This Side of Paradise is the debut novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1920. The book examines the lives and morality of carefree American youth at the dawn of the Jazz Age. This Side of Paradise is a good springboard from which to jump into F. Scott Fitzgerald's other works. It provides the reader with a good deal of background information about his own life and psyche. It's an enjoyable read, but not what I'd necessarily call a page-turner. This Side of Paradise chronicles the life of Amory Blaine from his childhood up through his early twenties.