Tender is the Night, written in 1934 by author F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a novel that details the life of Dick Diver, a psychiatrist with alcohol problems, and how he ebbs and flows through the 1920s. Dick, despite being married to a mentally ill woman named Nicole, begins a companionship with young actress Rosemary Hoyt. The character’s lives intertwine and unravel throughout the novel, giving the reader a glance at what is known as the “American Dream”, and what that truly entails.  

The characters in Tender is the Night are all well-developed, and three-dimensional. The character of Nicole Diver is especially realistic, as she was somewhat based on Fitzgerald’s real-life wife, Zelda Fitzgerald, with whom she shared similar mental illnesses. Additionally, Dick Diver’s relationship with himself and the outside world are very realistic, and give the reader insight on how men of the time thought. All characters had two sides to their coins, and those two sides were well displayed throughout the novel. 

The events that transpire throughout the book are very realistic, especially considering that Tender is the Night is known to be Fitzgerald’s most autobiographical novel, as parallels can be drawn between himself and his wife Zelda Fitzgerald, and Dick and Nicole Diver. The plot and storylines fit the characters and times very well, and all make sense.  

If you liked the book Tender is the Night, books that are similar in nature would be “The Beautiful and the Damned” or “The Great Gatsby”, both also written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. “The Sun also Rises” by Earnst Hemmingway is another book that is similar to Tender is the Night.