BOOK: Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler, 375 pages

It's all the rage to write a fictional autobiography from the perspective of a famous man's wife. (The Paris Wife - Ernest Hemingway's first wife; The Aviator's Wife - Charles Lindbergh's wife; even vaguely American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld from a few years ago.) As long as they're as good as the ones I've read so far, I say keep 'em coming. Note to self - find The Aviator's Wife.

I loved Zelda! It was told from her perspective, from how the author interpreted events. We zip from the Southern US to New York, flapper life, the famous time in Paris, and the eventual destruction of some lives. Sure, Zelda probably had bipolar disorder, but much like many women in the 1930s and 40s who were institutionalized, it was that they weren't towing the male line. Imagine wanting to create in her own right and name and not just as Scott's wife? I thought it was interesting that in the author's notes at the end, she mentions how much of the mythology of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald is based on what Ernest Hemingway wrote about them in The Moveable Feast, and he certainly wasn't a Zelda fan.

also reviewed: bookfool at bookfoolery (the review that inspired me to request from the library. Thanks Nancy!)