Tough-O-Meter

We've got your back. With the Tough-O-Meter, you'll know whether to bring extra layers or Swiss army knives as you summit the literary mountain. (10 = Toughest)

(7) Snow Line

The writing in This Side of Paradise isn't all that hard to read, but it can be tough to pay attention when the book goes into long descriptions of Amory Blaine's thoughts and feelings. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote this book by combining a bunch of short stories, poems, and plays he'd already written, so the thing can be plotless and jumbled at times.

But for all that, This Side of Paradise is totally readable if you can keep your mind from wandering. Also, bear in mind that this jumbled style is both the byproduct of Fitzgerald throwing together a manuscript on the quick, and also indicative of the topsy-turvy, scrambled view of the modern world that prevailed after WWI.