MI’m a sucker for a good lavish portrait of this 1920’s, preferably with Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald in it, and this one is as comforting as wrapping yourself in a fluffy sun-warmed towel after a dip in the chilly ocean. It concerns Sara and Gerald Murphy, wealthy American builders of a stunning house in the French Riviera. Throughout the 1920’s they threw a series of sensational parties, entertaining the famous artists and writers of the time and presumably allowing their own three children to stay up way past their bedtime. The portraits of the parties are absolutely delicious: think of the sumptuousness of The Great Gatsby, but with the actual author present. Mind bending.
My only qualm is the character of Owen Chambers, a pilot whose identity and character were created by Klaussmann. He is the least interesting character in the novel, and his affair with Gerald seems a little unfair. After all, Gerald is a real life character and he didn’t really have an affair with Owen, because Owen didn’t really exist. The book would be better without Owen in it; his character is not necessary. The marriage between Sara and Gerald is enough to fascinate, and the subsequent loss of two of their three children is well rendered and devastating. This evocation of their golden days is very good, but not quite a classic.
