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A review by pascalthehoff
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
2.0
Hadn't the original Great Gatsby entered the public domain recently, this would've been filed as fan fiction – albeit pretty good fan fiction, to say the least. In that way, The Chosen and the Beautiful shows that fan fiction can have legitimate literary value as it has been praised by critics for what they saw in it.
Maybe, after that praise, I expected too much of this, but the novel left me mostly unimpressed. The few unique selling points it has going for itself are either not played out to their full potential (queer/Asian-American main character) or seem completely out of place (demons and magic). Funnily enough, those exact three things smell the most like typical tropes for fan fiction modifications.
The female perspective to the Great Gatsby narrative definitely has its value to it. I can also imagine that this 2020s portrayal of the 1920s might be closer to the actual roaring 20s since Fitzgerald might not have been able to show the hottest aspects of NYC night-life in the conservative early 19th century. Other than that, I found The Chosen and Beautiful to be rather derivative and also clunky to read in its awkward attempt to capture a figment of 1920s American English.
Maybe, after that praise, I expected too much of this, but the novel left me mostly unimpressed. The few unique selling points it has going for itself are either not played out to their full potential (queer/Asian-American main character) or seem completely out of place (demons and magic). Funnily enough, those exact three things smell the most like typical tropes for fan fiction modifications.
The female perspective to the Great Gatsby narrative definitely has its value to it. I can also imagine that this 2020s portrayal of the 1920s might be closer to the actual roaring 20s since Fitzgerald might not have been able to show the hottest aspects of NYC night-life in the conservative early 19th century. Other than that, I found The Chosen and Beautiful to be rather derivative and also clunky to read in its awkward attempt to capture a figment of 1920s American English.