The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

The Chosen and the Beautiful

by Nghi Vo

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.

Reviewed by jnkay01 on

4 of 5 stars

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At first I was like, why set Gatsby in a supernatural world? As I read further, I decided WHY NOT, since such luxury and the ability to live with such impunity is a fantasy anyway.

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  • Started reading
  • 23 June, 2022: Finished reading
  • 23 June, 2022: Reviewed