How F. Scott Fitzgerald’s first book ‘This Side of Paradise’ changed the life of a Hong Kong sustainable fashion label co-founder
- F. Scott Fitzgerald’s breakthrough novel is a coming-of-age tale detailing the complicated romantic entanglements of carefree Jazz Age youth
- Christine Chow, co-founder and creative director of Tove & Libra, explains the impact it had on her, including helping her discover art deco design
The debut novel of F. Scott Fitzgerald, one of the leading English-language writers of the 20th century, “This Side of Paradise” (1920) is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale detailing the complicated romantic entanglements of carefree Jazz Age youth.
Christine Chow, co-founder and creative director of Hong Kong sustainable fashion label Tove & Libra, tells Richard Lord how it changed her life.
I’ve always been an avid reader, but my parents were not. I was just trying to discover new books, either in the library or in the bookstore near where I grew up in Singapore – my family is from Hong Kong, and we moved there when I was eight.
I went through a period when I was trying to explore the classics, when I was a teenager, about 15 or 16; this was one of the first books of “real literature” that I found impactful.
Its contents resonated with me. At that age, you’re just starting to find yourself.
My parents had always wanted me to finish high school and study in the United States. I’d never visited the east coast, but I’d always thought that I wanted to be in New York. This book was all about being on the east coast, being at university and finding yourself.
