Diamond As Big As the Ritz & Other Stories (Wordsworth Classics) (Wordsworth Classics) [Paperback]

F. Scott Fitzgerald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 5, 1999 | ISBN-10: 1853262129 | ISBN-13: 978-1853262128

The Diamond as Big as the Ritz is an ominous fable about the pursuit of great wealth. Readers will be transported to a fabulous fantasy land of such opulence that its very existence has to remain a jealously guarded secret. Fatal consequences lie in store for 'bona fide' guests and uninvited visitors alike, while the sybaritic luxury of the place is evoked in an effortless prose style which is quintessentially F. Scott Fitzgerald. Also featured in this volume are The Cut-Glass Bowl, May Day, The Rich Boy, Crazy Sunday, An Alcoholic Case, The Lees of Happiness, The Lost Decade and Babylon Revisited

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Much of Scott's work is going public domain, and reprints are coming fast and furious. Besides "Diamond," this contains other gems, e.g., "The Ice Palace" and "Bernice Bobs Her Hair." Penguin has also released an $8.95 edition of The Beautiful and the Damned (ISBN 0-14-118087-0).
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Wordsworth Edition (December 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1853262129
• ISBN-13: 978-1853262128
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #423,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Great But Better Than Most, March 17, 2004

By 

"toxicomaniac" (Leuven, Belgium) - See all my reviews

This review is from: "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" and Other Stories (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

This was my introduction to Fitzgerald and I can say that it was an agreeable experience. Fitzgerald may have been a bit decadent but he was by no means pretentious, nor oblivious of the flaws, or weaknesses if you will, of the rich. These stories are witty, partly observational, partly imaginary sketches of life in the 1920's in America. Fitzgerald, himself only 24 at that time, writes about young men and women of roughly that age. The stories take place at dances and balls, in hotels and clubs and are mainly concerned with the harsh social demands made in a milieu like that, and the hardship these young people experience trying to live up to them. Read 'Tender Is The Night' next.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great!, May 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Diamond As Big As the Ritz & Other Stories (Wordsworth Classics) (Wordsworth Classics) (Paperback)

This book is absolutely fabulous. I like the style of Fitzgerald, and I believe that in this masterpiece he is in the peak of his talent. The book has a very effective style, and teaches its readers about what it aims. I also reccomend 'The Short Stories 'of F. S. Fitzgerald.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Fitzgerald short stories...., November 21, 2000

By 

J. Michael Showalter (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" and Other Stories (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

For those who like F. Scott Fitzgerald, this is a really good book; for those who for their own reasons dislike him, here they are going to find more of the same.

In this book are contained around five or so of Fitzgerald's stories; in them, his writing style seems as being youthful: more 'This Side of Paradise' and playful than contrived. The title story is clever and more-or-less a fairy tale; for every echo of Maugham that you can find in some of these stories, there are two or three echoes hinting that Fitzgerald grasped a lot of the wicked strangeness of the world and class more like J.D. Salinger....

This is a really good book.... and for $1.80, if you haven't read it, buy it in company with another book to save on shipping....