Scan barcode
gaelstorm's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
3.25
This book was very weird, but not quite weird enough/in the right way for me to love it (I usually love weird books!). Directly before reading this book I read The Great Gatsby (TGG), so I have no idea what reading this book would be like for someone unfamiliar with TGG. This book made me like TGG more, and reading TGG made me like this book more. I think I would dislike both books even more without the other. I gave TGG 3 stars so this one gets 3.25 just to show that I liked it a little bit more, haha. I'm still not even sure if TGG deserves the 3 stars but there was something compelling enough about it for me.
It's a hard book to describe. It follows the story of TGG almost exactly, this is not a loose retelling in-terms of plot. The author writes in a very similar style to how TGG was written, so don't expect a super modern sounding retelling! If you hated the writing style of TGG, you will probably not like this either. I think this book is for those who are already fans of TGG, not a story to convince someone to like TGG. (but if you like TGG too much maybe you'd hate this too because of the changes? Not sure)
A big difference is of course it follows Jordan Baker who is from Vietnam (taken to the US by a white woman when she was a child) and there is magic in the world. At first I thought it would be more of a magical realism type deal, or hidden magic that characters were discovering, but sadly I was wrong. It becomes clear that everyone is aware of magic and there are different types of magic done by different people/society/cultures. But it's talked about in a very matter-of-fact way that assumes the reading knows what's going on and it's all no big deal. Nothing is every clearly described or laid out for you. The "world building" is just snippets of facts that you get and piece together yourself. I have no clue how this world works.
Just like TGG, there was something in this book that really intrigued me, but overall I was left a bit disappointed. There was a lot of potential here that did not live up to my expectations. I still give it 3 stars though because I was having a good time reading it (2 stars for me is I was actively not having a good time while reading).
It's a hard book to describe. It follows the story of TGG almost exactly, this is not a loose retelling in-terms of plot. The author writes in a very similar style to how TGG was written, so don't expect a super modern sounding retelling! If you hated the writing style of TGG, you will probably not like this either. I think this book is for those who are already fans of TGG, not a story to convince someone to like TGG. (but if you like TGG too much maybe you'd hate this too because of the changes? Not sure)
A big difference is of course it follows Jordan Baker who is from Vietnam (taken to the US by a white woman when she was a child) and there is magic in the world. At first I thought it would be more of a magical realism type deal, or hidden magic that characters were discovering, but sadly I was wrong. It becomes clear that everyone is aware of magic and there are different types of magic done by different people/society/cultures. But it's talked about in a very matter-of-fact way that assumes the reading knows what's going on and it's all no big deal. Nothing is every clearly described or laid out for you. The "world building" is just snippets of facts that you get and piece together yourself. I have no clue how this world works.
Just like TGG, there was something in this book that really intrigued me, but overall I was left a bit disappointed. There was a lot of potential here that did not live up to my expectations. I still give it 3 stars though because I was having a good time reading it (2 stars for me is I was actively not having a good time while reading).
catbrigand's review
3.0
It was…fine. It had a lot of elements that had a lot more potential than is realized. Magic is a normalized part of this world, but it’s not a normalized part of my world, and I would have really appreciated some context. The Manchester Act is this huge thing looming over the MC’s head, but readers don’t even know what it is until 2/3 of the way through, nor do we really know what the implications of it will be. It’s telling that this book is so short but took me a solid 6 days to read, but it’s also telling that I didn’t DNF it.
noirverse's review against another edition
2.0
This book ended up being a disappointment, unfortunately. I was thrilled to hear of a Gatsby retelling with an Asian female main character that also included LGBT elements and couldn't wait to see how it played with the original plot. I thought I was going to get something extremely special when the early chapters explicitly nodded towards Jordan, Nick, and Gatsby all being bisexual, but it took me hitting the midway point before I realized that this book wasn't going to pull off its themes.
The prose was beautiful and the sole reason why I read it to the end despite my growing sense that the story wasn't working for me. My biggest letdown was that for a book that was almost double the word count of the original Gatsby, it didn't truly dive into the concepts that it brought up. Jordan was adopted, but we only visit that a handful of times in the story, and while there's extra backstory for both Daisy and Jordan, it didn't really impact anything in the end even if the scenes themselves were enjoyable.
A red flag popped up when I realized that it took half of the entire book to get to Daisy finally meeting Gatsby at Nick's house. Everything before that was a fun diversion, but was ultimately a long chain of Jordan thinking about her past or meeting up with Nick or other people without any true sense of plot. I liked that she was LGBT, but I didn't care for how much the book focused on her and Nick as a couple the way I could tell the book wanted me to.
Ultimately, the book's biggest flaw in my eyes is that it was too distant from the original Gatsby to be a satisfying retread, but was also too married to the original plot to explore Jordan having a full-fledged narrative of her own that wasn't tagging alongside Daisy and the others until much too late in the story. I did greatly enjoy Khai, but even as I read about him, I couldn't help but wonder why we didn't see him show up much earlier in the book as previously, the magic in the narrative seemed sprinkled in to distract from the questionable pacing and was extremely vague in description. I'm sure it worked for some people, but it didn't for me.
There was a big reveal with Nick at the end that was...okay, I guess? It felt so thrown in there that I couldn't muster any sense of surprise about it. All that being said, I did enjoy the prose, Jordan being adopted, along with her feelings about being transracial. There was also the moment of Jordan realizing she had one-sided feelings for Daisy that landed really well for me, along with the moments of Nick having feelings for Gatsby. I only wish that those things had been expanded on more instead of being impressive elements placed into a disappointing whole.
The Chosen and the Beautiful had a beautiful sense of atmosphere and prose, but without enough substance to it to truly get out of the shadow of the original Gatsby. I realize that my high expectations for this book in relation to the original story likely set me up for my enjoyment being let down in the end, so I have hope that readers who are unfamiliar with Gatsby will take away something more positive from it. I've settled on giving it two stars for the concept of the story, even if it didn't properly come together the way I wished it did.
The prose was beautiful and the sole reason why I read it to the end despite my growing sense that the story wasn't working for me. My biggest letdown was that for a book that was almost double the word count of the original Gatsby, it didn't truly dive into the concepts that it brought up. Jordan was adopted, but we only visit that a handful of times in the story, and while there's extra backstory for both Daisy and Jordan, it didn't really impact anything in the end even if the scenes themselves were enjoyable.
A red flag popped up when I realized that it took half of the entire book to get to Daisy finally meeting Gatsby at Nick's house. Everything before that was a fun diversion, but was ultimately a long chain of Jordan thinking about her past or meeting up with Nick or other people without any true sense of plot. I liked that she was LGBT, but I didn't care for how much the book focused on her and Nick as a couple the way I could tell the book wanted me to.
Ultimately, the book's biggest flaw in my eyes is that it was too distant from the original Gatsby to be a satisfying retread, but was also too married to the original plot to explore Jordan having a full-fledged narrative of her own that wasn't tagging alongside Daisy and the others until much too late in the story. I did greatly enjoy Khai, but even as I read about him, I couldn't help but wonder why we didn't see him show up much earlier in the book as previously, the magic in the narrative seemed sprinkled in to distract from the questionable pacing and was extremely vague in description. I'm sure it worked for some people, but it didn't for me.
There was a big reveal with Nick at the end that was...okay, I guess? It felt so thrown in there that I couldn't muster any sense of surprise about it. All that being said, I did enjoy the prose, Jordan being adopted, along with her feelings about being transracial. There was also the moment of Jordan realizing she had one-sided feelings for Daisy that landed really well for me, along with the moments of Nick having feelings for Gatsby. I only wish that those things had been expanded on more instead of being impressive elements placed into a disappointing whole.
The Chosen and the Beautiful had a beautiful sense of atmosphere and prose, but without enough substance to it to truly get out of the shadow of the original Gatsby. I realize that my high expectations for this book in relation to the original story likely set me up for my enjoyment being let down in the end, so I have hope that readers who are unfamiliar with Gatsby will take away something more positive from it. I've settled on giving it two stars for the concept of the story, even if it didn't properly come together the way I wished it did.
delandbeforetime's review
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
2.5
Vo’s prose is so beautiful but I felt like the magical element was slapped onto this premise, to the extent that when something magic happened it was really jarring and distracting. If it had been better integrated I would have been all for a magical realism element, but it felt haphazard to me.
jenhurst's review against another edition
4.0
I’m easy to please. Great Gatsby, giant parties, retelling sans beautiful writing is everything I need in a book.
Plus this involves Asian rep, which is lacking in classics.
Plus this involves Asian rep, which is lacking in classics.
mxunsmiley's review
Jordan Baker was always my favorite character in The Great Gatsby, a novel I have mixed feelings about--at one point I loved it, then read it again--hated it. So I thought a retelling with Jordan as the narrator, Asian and bisexual, would be a lot more interesting, and in many ways it was, though it missed the mark for me in many other ways.
The magical aspect of it, I thought, was underused and a bit out of the blue in most passages.
The added racial twist on Jordan's character also struck me as a bit of an afterthought. It was woven pretty tightly into the novel, but in the end I thought... how does this change anything, especially when we don't get more insight as to A racial insensitivity I noticed, also, was when
The LGBT content, though, really shone for me. At first I thought the homoeroticism between Gatsby and Nick was a bit of a fanfiction-like projection but I think it worked a lot more toward the end of the novel, with hints in between.
Another aspect of the novel which I loved was the prose. Vo writes really, really well and in a gripping way, I think, especially in the last chapters. Her characterization is also spot-on. It has the same vibes as the original novel. Jordan's character feels perfectly in line with Fitzgerald's original, with deeper insight. She was quite fittingly my favorite part of this novel, as should be expected because it's all about her, of course. All the hints and details to the deeper aspects of her character were so enjoyable to read. I also loved the other characters, too, honestly, especially Daisy, how I really knew all along how manipulative she was but Jordan I could talk forever about Jordan Baker! How Vo captures the way Gatsby is truly pathetic yet grandiose all at the same time was so amazingly well done, too.
I did enjoy this novel a lot, despite my qualms with it. I want to read her other work, too, now.
The magical aspect of it, I thought, was underused and a bit out of the blue in most passages.
Spoiler
The introduction of Khai was intriguing but I didn't think it really went anywhere. The most compelling magical scene was when she ripped a mouth out of the eyes of T.J. Eckleberg, creating that literal personification. That was one of my favorite scenes in the novel.The added racial twist on Jordan's character also struck me as a bit of an afterthought. It was woven pretty tightly into the novel, but in the end I thought... how does this change anything, especially when we don't get more insight as to
Spoiler
the way Eliza Baker essentially stole Jordan from her parents? It's a pretty big revelation (though not surprising)! Then thinking about how we don't really see much of Khai and co., who I found the most interesting in this twist retelling of Gatsby, I thought Vo could have done a lot more.Spoiler
Jordan remarked on Gatsby's nonwhite, specifically Native and Black, ancestry while, in the same breath, talked about his sin and sorcery.The LGBT content, though, really shone for me. At first I thought the homoeroticism between Gatsby and Nick was a bit of a fanfiction-like projection but I think it worked a lot more toward the end of the novel, with hints in between.
Spoiler
The implications that Jordan was in love with Daisy were very well written as well.Another aspect of the novel which I loved was the prose. Vo writes really, really well and in a gripping way, I think, especially in the last chapters. Her characterization is also spot-on. It has the same vibes as the original novel. Jordan's character feels perfectly in line with Fitzgerald's original, with deeper insight. She was quite fittingly my favorite part of this novel, as should be expected because it's all about her, of course. All the hints and details to the deeper aspects of her character were so enjoyable to read. I also loved the other characters, too, honestly, especially Daisy, how I really knew all along how manipulative she was but Jordan
Spoiler
was honestly too in love with her to admit or see it. It kind of broke my heart when, toward the end, Jordan had her own heart broken by two people at the same time, because of how vulnerable she truly is, even when she tries to conceal it.I did enjoy this novel a lot, despite my qualms with it. I want to read her other work, too, now.
aplpaca's review
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
cobaltbookshelf's review
2.0
2.5 stars
To be completely honest I didn't read synopsis I just saw beautiful cover and go with it. This is book is beautiful written but it is for fans of The Great Gatsby which I'm not.
To be completely honest I didn't read synopsis I just saw beautiful cover and go with it. This is book is beautiful written but it is for fans of The Great Gatsby which I'm not.
suchacommotion's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The whole plot was SO MESSY and the pacing was all over the place. 90% of the cohesion came from the fact that I’ve read the Great Gatsby before. Vho had some incredible, fantastic ideas but ultimately never explained or went anywhere with them. I’m so disappointed in this book, I had such high hopes.
maisilu24's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
i really wanted to enjoy this more than i ultimately did, but this great gatsby retelling centered around a queer asian adoptee (!!) missed the mark for me