The author uses the nurse of Zelda when she was first institutionalized for a diagnosis of schizophrenia to tell the story of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

Theirs was a torrid, incredibly destructive relationship. The love was real and solid, as was the tearing apart and incredle dysfunction that resulted from two people who did the best they could when it simply wasn't enough.

Zelda's nurse in the institution becomes fascinated by this incredibly lovely, sometimes caring, always insightful woman. She watches as Scott's alcoholism takes over, making him a bitter and sad figure, who is equally brilliant and equally selfish.

A incredibly destructive relationship, their push and pull, love and hate, give and take, hug and push away antics were annihilating beyond words. Each knew the tender vulnerabilities of the other and relished stabbing and emotionally destroying each other.

They could show intense love and tenderness in equal measure with the exceeding anger and angst.

All this plays out while their daughter Scottie looks on while trying to find a safe space for emotionally protect herself.

Excellently written, this is an amazing story set in the jazz age when Zelda was the ultimate flapper girl, intensely beautiful with a cutting, conoving nature who pulled men into her circle to relish the admiration and desire. Scott was one such man who fell under her spell. Unlike the others, he could not escape.

Part of the "lost generation." They truly lived up to the term coined by Gertrude Stein. They were part of a group of post-WWI American writers living in France and England who were highly disorganized, with no set direction, and included F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein and T.S. Elliot.

Though stellar, long-lasting American literature lived on long after their demise, Fitzgerald drank himself to oblivion, Hemingway found relief from his emotional demons at the end of a gun. Tragically, Zelda died in 1948 in Asheville, NC because of a fire while staying at an institution there. ( )

Those who know me, know how much I love F. Scott Fitzgerald (I am planning on his work is the topic of my graduate thesis) and how my love of Fitzgerald has brought me to love Zelda. I was nervous to read another fictional novel about her life but this one made me more nervous than most.

Robuck decided to focus on Zelda during the later part of her life when things started to fall apart for the Fitzgeralds and mental illness took its toll on Zelda. Anna, a nurse at one of the many hospitals Zelda stays in becomes friends with Zelda, the friendship almost becomes an obsession at one point.

Just like with other novels that feature a person from history as a secondary character the story is more about Anna than Zelda. It's about how Zelda helps Anna move past the trauma in her life and become more excepting of what has happened.

The is romance, laughter, and lots of heart-clenching moments but Robuck does an amazing job of bringing the Fitzgeralds to life. The picture she paints of Zelda makes it seem as if Robuck actually knew Zelda and she did a wonderful job pasting together the Scott Fitzgerald we now know he truly was.

The book makes you reevaluate what you know about the famous author and also makes you want to go reread his novels, particularly Tender is the Night and also find a copy of Zelda's Save Me the Waltz. Robuck showed how much she loves Zelda throughout the novel and handles her death with so much care. The growth of both Zelda and Anna is wonderful and I was so happy to read a female friendship where both women help each other, instead of tearing each other apart.

I highly recommend if you love historical fiction or want a glimpse into the life of a famous author and the first acclaimed flapper. Now I can't wait to read Hemingway's Girl and be suck into the amazing world Robuck creates! ( )

More Zelda less Anna. An okay book. Realizing that the golden years were more interesting than the crazy years it took a lot of imagination to flesh this book out. Some unique aspects were not investigated. Such as Hemingways total dislike of Zelda. Scott's alcoholism played a major role setting the stage. I only wish things could have been different for Zelda. Modern medicine perhaps could have saved her from herself, her genius, her fate. ( )

This novel opens with Zelda Fitzgerald's admittance into an asylum and is narrated by the nurse, Anna, who she becomes attached to. The later portion of Zelda's life is primarily featured, which left me curious about the earlier years of her life. Overall, a good read and definitely recommended for those who enjoy Jazz Age historical fiction. ( )

Even if you're not a Fitzgerald fan, you can easily follow this story. And if you are a fan, so much the better as you will recognize elements of Scott's books as you read. It's a fictional piece but it brings to light quite well the complex relationship of Scott and Zelda. (If you're not familiar with the Fitzgeralds and wondering if certain events really happened, there is Q&A with Robuck at the end.) The narrator, an imagined nurse who becomes Zelda's private nurse and friend, is a marvelous character herself. I laughed, I thought, and I had two good cries reading it. One of the best new books I've read in years. Reminded me a little of Plath's BELL JAR. ( )