jnkay01
Written on Jun 23, 2022
“Gatsby the way it should have been written—dark, dazzling, fantastical.”—R. F. Kuang
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.
Nghi Vo’s debut novel reinvents this classic of the American canon as a coming-of-age story full of magic, mystery, and glittering excess, and introduces a major new literary voice.
- ISBN10 1250784786
- ISBN13 9781250784780
- Publish Date 1 June 2021
- Publish Status Active
- Imprint Tordotcom
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 272
- Language English
Reviews
Inkslinger
Written on Jun 10, 2021
"..he had a dreaminess to his eyes as well, as if he were somehow fundamentally unmoored from the world, perpetually startled by its sharp edges and small cruelties."
'The Chosen and the Beautiful' by Nghi Vo is a faithful re-telling of The Great Gatsby, wrapped lovingly.. and perhaps a little obsessively, within the cool contours of magical realism.
Though I normally like my re-tellings to vary enough that they can be difficult to recognize at first glance, this one is so full of interesting, creative magical elements and interpersonal nuances that I think varying from the original tale too much would have done it a disservice.
Told from the perspective of Jordan Baker, a queer adoptee originally from Tonkin/Vietnam by a wealthy white family, she has access to social tiers others would not have in the 1920's. She's free-spirited and has the money to pretty much do whatever she likes with her time and that just so happens to mean lots of exclusive parties. While it seems she has everything, she's still treated as an almost collectible oddity by her peers and the most important things remain behind sealed doors for her.
"..soul gone and some terrible engine he called love driving him now, I could see that for him, the world was always ending. For him, it was all a wreck and a ruin, and he had no idea why the rest of us weren't screaming."
Gatsby and Daisy, Nick and Tom, even the Wilsons are all still present here. Yet some of the dynamics have changed, modernizing the feel of the atmosphere. I enjoyed the way the reveal at the end was tucked away, marked only by character reactions and small side comments.. never directly addressed. At first pass, the scene just feels a bit off.. like there's something that doesn't quite make sense.. and then it does.
Tinged with Faustian themes, the author gives us a much more visually vibrant world, however. The magic is otherworldly.. life seemingly made of paper, ghosts sharing space with the living, and all sorts of other intrigues.
I loved the infernal twist on the bootlegging business and really enjoyed the way obsession was explored. It went far beyond just two people in this telling and became more of a spiral of obsession instead.. with one always drawn inexorably toward another until all were essentially connected. At times, the book reads like a fever dream.. and disoriented, you wonder if that's real or if it's the character being affected.
"She was half out of her robe like a snowdrop unsheathed after the winter, fragile and more than a little raw."
Vo is a beautifully lyrical writer who does an excellent job of creating an underlying premonition of dread while dazzling the reader with exuberant scenes and imaginative illusions. If you like a bit of mystery or a sense of fatalism in your stories, read this book. I promise you will not make it all the way through without finding at least one surprise waiting.
(I received this title as an ARC. All opinions are mine and freely given.)
Quirky Cat
Written on Jun 7, 2021
Yes! It's another novel by Nghi Vo, and I could not be more excited about that fact! The Chosen and the Beautiful is her first full novel, following novellas like When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain.
Are you ready for a coming-of-age story that blends genres, the concept of the American dream, and so much more? Jordan Baker is, all things considered, a lucky woman. She lives in the 1920s and was adopted by a wealthy family that saw her through good schools.
Only, she knows that she is treated differently in this society. She's seen as more 'exotic' and outside of them, rather than just another member of the community. This probably has to do with the fact that she is adopted, Asian, and queer.
Oh! Did I mention that The Chosen and the Beautiful is essentially a Great Gatsby telling, but with a lot more flare? Yeah. Worth checking out, right?
“It was after midnight with that tired charm that all parties on the downturn acquire.”
If you're looking for the most creative retelling of the year, I have news for you. The Chosen and the Beautiful is simultaneously exactly and nothing like The Great Gatsby. In many ways, I found it to be a significant improvement on the original. Yes, I said it.
I love how Nghi Vo picked such a classic piece of literature in order to tell her story. It was a choice that can resonate with many people and help to forge a real connection to the character and her struggles.
In short, The Chosen and the Beautiful is a fantastic read, one that I did not regret in the least. If anything, my only regret is that I couldn't have read this novel while growing up, but that's life, right?
Thanks to Tor.com and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks