I've long known that Zelda did plenty of writing (and other creative pursuits) of her own, but hadn't managed to find more than brief excerpts of her work to read before acquiring this compendium in preparation for a trip that would be including a visit to her and Scott's grave. The quality of the shorter writings collected here was definitely uneven, with some of them considerably better than others, but her sole novel, "Save Me the Waltz," was interwoven with sparkling and sometimes strikingly unusual (particularly a lot of her metaphors) bits of prose, and fellow readers who are familiar with both her husband's work and the realities of their lives will surely find plenty of interesting opportunities to compare the two with her semi-fictionalized detailing of some of the same material here. ( )

I read the short stories from this collection, a series of portraits mostly of women and sometimes of couples. All are very reminiscent of Zelda herself - poignant, carefree but also careless with a dash of despair. While her characters may seem superficial, her ability to recreate a unique atmosphere in time and place, be it in the American South or French South, is absolutely amazing - it is like being transported: her writing is so tangible and descriptive. A great original voice and a tribute to her times. ( )