Babylon Revisited: Scott F. Fitzgerald (Little Clothbound Classics)

I received as a gift a DVD of ''The last time I saw Paris' - the film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Van Johnston which was based on Babylon Revisited. I was impressed by the film - so much so that I just had to read the book. I can recommend both. Although a short story it is well worth a read. If you only know F Scott Fitzgerald from 'The Great Gatsby' then I suggest you give this a try. You will not be disappointed. Better still watch the film as well

Very accessible introduction to one of the best modern classic authors. The stories are instantly gripping and written with great style. Found myself re-reading it several times.

This mini collection had three of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short stories in it – the title story, as well as The Cut-Glass Bowl and The Lost Decade. I’ve read The Great Gatsby and I enjoyed it, but reading these made me realise I want to work my way through the rest of his books, too. If anything, I think his short stories might be better than his long-form fiction. Good stuff.

This is a mini Penguin Modern Classic of just 76 pages. It's 3 short stories 'Babylon Revisited', 'The Cut-Glass Bowl' and 'The Lost Decade'. All have a theme of alcoholism. The style of writing is well done but not to my liking. The reader had to make quite a lot of mental leaps to grasp the story as there is little setting up of the plot or characters.The first story, Babylon Revisited, did draw me in but then the ending was so abrupt that I felt like it was a short story because the ending was omitted. Not very satisfying.I watched the The Great Gatsby on TV recently for the first time. I found it slightly disjointed and confusing with surreal bits. I though maybe it was the production but I understand now that this is the writing style of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

A little gem of a book, containing three short stories - one of which is very short.The tales are all of loss, and growth and although they have a very melancholy feel, I felt hopeful for the protagonists as they ended.A lovely way to pass a train journey.

My first taste of Fitzgerald's work and it has really whetted my appetite for more. Written with deceptive ease and smoothness, these punchy, well-constructed tales can be read in a single sitting.

A haze of memories scratched in the back of his mind, the time for fast drinks and slow hangovers is over. After the roar of the 20s life is a soft murmur, and the vacuum of hard money and easy morals has left in its wake a terrible, yawning void. With common sense no longer a vice, and the wonders of the world lying in ruins, welcome to Bablyon revisited.

"Babylon Revisited" contains three short stories by F Scott Fitzgerald - "The Cut-Glass Bowl", "The Lost Decade" and the title story. If you've got "Flappers and Philosophers", his book of collected short stories, then you'll have already read this book."Babylon Revisited" is probably the best of the bunch, a story of an alcoholic father trying to regain custody of his young daughter, trying to prove to his sister in law and her husband that he is sober and is up to the task. As the story goes on we find out what happened to the mother and if you know anything about Fitzgerald's life you'll notice parallels between the story and his own life where he tried (and failed) to get his children back and overcome his alcoholism.Alcohol abuse is the overarching theme in these stories with a punch bowl playing a part in pivotal moments of a troubled family's life in "The Cut-Glass Bowl" while "The Lost Decade" subtly but terrifyingly showing how addiction robs a person of their life.The book itself is very dinky, a small paperback that's a decent introduction to one of the 20th century's finest writers but new readers to Fitzgerald would do well to seek out his most famous and greatest accomplishment, "The Great Gatsby". Kudos to Penguin though for putting out some of his lesser known stories in an attractively produced affordable paperback.