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goodthingsread's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I should have known that I wouldn't like this book as much as I thought I would. It's a retelling of <i>The Great Gatsby</i> and I was one of those people who didn't really like <i>The Great Gatsby</i>. I never really got it. Or maybe I got It and I just didn't care to read about It. I had thought that maybe this book would spin the original story enough that I would find something worthwhile in the plot, but it didn't. It actually held quite closely to the original story and the only variations came in the form of (1) Jordan being Vietnamese and (2) magic.
Point (1) felt like it could have really been something. Unfortunately, Jordan being adopted and trying so hard to blend in actually made her ethnicity fade into the background. It's accurate and understandable characterization and I don't really fault it in that respect. But it was a letdown, especially when Jordan meets up with a group of Vietnamese (and other Asian) performers that assist in her tapping into her innate magic and her history. That comes so late in the book, however, that it feels very tacked on and doesn't really get dug into. Jordan gets so drunk halfway through a hangout with those characters that everything gets fuzzy and forgotten but while drunk she learns things and reveals things about herself, but because it's all from her perspective, we don't get the full impact. I would have much rather had Jordan learning more about her background and herself earlier in the story and running as an undercurrent throughout, but I don't know if the author didn't want to do that for her own reasons or because it wouldn't have worked while sticking to the original <i>Gatsby</i> story.
Point (2) I was <i>extremely</i> frustrated by because the magic system and world building around it was so infuriatingly vague. It's very loose and sprinkled here and there, seemingly never a part of the main narrative until the very end, so it's frustrating to not understand and feel like I'm missing something. For example, when Jordan is invited up to see Gatsby, she says she feels cloaked in something that makes others not notice her. Then, when she arrives in Gatsby's office, she feels like it's ripped away under his gaze <b>or</b> that his gaze is just that sharp. I genuinely have no idea which is or even could be true, and it doesn't add an air of mystery (like perhaps intended) but makes me feel like I am missing something that should be obvious, if I knew more about the setting's magic. I am definitely missing the impact of some uses of magic simply from lack of knowledge. The scene where Jordan watches land magic from the train to New York means practically nothing, just thrown in there like an afterthought, and I can tell that it was intended to mean more. Additionally, the casualness with which Jordan talks about ghosts is also a part of this. Is Jordan the only one who can see ghosts? For the longest time, I thought ghosts were simply confined to the Baker house/family until the very last chapter. I also can't tell who is a ghost until she makes it obvious, three paragraphs later. Magic is treated both as superfluous, glitter sprinkled about to make things a little shinier and unique, but it's also a central part to the end of the novel, informing the choices of so many characters. (And is a huge part of the final scene between Jordan and Nick, which just blindsided me so hard that I spent a very long time staring into space trying to process.)
There's also this weird note I got from some moments. At a certain point, Jordan speaks about how she likes to keep herself untethered and starts to talk about how "that summer" felt different. I think this is supposed to foreshadow the impending fall of the Roaring 20s and the Great Depression, but it comes off sounding like a teen waxing poetic about summer camp. "The things we learned <i>that summer</i> would stay with us for the rest of our lives..."
All that being said, I really, really do like the author's writing style generally. It's poetic and smooth and beautiful. I just didn't like its application in <i>this</i> story. I also liked the touches of queerness, which I felt did appropriately influence Jordan's character and choices.
I want to give her other books a chance and I hope she continues to publish more over the years. This just doesn't work for me.
Point (1) felt like it could have really been something. Unfortunately, Jordan being adopted and trying so hard to blend in actually made her ethnicity fade into the background. It's accurate and understandable characterization and I don't really fault it in that respect. But it was a letdown, especially when Jordan meets up with a group of Vietnamese (and other Asian) performers that assist in her tapping into her innate magic and her history. That comes so late in the book, however, that it feels very tacked on and doesn't really get dug into. Jordan gets so drunk halfway through a hangout with those characters that everything gets fuzzy and forgotten but while drunk she learns things and reveals things about herself, but because it's all from her perspective, we don't get the full impact. I would have much rather had Jordan learning more about her background and herself earlier in the story and running as an undercurrent throughout, but I don't know if the author didn't want to do that for her own reasons or because it wouldn't have worked while sticking to the original <i>Gatsby</i> story.
Point (2) I was <i>extremely</i> frustrated by because the magic system and world building around it was so infuriatingly vague. It's very loose and sprinkled here and there, seemingly never a part of the main narrative until the very end, so it's frustrating to not understand and feel like I'm missing something. For example, when Jordan is invited up to see Gatsby, she says she feels cloaked in something that makes others not notice her. Then, when she arrives in Gatsby's office, she feels like it's ripped away under his gaze <b>or</b> that his gaze is just that sharp. I genuinely have no idea which is or even could be true, and it doesn't add an air of mystery (like perhaps intended) but makes me feel like I am missing something that should be obvious, if I knew more about the setting's magic. I am definitely missing the impact of some uses of magic simply from lack of knowledge. The scene where Jordan watches land magic from the train to New York means practically nothing, just thrown in there like an afterthought, and I can tell that it was intended to mean more. Additionally, the casualness with which Jordan talks about ghosts is also a part of this. Is Jordan the only one who can see ghosts? For the longest time, I thought ghosts were simply confined to the Baker house/family until the very last chapter. I also can't tell who is a ghost until she makes it obvious, three paragraphs later. Magic is treated both as superfluous, glitter sprinkled about to make things a little shinier and unique, but it's also a central part to the end of the novel, informing the choices of so many characters. (And is a huge part of the final scene between Jordan and Nick, which just blindsided me so hard that I spent a very long time staring into space trying to process.)
There's also this weird note I got from some moments. At a certain point, Jordan speaks about how she likes to keep herself untethered and starts to talk about how "that summer" felt different. I think this is supposed to foreshadow the impending fall of the Roaring 20s and the Great Depression, but it comes off sounding like a teen waxing poetic about summer camp. "The things we learned <i>that summer</i> would stay with us for the rest of our lives..."
All that being said, I really, really do like the author's writing style generally. It's poetic and smooth and beautiful. I just didn't like its application in <i>this</i> story. I also liked the touches of queerness, which I felt did appropriately influence Jordan's character and choices.
I want to give her other books a chance and I hope she continues to publish more over the years. This just doesn't work for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Racism, Classism, Drug use, and Infidelity
Minor: Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Stalking
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
just_one_more_paige's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
I read, and really enjoyed, Vo's novella The Empress of Salt and Fortune a few years ago. Since then, she's published a few full length novels and I have been meaning to pick them up. This wasn't the one I thought I'd read first, as I never really did get the Gatsby hype. But I found it at a used bookstore and figured, why not?
Well, I went on vacation and ended up *many* book reviews behind, so, a blurb borrowed from Goodreads to save time: "Immigrant. Socialite. Magician. Jordan Baker grows up in the most rarefied circles of 1920s American society—she has money, education, a killer golf handicap, and invitations to some of the most exclusive parties of the Jazz Age. She's also queer, Asian, adopted, and treated as an exotic attraction by her peers, while the most important doors remain closed to her. But the world is full of wonders: infernal pacts and dazzling illusions, lost ghosts and elemental mysteries. In all paper is fire, and Jordan can burn the cut paper heart out of a man. She just has to learn how."
Alright, like I said, this is a retelling of The Great Gatsby and I was never fully sold on the original, so I wasn't sure how I'd respond to this reimagining. It turns out: really well. I super enjoyed my time with this novel. It had all the glittering excess and self-absorption and "unreachability" of the first, but the dark undertones carried a hint of something more evil, with demons and bargains and magic, that added a little something that I loved. Plus, this version did less justifying and glorifying of some ugly character traits than what I remember of the original. They were all still there, but acknowledged for what they were in a way I appreciated and allowed me to buy more deeply into the story being told.
So, back to the undertones of magic and darkness, because those vibes were absolutely the highlight of the book for me. First, when I am in the mood for it, or when it hits right, I simply love a *vibes* read. (See, An Education in Malice.) In this case, Vo nails that aspect. The writing is simply magical, the setting and ambience in particular, but in general the mystery and mysticality are tangible. This is reinforced by the fact that the edges between actual magic and "feels like magic" are so blurred as to leave the reader feeling like they’re floating between reality and imagination. The fact that Jordan is an immigrant, and thus in "a little of both worlds, but not fully of either" herself, unique in the set she runs in, only adds to that feeling. For when things are a bit more openly described/referenced, I was totally in for the variety of magics that made their way into these pages. Of course, primarily, the paper cutting/manipulation that was, by heritage, Jordan's personal method. But also mentioned, “some infernal, some subterranean French, some American swamp medicine” and more. The way these were used to hide and enhance a variety of debaucheries (as far as the law and social understanding goes), was fantastic. And then there was the "magic" that is referred to as a sort of farce, the "show" that is the socialite excesses of the time in actuality. *chef's kiss* The line of demonic powers and the classic "demons of high society" is also flirted with, and the play back and forth is subtle and clever in delivery and, again, creates a reading experience that is superbly atmospheric. At some point, Vo uses the phrases "the wages of sin" and, for me, that phrase encapsulates much of this novel.
Contributing to the nebulous vibes of the book was also how oblique so much of it was. The money, sex, magic, ghosts, drunkenness, love, abortion, etc. is implicit and evasive, yet it’s all so very clearly there. Also, on theme historically and thematically: speakeasies!! Yes, please. Related: while it’s almost all closed door, I appreciated the casual way Jordan owns and acts on her sexuality and bisexuality without shame or guilt. Again: yes, please. Across the book, there is just so much subtext in everything: in the descriptions, the dialogue, sometimes even the plot development. (To that end, my one small complaint is that I thinkkkk I know what happened in the ending, with Nick in particular, but I'm not totally confident I understood it right.)
This retelling was absolutely sparkling. It takes everything that is glorified in the original and shines a light into the dark recesses and calls out what is actually a deep ugliness (ignored, pretended it wasn't there, by all those living above it) beneath the surface gleam and glitter - a reinvention and mirage that is brought tumbling down by Gatsby's inevitable ending - while still managing to maintain the plot development and sense of the wonder from the original. What a literary accomplishment.
“What Gatsby’s parties were was easy. It felt as if every wish you had while within his domain might be granted, and the only rule was that you must be beautiful and witty and bright.”
“You weren’t meant to look at people the way that Lieutenant Gatsby looked at Daisy Fay. You couldn't peel your skin back and show them how your heart had gone up in flames, how nothing that had come before mattered and nothing that came afterward mattered as long as you had what you wanted.”
“Sometimes, the only excuse for doing something stupid is knowing that you are doing it and being willing to accept the consequences.”
“Because that’s what the world is about. People being nice to you. [...] It's better than a world where they're cruel and you stay anyway.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Racism, Alcohol, and Death
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Gun violence and War
sparklefarm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
Glitzy magical Gatsby with disaster bisexuals. Need I say more?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident
Moderate: Alcohol and Abortion
Minor: Racism
klbreyfogle's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Slow-paced is definitely true, but I enjoyed it as a retelling of the Great Gatsby that explores the queer elements of the story and adds some true fantasy as well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Vomit, Racism, and Xenophobia
Minor: Murder
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
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.
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
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
thisislaura's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
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
Not going to lie, I got pretty confused at points in here (probably because I was listening to the audio with lots of pauses and multitasking) but it didn't bother me at all because I was so entranced by the dreamy setting and language. Reality and magic and dreams and memories were all woven together in such a way that I couldn't really parse one from the others but again, not a problem because I was just so enjoying the ride!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion