Everything in the ward seemed different now, and I no longer felt its calming presence. The Fitzgeralds stirred something in me that had been dormant for a long time, and I was not prepared to face it....
From New York to Paris, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald reigned as king and queen of the Jazz Age, seeming to float on champagne bubbles above the mundane cares of the world. But to those who truly knew them, the endless parties were only a distraction from their inner turmoil, and from a love that united them with a scorching intensity.
When Zelda is committed to a Baltimore psychiatric clinic in 1932, vacillating between lucidity and madness in her struggle to forge an identity separate from her husband, the famous writer, she finds a sympathetic friend in her nurse, Anna Howard. Held captive by her own tragic past, Anna is increasingly drawn into the Fitzgeralds’ tumultuous relationship. As she becomes privy to Zelda’s most intimate confessions, written in a secret memoir meant only for her, Anna begins to wonder which Fitzgerald is the true genius. But in taking ever greater emotional risks to save Zelda, Anna may end up paying a far higher price than she intended....
PARTICULARS OF THE BOOK :
Published by: New American Library/Penguin Group
Pages: 319 and Reader's Guide
Genre: Fiction
Author: Erika Robuck
Website: http://www.erikarobuck.com
MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR :
Erika Robuck self-published her first novel, RECEIVE ME FALLING. Her novel, HEMINGWAY’S GIRL (NAL/Penguin), was a Target Emerging Author Pick, a Vero Beach Bestseller, and has been sold in two foreign markets to date. Her next novel, CALL ME ZELDA (NAL/Penguin), publishes on May 7, 2013, and begins in the years “after the party” for Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Erika writes about and reviews historical fiction at her blog, Muse, and is a contributor to popular fiction blog, Writer Unboxed. She is also a member of the Historical Novel Society and the Hemingway Society.
THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :
Absolutely brilliant novel! I was completely spell-bound from the moment I opened the book. It came to my doorstep at 4PM and I was up all night reading. Just bowled me over...
This is a book I carried to the pool with me the next day and ignored all my friends for! Telling...
I love Zelda in any size, shape or form, but Erika Robuck captured her in a most sympathetic way. She was utterly breath-taking. Gorgeous and tragic. Her spirit lifted from the pages. I felt as if Zelda was in the room with me as I read. This is a powerful story that gives credence to the life and emotional struggles of a very gifted woman of a particular time in our American history. Erika Robuck really did justice to her.
The use of Anna, the psychiatric nurse and companion to Zelda was genius in the telling of this story. It added an avenue for spiritual and relationship depth that made the story rich. The elements of loss and grief were dealt with from several different angles making this a singularly strong novel, and very moving. Anna is a character who splits one's heart in two. She's so driven by her sacrificing love for Zelda.
This book grips you and haunts long after the last pages are read. Visual and visceral. You will clearly see the ghostly figures of Zelda and Scott dancing away in the night as you read. One of the best books I've read so far this year.
I soundly recommend you get a copy asap!! A must read if you plan to see (or have just seen) "The Great Gatsby." It may give you a pause for thought....
5 Stars! Deborah/TheBookishDame
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