Reviews
The Washington Post : "[A] rewarding work, a history of 1922 as it was lived by the Fitzgeralds and their circle, as well as by the fictitious cast of The Great Gatsby . Like the jazz that defined the era, the book tells its story through digression and repetition, building up a pattern of internal references and refrains." Entertainment Weekly : "If you put all the books about F. Scott Fitzgerald in a stack, the resulting tower would be-apologies for the scientific jargon-really, really tall. In fact, it would almost certainly fall over. So it takes a bold writer to try tossing another one on the pile-and here comes one now! Sarah Churchwell's Careless People concerns the writing of The Great Gatsby and the cultural and societal forces that inspired its superdrunk author. The book's an unusual mix of criticism, biography, and true crime, all of it bound together by Churchwell's lyrical prose and, frankly, the sheer force of her will. Not everything is new here (how could it be?), but it's an evocative read. It belongs on the tower, even if somebody else's book has to come off. A-" Kirkus Reviews (starred): "Churchwell... has written an excellent book... she even manages to find fresh facts that escaped previous scholars... At times, Churchwell attempts Fitzgerald's lyrical style-one chapter-ending sentence alludes to "the vagrant dead as they scatter across our tattered Eden"-she's earned the right to play on his court. Prodigious research and fierce affection illumine every remarkable page." Publishers Weekly : "[Sarah Churchwell] evokes the Jazz Age in all its ephemeral glamour and recklessness in her latest book….She excels at providing rich period details….the book highlights how accurately Fitzgerald intuited what was to come: the damage being done to American society by focusing on wealth; the way mass media would give rise to a celebrity culture." The London Review of Books : "Churchwell brings… a lively curiosity, a gift for making connections, and an infectious passion for Fitzgerald and his greatest novel…. A suggestive, almost musical evocation of the spirit of the time." The New Statesman : "The first readers of The Great Gatsby thought it was all about themselves, a book of the moment. Today, we tend to admire its enduring mythology of aspiration and undoing. Churchwell brilliantly brings these two perspectives together as she holds in counterpoint the sprawling stuff of Fitzgerald's daily life and the gleamingly taut prose poem that emerged from it … Fitzgerald offered the year 1922 as the chief exhibit when he tried to explain the meaning of the jazz age. It is an exhibit worth looking at very carefully. Careless People does so with a mixture of patience and panache and it would take a long time to get bored of that particular cocktail ." Sunday Telegraph : "The wonder of Careless People ... is that it rewinds the years and allows the reader to appreciate again just how well Fitzgerald reflected his times." The Observer : "A literary spree, bursting with recherché detail, high spirits and the desperate frisson of the jazz age. " Literary Review : " A treasury of new material. Churchwell adds considerably to our understanding of the early 1920s, and how life for Fitzgerald played into the development of his art.", Kirkus Reviews (starred): "Churchwell... has written an excellent book... she even manages to find fresh facts that escaped previous scholars... At times, Churchwell attempts Fitzgerald's lyrical style-one chapter-ending sentence alludes to "the vagrant dead as they scatter across our tattered Eden"-she's earned the right to play on his court. Prodigious research and fierce affection illumine every remarkable page." Publishers Weekly : "[Sarah Churchwell] evokes the Jazz Age in all its ephemeral glamour and recklessness in her latest book….She excels at providing rich period details….the book highlights how accurately Fitzgerald intuited what was to come: the damage being done to American society by focusing on wealth; the way mass media would give rise to a celebrity culture." The London Review of Books : "Churchwell brings… a lively curiosity, a gift for making connections, and an infectious passion for Fitzgerald and his greatest novel…. A suggestive, almost musical evocation of the spirit of the time." The New Statesman : "The first readers of The Great Gatsby thought it was all about themselves, a book of the moment. Today, we tend to admire its enduring mythology of aspiration and undoing. Churchwell brilliantly brings these two perspectives together as she holds in counterpoint the sprawling stuff of Fitzgerald's daily life and the gleamingly taut prose poem that emerged from it … Fitzgerald offered the year 1922 as the chief exhibit when he tried to explain the meaning of the jazz age. It is an exhibit worth looking at very carefully. Careless People does so with a mixture of patience and panache and it would take a long time to get bored of that particular cocktail ." Sunday Telegraph : "The wonder of Careless People ... is that it rewinds the years and allows the reader to appreciate again just how well Fitzgerald reflected his times." The Observer : "A literary spree, bursting with recherché detail, high spirits and the desperate frisson of the jazz age. " Literary Review : " A treasury of new material. Churchwell adds considerably to our understanding of the early 1920s, and how life for Fitzgerald played into the development of his art.", "Churchwell... has written an excellent book... she even manages to find fresh facts that escaped previous scholars ... At times, Churchwell attempts Fitzgerald's lyrical style-one chapter-ending sentence alludes to "the vagrant dead as they scatter across our tattered Eden"-she's earned the right to play on his court. Prodigious research and fierce affection illumine every remarkable page." Kirkus (STARRED) "Churchwell brings… a lively curiosity, a gift for making connections, and an infectious passion for Fitzgerald and his greatest novel…. A suggestive, almost musical evocation of the spirit of the time." -- The London Review of Books "The first readers of The Great Gatsby thought it was all about themselves, a book of the moment. Today, we tend to admire its enduring mythology of aspiration and undoing. Churchwell brilliantly brings these two perspectives together as she holds in counterpoint the sprawling stuff of Fitzgerald's daily life and the gleamingly taut prose poem that emerged from it … Fitzgerald offered the year 1922 as the chief exhibit when he tried to explain the meaning of the jazz age. It is an exhibit worth looking at very carefully. Careless People does so with a mixture of patience and panache and it would take a long time to get bored of that particular cocktail ." -- The New Statesman "The wonder of Careless People ... is that it rewinds the years and allows the reader to appreciate again just how well Fitzgerald reflected his times." -- Sunday Telegraph "A literary spree, bursting with recherché detail, high spirits and the desperate frisson of the jazz age. "- The Observer " A treasury of new material. Churchwell adds considerably to our understanding of the early 1920s, and how life for Fitzgerald played into the development of his art." -- Literary Review
