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A review by syllareads
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Chosen and the Beautiful is a piece of art, a way of whispering of the magic between the lines of the Great Gatsby, a story on fire of a paper-man, and a magician, and a woman who belongs to neither and a woman who wishes she did.
I have said at some point that I will read everything Nghi Vo puts out and that I will be rather obnoxious about recommending her works to people - and this book absolutely made her one of my auto-buy authors. I will never shut up about her works at this point, ever. Watch me.
The Chosen and the Beautiful is a Great Gatsby retelling from the view of Jordan Baker instead of Nick Carraway, which means that we have some scenes almost verbatim from the previous book, some scenes that give us a different perspective to a scene we already know from "The Great Gatsby" and some completely new scenes we previously had no way of knowing of, given that Nick isn't an all-knowing focal figure. Nghi Vo also drapes a veil of magic over the entire story, settling her book firmly in the "Magical realism" category, something that made the wild, inherent magic of The Great Gatsby seem all the more apparent.
What can I say except that I loved every word? That Nghi Vo's way of writing is exquisite, dripping with beauty and love and pain, that her vision of utter queerness deeply embedded in the narrative is breath-taking? Please, I have no words to describe this book anymore, I just HIGHLY encourage people to read it.
I have said at some point that I will read everything Nghi Vo puts out and that I will be rather obnoxious about recommending her works to people - and this book absolutely made her one of my auto-buy authors. I will never shut up about her works at this point, ever. Watch me.
The Chosen and the Beautiful is a Great Gatsby retelling from the view of Jordan Baker instead of Nick Carraway, which means that we have some scenes almost verbatim from the previous book, some scenes that give us a different perspective to a scene we already know from "The Great Gatsby" and some completely new scenes we previously had no way of knowing of, given that Nick isn't an all-knowing focal figure. Nghi Vo also drapes a veil of magic over the entire story, settling her book firmly in the "Magical realism" category, something that made the wild, inherent magic of The Great Gatsby seem all the more apparent.
What can I say except that I loved every word? That Nghi Vo's way of writing is exquisite, dripping with beauty and love and pain, that her vision of utter queerness deeply embedded in the narrative is breath-taking? Please, I have no words to describe this book anymore, I just HIGHLY encourage people to read it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Death and Racism