– Imagine having a baby, and everyday telling him hes the most amazing thing that ever was. Fifteen years later you will have a boy like Amory Blaine, the dorky antihero we learn to love as we follow him through school and early adulthood. His ego is enormous, and his confidence hard to rattle. Needless to say; his metaphorical fall from grace and his own inflated ego is rather harsh. Written when the author was only 23, its a semi-autobiographical book, reflecting on a generation of young men whose gods were dead, wars fought and ideals spread to the winds. They were raised in one world, and became men in another, leaving them unsure of their place in the world. Its a poignant and romantic story about the lost generation of the Jazz Age, beautifully written, despite being a little rough around the edges. Fitzgerald experiments with lots of different techniques, from play to poetry to well-known novel, but the disjointed style fits the mood and theme of the book. (And besides, Fitzgerald was talented enough to pull of just about everything.) A classic coming of age story, and a gem that deserves just as much praise as The Great Gatsby