Review: Z: A Novel of Zelda, by Therese Ann Fowler

In sitting down to review this novel, I could give you a summary of Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald's whirlwind romance, from their flirtations in Montgomery to their rapid-fire wedding in New York City following the publication of Scott's first novel, This Side of Paradise. I could tell you about the Fitzgerald's romps through New York and Paris and Italy and Alabama and Hollywood and back again. I could explain to you the cracks and breaks in their marriage, their passion alternating between love and hate on a near-daily basis by the end.

But I'll leave all that alone, because Therese Anne Fowler does it better than I could hope to do. Instead, I will tell you that Fowler's novel Z: A Novel of Zelda is on bookstore shelves this week, and that it is a book meant for the hands of anyone with even a passing interest in the Jazz Age. I will tell you that Fowler has clearly done her research, packing her novelization of Zelda's life with enough detail and historical accuracy that it is easy to forget that we are reading fiction. And I will tell you that Z is my favorite kind of historical novel: one so steeped in truth that it sent me out looking for more to read about Zelda and her famous--and often infamous--husband immediately after turning the last page.

Fowler never claims to know the full truth of Zelda's life, especially given the conflicting nature of many of the records available to us. But with the information available, she has reconstructed a perfectly plausible--and delightfully captivating--account of Zelda Sayre's life as Mrs. Fitzgerald, cataloging the extreme highs and lows that the couple suffered together and alone. Z is sure to be of interest to anyone familiar with Scott Fitzgerald's work--and did you know Zelda herself was a writer?--to those with an interest in the Jazz Age, and to any readers who enjoy imagining the histories of their favorite writers.

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I received a copy of this title for review from the publisher via NetGalley.

Z: A Novel of Zelda | Therese Anne Fowler | St. Martin's Press | March 2013 | Hardcover | 384 pages | Buy from an independent near you