Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - The Chosen and the Beautiful

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The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

21 reviews

zombiezami's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75

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lolajh's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

2.75

Wow. What a rollercoaster. Such a promising lead up,

I loooooved Jordan in the original, and was really rooting for an eventual romance between her and Daisy in this 😫 It fr would have been so perfect for Daisy to realise at the very end she didn’t care for Tom or Gatsby and instead Jordan had been there waiting for her the whole time. They kissed and had such a homoerotic relationship already it would have been perfect

but a much weaker middle

Nick and Jordan’s relationship made me so mad it was so toxic and jordan didn’t even really like him

and end

WHAT THE FUCK EVEN HAPPENED

, especially regarding the magical realism fantasy bits that I really feel didn’t properly meld with the rest of the book. A lot of things were really disappointing, especially regarding the likability of Jordan as a main character when she was one of the only redeeming qualities I could find about the original. Jordan seemed quite manipulative and fake a lot of the time, and none of this was really explained.

A perfect explanation for her choosing to stay with Nick all that time while she internally complained about him would be that she was FUCKING IN LOVE WITH DAISY yet she never (properly) admitted that and instead just gaslighted Daisy at the end when they were so close to actually addressing their relationship. Even if they just remained friends, I would’ve loved to see them have a happy ending together, even if Jordan had to go with her and Tom. I feel like the fight between them over Gatsby running over that girl was weird and Daisy was just obviously traumatised like everyone else was by seeing a dead body, especially when Daisy actually saw Gatsby kill them and then went through him dying as well.

I loved Daisy, honestly wishing all the best for her and was rooting for her the whole time. Her character is just so real, I loved her in the original as well and think she was written well in this. Just the direction this book went and different weird elements like the fantasy stuff and a hint of incest???? Where jordan got jealous of Daisy flirting with Nick (Daisy and Nick are cousins????) Weird plot point, but anyway. I shouldn’t have gone into this hoping for certain things

like a sapphic romance

because the author never promised that and that isn’t fair. Was still disappointed anyway, but oh well!!

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bessadams's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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lou_mac's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

Do you love the world of the Great Gatsby but find Nick and insufferable narrator?
Did you wonder quite how Gatsby was throwing these parties?
And what of the roaring 20s beyond the selfishness of Daisy and Tom's world?
Then this book is for you.

Jordan Baker takes the role as narrator, and in this telling she is Vietnamese, queer and able to tell us about the magic in the world. I loved seeing the story from a fresh perspective, and getting some world building beyond parties and affairs. If the Great Gatsby is about the American dream, then the chosen and the beautiful unpacks who you have to be to have access to the opportunity.

The magic of this book for the most part felt like coded "living alternatively" messages, and I could have done with a little more background of certain elements of it -but at no point did I feel it didn't make sense. And I loved that this book didn't make Daisy too sympathetic, but did give me something more to like about Nick.

I'll definitely read this book again, and I think it is one where I'll get something different on a re-read, which is always a delight.

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aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No

2.25

I never read the Great Gatsby and based on this, I will never read it. I think the magical realism was cool but I didn't think it was as much magic as I would've wanted. I think the setting was cool as well. But overall, this was kind of boring and I didn't care for any of the characters. I liked the one twist in it because I honestly didn't see it coming but looking back, maybe I should've because it was def hinted at. The characters annoyed me and I think a lot of the ideas were sort of half assed and just thrown in without much expansion. There were interesting moments, but the story moved on from them so quickly/easily that it felt pointless to even have them in there.

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madamenovelist's review against another edition

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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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billyjepma's review against another edition

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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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melanie_reads's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.25

Gatsby lovers looking for a fresh take on your beloved's past, wowzers - Nghi Vo delivers.

Take that 1920s glamour, throw in some magical realism, a hint of demonic mystery, and a bit more context of what was actually happening in the 1920s (esp. for women and the non-WASP set) and you have something new and breathtaking on your hands.

Is this plot-driven or character-drive? I'd say most people will come to this book with knowledge of the plot and in doing so, it becomes its own character.

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aardwyrm's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I wasn't one of the poor children caught by the Great Gatsby in high school, either in one of those long-running grudges against the concept of symbolism after too many conversations about green lights and painted eyes, or caught like a character by the glamor. It was just a book. This is a much more interesting and meaningful book, through the simple expedients of handing the camera to a more interesting person and reflecting on the world, not just the idea of the world. Also there's some demons and stuff.

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linzomatic's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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