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A review by eldaaurora97
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
"I was a little crazy after secrets that year. I liked collecting them, and though I seldom told, I did gloat. I was years from who I had bin in Louisville, some of those scars healed over to give me a hard polish that made me more mean but less vulnerable" (24)
The prose here fits Jordan Baker's character like a glove, in this re-telling of The Great Gatsby. Here, Jordan is reimagined as a Vietnamese adoptee into a wealthy family after Eliza Baker died. As well as dealing with her feelings and the intrigues of Gatsby's parties, there's another twist--she's a magician, able to make things out of paper and frequently deals with demonic. These things makes the 1920s setting all the more intriguing...but will she be able to deal with it?
I've read "The Great Gatsby" many years ago in school, and what interested me the most were the shimmering parties Gatsby holds, all for a lost cause. It still plays out with this story, as Jordan "had an idea of what was on offer given the rest of the party, but whatever Jay Gatsby was having would be exception" (54). But there's a bite to Jordan's POV when describing the parties, as "all of Gatsby's beautiful people were being revealed for the sloppy, irritable, wayward, and human creatures they really were" (60). The setting remains in its beautiful yet toxic landscape, as we see Gatsby reunite with Daisy, and everything fall through. The twist in which Gatsby "sold his soul, and in exchange for the power to be a man worthy of Daisy Fay, he had created a way station for Hell..." (224) was a plot twist I didn't expect.
Speaking of which, the magical aspects of "The Chosen and the Beautiful" are intriguing, but some other parts weren't really clear. One of my favorite scenes was during Daisy's bridal dinner, in which Daisy is in a complete mess and needs help. Jordan uses her paper magic to create a doppelganger, which leads to a sweet moment between them. However, discussions about demoniac and other magical spells weren't as clear for the rest of the book--it was cool, but somehow didn't fit with the rest of the plot...
...except in terms of where Jordan came from. "...the only time the class was ever full was when he presented the section on paper wives of the Lac Dragon Kings...paper cutting was effigy magic, ancestor worship, and another sign of the barbarity of the region..." (115). It reflected in how the white characters of the book looked down on people of color (and Gatsby himself, seeing he was of mixed descent?) While Jordan was seen as the exception to the rule, it was still jarring. It played out quite a bit near the end--one with the Manchester Acts, and the other with a scene in Chinatown. Seeing Jordan come to terms with her Vietnamese background, and the ins and outs of it all, was rewarding.
"The Chosen and the Beautiful" is a great book, filled with great prose, intriguing twists, and a fascinating point of view through Jordan Baker. It sheds a light on the glitter and darkness of the 1920s Fitzgerald originally wrote, and it's so curious! But if only a few more things were developed, it would be the perfect book--not only as a retelling, but also on its own right.
The prose here fits Jordan Baker's character like a glove, in this re-telling of The Great Gatsby. Here, Jordan is reimagined as a Vietnamese adoptee into a wealthy family after Eliza Baker died. As well as dealing with her feelings and the intrigues of Gatsby's parties, there's another twist--she's a magician, able to make things out of paper and frequently deals with demonic. These things makes the 1920s setting all the more intriguing...but will she be able to deal with it?
I've read "The Great Gatsby" many years ago in school, and what interested me the most were the shimmering parties Gatsby holds, all for a lost cause. It still plays out with this story, as Jordan "had an idea of what was on offer given the rest of the party, but whatever Jay Gatsby was having would be exception" (54). But there's a bite to Jordan's POV when describing the parties, as "all of Gatsby's beautiful people were being revealed for the sloppy, irritable, wayward, and human creatures they really were" (60). The setting remains in its beautiful yet toxic landscape, as we see Gatsby reunite with Daisy, and everything fall through. The twist in which Gatsby "sold his soul, and in exchange for the power to be a man worthy of Daisy Fay, he had created a way station for Hell..." (224) was a plot twist I didn't expect.
Speaking of which, the magical aspects of "The Chosen and the Beautiful" are intriguing, but some other parts weren't really clear. One of my favorite scenes was during Daisy's bridal dinner, in which Daisy is in a complete mess and needs help. Jordan uses her paper magic to create a doppelganger, which leads to a sweet moment between them. However, discussions about demoniac and other magical spells weren't as clear for the rest of the book--it was cool, but somehow didn't fit with the rest of the plot...
...except in terms of where Jordan came from. "...the only time the class was ever full was when he presented the section on paper wives of the Lac Dragon Kings...paper cutting was effigy magic, ancestor worship, and another sign of the barbarity of the region..." (115). It reflected in how the white characters of the book looked down on people of color (and Gatsby himself, seeing he was of mixed descent?) While Jordan was seen as the exception to the rule, it was still jarring. It played out quite a bit near the end--one with the Manchester Acts, and the other with a scene in Chinatown. Seeing Jordan come to terms with her Vietnamese background, and the ins and outs of it all, was rewarding.
"The Chosen and the Beautiful" is a great book, filled with great prose, intriguing twists, and a fascinating point of view through Jordan Baker. It sheds a light on the glitter and darkness of the 1920s Fitzgerald originally wrote, and it's so curious! But if only a few more things were developed, it would be the perfect book--not only as a retelling, but also on its own right.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Death