Writing Gatsby The Real Story behind the Writing of the Greatest American Novel. by William Hazelgrove

Writing Gatsby The Real Story behind the Writing of the Greatest American Novel. Reviews

• 
  Morgan

  This is by far the most confusing and frustrating book I have ever read. And repetitive too!
  Even within a chapter the author goes back and forth – such as – “…and later Zelda wrote…”
  Here is how the book is set up by date/chapter:
  Prologue 1925
  Chapter 1 1924
  Chapter 2 1920
  Chapter 3 1923
  Chapter 4 1911
  Chapter 5 1924
  Chapter 6 1917
  Chapter 7 1924
  Chapter 8 1910
  Chapter 9 1924
  Chapter 10 1918
  Chapter 11 1924
  Chapter 12 1918
  Chapter 13 1924
  Chapter 14 1918
  It continues on like this to Chapter 31 – 1940
  Chapter 32 – no date
  I gave up after Chapter 14 since to that point Fitzgerald had not started ‘writing Gatsby’ and skipped to Chapter 31, 32 and the Epilogue.
  The author forgot the title of his book is “Writing Gatsby” and thought he was writing a biography of Scott and Zelda.
  Well there are biographies that chronicle Scott and Zelda quite well, (and I know because I have read some of them).
  This is a frustrating mish-mash of a book and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
  *Sorry I can't get the dates to line up properly which could render this review as confusing as the book.*
• 
  Ashley ☾

  DNF. Gave up at about 30 percent.
  
  I see what the author was trying to do here, and love the idea. Unfortunately, I think there was room for improvement.
  
  Basically, he was trying to give us a factual book about F. Scott Fitzgerald, but written as if it were fiction. I love the idea and I think it makes it easier for a non-fiction reader to digest.
  
  My problem with this is....
  
  This reads like a a beefed up research paper.
  
  He very clearly cites his sources. That is not the issue. The problem is that those bits that are cited, do not read the same as the rest of the book. I would finally find my groove as the reader and would be interrupted by these facts. It was frustrating.
  
  Don't get me wrong, when I went into this, I was expecting a textbook style type of writing and fully prepared to be bombarded with information. I was actually very impressed with the authors choice to write this as if it were a work of fiction and at times, found it to be quite refreshing.
  
  But, like I said, the facts and the fiction parts were not blending together seamlessly.
  
  I will say, I quite enjoyed the authors style of fiction writing. I loved how descriptive he was and the use of dialogue. If he were to write more novels and less research papers, I would not hesitate to read his work.
• 
  The Biased Bibliophile

  After reading William Elliott Hazelgrove’s books about the Titanic and Cassie Chadwick, I was so excited to see he was publishing a book about F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby! The book was certainly enjoyable, but didn’t necessarily live up to the other two I’ve read by Hazelgrove.
  
  I absolutely love the idea behind the book, to tell the story of how The Great Gatsby became one of the greatest American novels ever written. One of my favorite parts was reading about the publication process, and finding out that the novel gained popularity during WWII through Armed Service Editions. The fact that this novel that everyone knows and loves might have been unheard of if it weren’t for this book giveaway during WWII is astounding!
  
  Furthermore, I thought Hazelgrove captured Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald exceptionally well in his writing. While I knew a little bit about the couple before reading this book, I didn’t know a lot, and Hazelgrove really made them come alive. Similarly, I appreciated that their depictions were not sugarcoated. While that made me like them (especially Scott) less than I did before, it was important that the book stayed true to their personalities.
  
  That being said, I think the book was a bit unclear in some aspects. For one, it is not written in chronological order, which normally doesn’t bother me, but it was a little difficult to follow. Likewise, I enjoyed the fact that some of Scott’s and Zelda’s quotes from their books were included, but it was not apparent at the beginning of the book that these quotes reflected their relationship and real-life experiences. It would have been better if Hazelgrove had shared at the beginning of the book that Scott and Zelda later stated that some of their fictional works applied to their lives.
  
  Finally, after reading the entirety of this book, I’m not sure that the title is completely accurate. While it is about the process of writing and publishing The Great Gatsby, it seemed like that took a backseat to Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald’s tumultuous relationship. Although this was still an interesting topic, it was not altogether expected based on the title.
  
  As a whole, Writing Gatsby by William Elliott Hazelgrove was pretty good! His books about the Titanic and Cassie Chadwick are in another category in my opinion, but this was definitely worth the read!
• 
  Julie

  F. Scott Fitzgerald would write the quintessential American novel but he would not live to see its legacy endure. During his lifetime, he never got proper credit for The Great Gatsby. It wasn’t until post-WWII that it gained popularity because soldiers enjoyed it as an Armed Service Edition.
  
  Writing Gatsby gives us an up-close and personal account of Scott’s writing process. We also get background on his life and his volatile relationship with his wife, Zelda. I liked the narrative nonfiction style and how quotes from Scott’s writing were incorporated throughout. It emphasized how autobiographical his stories were and how his personal life affected Gatsby’s. Despite the need for some heavy-handed editing, the book was engaging from a historical and literary perspective.
  
• 
  Bridget's Books

  This was a GoodReads giveaway book. I was excited to read this as The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite books. Unfortunately, I was sorely disappointed. Part of this was the simple fact that I didn't know that much about Fitzgerald. Mostly though, my disappointment came from the writing. Nothing is in chronological order and the writing is very repetitive. I found myself reading whole passages that I had read earlier in the book. It almost seems as though it was written without much effort.