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aplpaca's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Racism, Alcohol, Abortion, Classism, Sexism, and Sexual content
sierrainstitches's review against another edition
dark
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
It wasn’t bad, but I don’t care for the Gatsby story. I wouldn’t have chosen to read it if I knew that’s what it was. I would have also liked more magic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Racism
Moderate: Sexual content
tinyjude's review against another edition
challenging
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
I really wanted to love this. Unfortunately I feel it fell short to my expectations, perhaps because I was acquainted with the author's other works and I didn't realise this was the first one published. I felt like Nghi Vo wanted to dwell on several topics but barely grazed over them in the end, much in the Great Gatsby itself. The writing style and characterization is very similar so props to Vo for that, because still they felt like Original Characters. The good thing mainly is that we follow Jordan's pov, whereas in the original she was a secondary character, and this book takes the queer subtext and just screams at you QUEER QUEER QUEER in almost every page subtlety and loudly, simultaneously.
Despite that, Jordan's heritage and how the political landscape of the time will affect her are barely addressed by. Her paper cutting magic and the magic realism aspects could have been used more prominently and the queerness of, especially Nick and Jordan, could have been explored in more detail. It felt as if still we only got them as a couple who were each fascinated by Daisy and Jay, rather than madly in love with them. I get it was supposed to feel confusing but I think it didn't translate that well into the text.
The interpretation about the souls was interesting, thou.
Despite that, Jordan's heritage and how the political landscape of the time will affect her are barely addressed by. Her paper cutting magic and the magic realism aspects could have been used more prominently and the queerness of, especially Nick and Jordan, could have been explored in more detail. It felt as if still we only got them as a couple who were each fascinated by Daisy and Jay, rather than madly in love with them. I get it was supposed to feel confusing but I think it didn't translate that well into the text.
The interpretation about the souls was interesting, thou.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Infidelity, Racism, Alcohol, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Car accident, Racial slurs, Classism, Death, and Deportation
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Sexual content
Minor: Trafficking, War, Violence, and Physical abuse
zombiezami's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.75
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
lolajh's review against another edition
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!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident and Sexual content
Moderate: Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
Minor: Vomit
alizirrah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
4.25
Gorgeously evocative - vicious and incisive and subversive in the best possible ways. Each sentence felt so precise and surprising, like no word was wasted or out of place. I loved how everyone was casually queer and messily all in each other's business.
So why did it take me over 2 months to read this fairly short novel? I could not tell you. Possibly it was because it often took a lot of concentration to follow and parse each sentence's meaning, and when I tend to read before bed, this would lead to me nodding off after only reading a few pages. There were a few times that the story suddenly slipped into a flashback and I wasn't sure what time the scene took place, and other times I *thought* we had flashed back but then that scene actually had been current.
But it is an absolutely gorgeous book overall. The magical elements were fascinating and very memorable. I found this parallel universe 1920's U.S. very compelling.
So why did it take me over 2 months to read this fairly short novel? I could not tell you. Possibly it was because it often took a lot of concentration to follow and parse each sentence's meaning, and when I tend to read before bed, this would lead to me nodding off after only reading a few pages. There were a few times that the story suddenly slipped into a flashback and I wasn't sure what time the scene took place, and other times I *thought* we had flashed back but then that scene actually had been current.
But it is an absolutely gorgeous book overall. The magical elements were fascinating and very memorable. I found this parallel universe 1920's U.S. very compelling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Drug use, Infidelity, and Car accident
Moderate: Alcohol, Xenophobia, Abortion, Racism, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence
lktx's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-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
4.5
The Great Gatsby is my favorite classic, so I read The Chosen and The Beautiful with part joy and part trepidation. It exceeded my expectations and I thought a lovely interpretation of the characters, giving a different perspective of what unfolded that summer, and it felt true to the original source. The Chosen and The Beautiful is from Jordan Baker's point of view.
The Chosen explores Jordan growing up in Louisville as the adopted daughter of the Louisville Bakers, taken from Vietnam as a young child; her friendship with Daisy Fay Buchanan; her relationship with Nick Carraway; her queerness and complicated feelings about relationships; and of course, Gatsby. There's the addition of magic, pacts with hell, and a drink called demoniac, outlawed just like alcohol. It follows the summer of Gatsby, and the scenes from the original source show up in the right places, but fills in the gaps of what Nick either doesn't see or doesn't want to tell. The events are, thankfully, predictable for anyone who knows The Great Gatsby well, but the rest of it is a delightful take, and it has a surprisingly uplifting ending.
I listened the audiobook and the narrator, Natalie Naudus, was fantastic. I loved the voice she used for Jordan. It was slightly different from her standard narration voice, but it made Jordan's character and the face she put on for everyone--including herself sometimes--feel quite real.
Pros:
- Jordan was a delightful narrator and writing her as an adopted daughter brought from Vietnam was an interesting perspective that allowed the author to explore a new side of the character.
- Well developed characters, especially Daisy, who though not the protagonist is the hingepin in all the characters lives. Gatsby also felt true to who he was, just from a different perspevtive.
- The magic and fantastic world building was interesting and I liked the alternate history that was developing.
- Did not see the reveal at the end coming.
Cons:
- At times a little too racy, though it seemed to fit Jordan's character.
- The addition of the Vietnamese paper-cutting troupe felt rushed as that arc started around 60%. I wished there'd been a little more there.
- Jordan is a well-known golf player and there were mentions of her playing, but rarely. She felt like a socialite. I would have liked more of the golf.
- Not a con, persay, but the end is surprisingly uplifting for what a tragedy The Great Gatsby is.
The Chosen explores Jordan growing up in Louisville as the adopted daughter of the Louisville Bakers, taken from Vietnam as a young child; her friendship with Daisy Fay Buchanan; her relationship with Nick Carraway; her queerness and complicated feelings about relationships; and of course, Gatsby. There's the addition of magic, pacts with hell, and a drink called demoniac, outlawed just like alcohol. It follows the summer of Gatsby, and the scenes from the original source show up in the right places, but fills in the gaps of what Nick either doesn't see or doesn't want to tell. The events are, thankfully, predictable for anyone who knows The Great Gatsby well, but the rest of it is a delightful take, and it has a surprisingly uplifting ending.
I listened the audiobook and the narrator, Natalie Naudus, was fantastic. I loved the voice she used for Jordan. It was slightly different from her standard narration voice, but it made Jordan's character and the face she put on for everyone--including herself sometimes--feel quite real.
Pros:
- Jordan was a delightful narrator and writing her as an adopted daughter brought from Vietnam was an interesting perspective that allowed the author to explore a new side of the character.
- Well developed characters, especially Daisy, who though not the protagonist is the hingepin in all the characters lives. Gatsby also felt true to who he was, just from a different perspevtive.
- The magic and fantastic world building was interesting and I liked the alternate history that was developing.
- Did not see the reveal at the end coming.
Cons:
- At times a little too racy, though it seemed to fit Jordan's character.
- The addition of the Vietnamese paper-cutting troupe felt rushed as that arc started around 60%. I wished there'd been a little more there.
- Jordan is a well-known golf player and there were mentions of her playing, but rarely. She felt like a socialite. I would have liked more of the golf.
- Not a con, persay, but the end is surprisingly uplifting for what a tragedy The Great Gatsby is.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Vo's prose is as lovely as ever, and the magical realism elements are interesting, but the added magic and focus on Jordan are really the only major divergences from Gatsby -- overall, the story felt heavily reliant on the reader already being familiar with Gatsby (which I say as someone who is Very Normal about Gatsby), and I don't know that it really offers any more nuanced or thorough a glance at most of the characters, including Jordan. Could have definitely been a lot more fleshed out and more of a genuine retelling than effectively a companion novel, just feels a bit disjointed and shallow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Abortion, Sexual content, Alcohol, Car accident, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Classism, Death, Murder, Infidelity, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Suicide, Antisemitism, Fire/Fire injury, War, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Homophobia
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
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
exteenawreads's review against another edition
mysterious
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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content