/lit/ - Literature

>>18185878
Tender is the night. I don't know why so many people dislike Fitzgerald here, is it because they had to read The Great Gatsby in high school? Because that's fucking edgy, like those who call Shakespeare mediocre.

Is this any good?

Does it get better than "shy girl falling in love for the first time"? I've read Gatsby and This Side of Paradise, and even considering I've read them when I was very young I liked them both very much. This one is looking like a mediocre soap opera at best. Of course, I'm still at its beginning, and that's exactly the reason I'm making this thread, to know if there's something of value to be found. For all I know, Fitzgerald is all about the praise of that rich entitled lifestyle from the 20's, so I don't really expect the book to go further from some lighthearted tragedy at the ending. And this - maybe prejudiced - lack of deeper meaning kinda makes me feel like dropping the book in order to read The Sun Also Rises, cause when put side by side, Hemingway seems to write for men, while Fitzgerald does so for boys.
Bonus question:
>Does Fitzgerald have any underrated work worth reading?

Am I a brainlet or is this book particularly hard to read in some segments?

Am I missing something or is this a painfully average, tedious novel?
The characters are all flat and dull, the themes are unoriginal and the style is pretentious:
Why are people hailing this as the great american novel and Fitzgeralds's best work?
Gatsby is mot a masterpiece but its better than this... It's tightly woven, atl least some of the male characters are interesting and the spirit of the age is way better encapsuled than here.
If this is a "great american novel", I dont't want to read any more american novels.
Can anyone who likes this book explain to me why?