Rich, Wonderful, magical, American, moral, dreamy, exciting. Read this years ago and just re-read it. I almost never re-read anything, but when you're in the right mood F. Scott Fitzgerald, like Nabokov is just the ticket. ( )

Fitzgerald's ability to present a theme based on stories that are almost pedestrian constantly amazes me. Each story leaves me to ponder the meaning of the mundane and his ability to moralise, empathise, sympathise and then switch to humour and back again makes me wonder how much was packed into his relatively short life. Certainly makes me a fan of the short story. ( )

The literary equivalent of a handful of diamonds. "The Offshore Pirate" was my favorite but they were all wonderful: "The Diamond As Big As the Ritz," "The Ice Palace," "Bernice Bobs Her Hair," "The Jelly-bean," "May Day." Fitzgerald's genius is evident in his short stories more than in any of his novels (save Gatsby, of course). ( )

Fitzgerald's early novella is a pungent parody of wealth, power and corruption, memorable for its extreme hedonism and racist take on the fate of ex-slaves wanting to return to service. More offensive than artistic, it was turned down by publishers before F. Scott included it in 1922's The Smart Set. Available online: http://www.readbookonline.net/read/690/10627/ ( )