Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

9 reviews

zombiezami's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, Addiction, Car accident, Colonisation, Death of parent, Bullying, Alcohol, Death, Murder, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Xenophobia, Grief, Violence, and Infidelity

Moderate: Medical content, Vomit, Blood, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Kidnapping, Transphobia, Homophobia, Deportation, Gun violence, Child death, Slavery, War, and Pregnancy

writewithapendragon's review against another edition

challenging mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book is short but it took me a longer time to read than I expected. Vo’s prose is beautifully poetic, each word carefully chosen. I want to go back and annotate, I enjoyed the language so much. Gatsby itself is so over-done that I wasn’t expecting this to be so unique and captivating, but it is a truly singular work.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Abortion, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Racism, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Car accident, and Physical abuse

Minor: Abandonment, Classism, Grief, Car accident, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Racism, Toxic friendship, War, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, Deportation, Xenophobia, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

honeybeewitched87's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Car accident

Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Abortion, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Murder, and Racism

itsheyfay's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Classism, Racism, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Biphobia, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abortion, Sexual content, Vomit, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Cursing, Infidelity, and Pregnancy

Minor: War, Abandonment, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

madamenovelist's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Gore, Death, Death of parent, Classism, Car accident, Blood, Alcohol, Abortion, Violence, Cursing, Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Homophobia, Grief, and Drug use

entityj's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Xenophobia

Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, Gun violence, Murder, War, Car accident, Death, and Deportation

abominablesnowaro's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Points for diversity and queer characters. Some points off for connecting them to demons and doubling down on the antisemitism from The Great Gatsby (but only in a brief mention). Overall weird, but pretty good

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Homophobia, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Infidelity, Racism, and Death

Moderate: Biphobia, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Sexism

Minor: Antisemitism and Physical abuse

billyjepma's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

"It's a dream. Why not enjoy it for a little while?"

A sumptuous, decadent, horny, mesmerizing twist on The Great Gatsby. Vo's writing expertly mirrors the style of Fitzgerald's novel without simply imitating it—she weaves in bouts of sharp modernity and genre subversion that somehow manage to elevate and complicate the original book's ideals with new wrinkles and dimensions. I was repeatedly thrilled by the ways Vo takes the story I know so well and refracts through new lenses that enrich what's already present while also introducing new tensions and commentaries on race, sexuality, gender, class, wealth, and more. It's a savage, sexy love story that aptly rejects heteronormativity with rich, glorious aplomb, and I devoured just about every single word.

Not all of those added dimensions work, though, and I was left wishing that Vo had fleshed out the bits of magic she introduces into this version of the Roaring 20s. Other areas feel slightly undercooked or underutilized as well, but what's here is fascinating and speaks to the kind of hubris and self-fulfilled godhood that Fitzgerald interrogates. The problem is how fleeting Vo's development of these ideas is, as her references and illustrations of magic (or something more demonic) are so quick and loose that I wasn't initially sure if I was meant to take them literally or not. Maybe that's the point, but it didn't work for me the way I hoped and was a somewhat recurring speedbump during my otherwise entranced experience reading this lavish book.

And it is oh so lavish. I love how physical and sticky Vo's version of The Great Gatsby is, how she takes all of the sexual tension and longing of the original novel and brings them right to the surface with sensually charged crescendos of sex, manipulation, and vulnerability. None of these characters are good people, Vo repeatedly reminds us. Still, they are (more or less, in some cases) human and her intimate exploration and dissection of their deepest fears and most desperate longings are sensational. I was totally floored by this, even when it occasionally trips over itself, and I can easily see myself revisiting it alongside any rereads of Fitzgerald's book. It gets 4.5 stars and all my recommendations.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol and Infidelity

Moderate: Abortion, Alcoholism, Car accident, Racism, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Homophobia

sunsetcity's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Car accident, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Murder, and Sexism