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Tender was a confessional. I found it to be a gut-wrenching, melancholy window into Fitzgerald's life at his most vulnerable. You could feel his confidence and sense of self-worth erode, sacrificing his soul for his wife (what he was unable to do in reality). There is an intimate, indeliable impression left on any reader w/ this novel....that said, I found Gatsby to be technically brilliant, and its archetype of the have's and the have nots happens to be as timeless a theme as one could imagine in our society. The backdrop, the spectacle of the jazz age, may not be as pervasive an element, but it wrapped the novel in its aesthetic, period piece packaging. The core of it all resembles how vacuous and unattainable the American dream can be, particularly when striving for a mutable, lost past w/ blind eyes. Gatsby's legacy inevitably dissolved alone, abandoned in a vacant bloody pool, like the misguided dream it was.
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I think Gatsby is a better read overall. It's a smooth read with a great plot. Tender is the Night is emotionally hard. It was so difficult to read at times that I was depressed from it during the day. It is a profound novel that carries universal themes. The psychology was also deeply engaging. It took you into the characters, sometimes, too far. I will admit that I wanted to keep reading the book even after it was done. I was left dissatisfied. I couldn't accept the tragedy that is Dick Divers.
