fact that they lived a very wild life among the rich and famous. I have been much more familiar with Hemingway having read The Paris Wife and other books about his many... - Sharlene
Scott + Ernest?
I had heard the rumor before, particularly regarding Hemingway. Other writers have made the implication of Hemingway's effort to appear macho when he may, in fact, have questioned his own masculinity. I think Scott had a great need to be liked... - Sharlene
Stephen Vincent Benet: On Fitzgerald and 'The Last Tycoon'
This is curious, as I wasn't aware of this going on, as foresaid, I knew nothing of the Fitzgerald's life, both personal or public ahead of reading this novel. It's always been my intention to read the authors who fueled such vivid voices into... - jorie
What do you think was behind Scott's alcoholism?
I agree with Joan. This was the flapper era and doing everything to excess seems to have been the way of life. Amost all of Scott and Zelda's friends were big party people and heavy drinkers. I think Scott would have been an alcoholic with or... - Sharlene
Why did Hemingway write so spitefully about Zelda and Scott after their deaths?
I think Hemingway's Ego was way out of line and he would put down anyone or anything in order to raise himself in esteem in the literary world. I was also curious about the author's alluding to something more to Hemingway and Fitzgerald's... - Navy Mom
Why did Scott insist on hiring strict nannies to care for Scottie?
I think Scott always wanted control, and having a strict nanny was also a way for him to control Zelda. If a nanny felt in charge and acted as if the Zelda were the intruder or visitor, then Zelda's attentions were less likely to be focused on the... - rebeccar
Why does Zelda seem to let Scott have affairs without trying to stop him?
I think after what happened with her affair {involving Jozan} on the Riveria, she started to see Scott in a different light, one that grew into fear rather than one of admiration or love. It starts to knit together in the chapters when Ms. Fowler... - jorie
I absolutely loved Therese Ann Fowler’s charting of the Fitzgeralds’ relationship – the fairy-tale young love, the giddy first years of marriage, the gradual disillusionments piled richly one on top of the other, and the eventual complete unraveling of the relationship. It’s deeply tragic because both Scott and Zelda are so deeply talented yet so fundamentally flawed. Right until the end, you can sense their deep and abiding love of one another even as they become increasingly toxic for each other. (Reviewed by Poornima Apte).
RT Book Reviews
With lyrical prose, Fowler's Z beautifully portrays the frenzied lives of, and complicated relationship between, Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald...This is a novel that will open readers' minds to the life of an often misunderstood woman—one not easily forgotten.
Library Journal
A tender, intimate exploration of a complicated woman.
Kirkus Reviews
Starred Review. Fowler has given us a lovely, sad and compulsively readable book.
Caroline Leavitt
A novel that is as heartbreaking as it is mesmerizing. About love, desire, betrayal, and one extraordinary woman struggling to shine in the world - even as the one she loves best is drawing the shades. Just magnificent.
Heidi W. Durrow, author of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky
A wonderfully engaging read. With crisp dialogue and vivid descriptions, Z delivers both a compelling love story and a poignant tale of a woman coming into her own as an artist.
Sara Gruen
An utterly engrossing portrayal of Zelda Fitzgerald and the legendary circles in which she moved. In the spirit of Loving Frank and The Paris Wife, Therese Anne Fowler shines a light on Zelda instead of her more famous husband, providing both justice and the voice she struggled to have heard in her lifetime.
Publishers Weekly
Jazz Age legends F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald come into focus in Fowler's rich debut.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Elizabeth G. I'll Take Zelda Z, the novel about the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald is at points charming and; like another reviewer, I kept thinking of the movie, "Midnight in Paris." It was very interesting, having a degree in literature, and learning more about... Read More
Rated of 5
by KristinaK Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald It was hard to read this novel after having seen Woody Allen's movie, "Midnight in Paris." I kept hearing his actors' voices in my head while reading. In spite of that, like some of the other reviewers, I found the novel challenging to... Read More
Rated of 5
by Karen R Excellent story Beautiful Zelda Sayre, a wealthy, fiery and spoiled Southern Belle met her husband F. Scott Fitzgerald, an Army man and budding novelist, shortly after she finished high school. This thoughtfully written book takes us on their life’s journey,... Read More
Rated of 5
by Lori Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald I found Z very interesting, especially having read both The Paris Wife and The Aviator's Wife and other readings from that time period, so this added to my impression of the 20's. I previously had known very little about the Fitzgeralds, so I... Read More
Rated of 5
by obsessedreader nothing new here Therese Anne Fowler's Z/A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald seems to have been written to cash in on the success of Paula McLain's The Paris Wife.
While I thoroughly enjoyed McLain's book (how much do most of us know, after all, about Hadley?), I found... Read More
Rated of 5
by Shof The Other Side of Paradise Like most readers, "The Great Gatsby" was my Fitzgerald source. I also knew Scott became an alcoholic and Zelda ended up in a home for people with mental problems and that is pretty much it.
Therese Fowler filled in the gaps in this... Read More
The period between the two World Wars was one of thriving creativity for many artists, and Paris with its bohemian lifestyle, its recognition of artists, and vibrant social life offered plenty of enticements to American writers. The fact that the United States passed Prohibition laws in 1920, banning the sale of alcohol, didn't hurt the migration to Paris either. Among the many who moved to the City of Light were F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda, and Ernest Hemingway whose mentor, Gertrude Stein, was a permanent fixture on the expat literary scene.
Stein labeled this group of expat writers as "The Lost Generation" – writers who were adrift after World War I and were trying to find a set of values they could believe in. Their general rootlessness and a feeling of being unmoored gave the moniker added...
An exceptional first novel based on the life of Mamah Borthwick Cheney and her clandestine love affair with famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
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Z, the novel about the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald is at points charming and; like another reviewer, I kept thinking of the movie, "Midnight...
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News Corp will officially split into two companies June 28(May 24 2013) As expected, News Corp has announced it will officially split its publishing and entertainment businesses on 28 June.
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Its board approved the...
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(1286 words).
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by KristinaK
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Stein labeled this group of expat writers as "The Lost Generation" – writers who were adrift after World War I and were trying to find a set of values they could believe in. Their general rootlessness and a feeling of being unmoored gave the moniker added...
