The Chosen and the Beautiful
Books | Fiction / Fantasy / Historical
3.7
(1.5K)
Nghi Vo
An Instant National Bestseller!An Indie Next Pick!A Best of Summer Pick for TIME Magazine | CNN | NBC News | CBS News | Book Riot | The Daily Beast | Lambda Literary | The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Goodreads | Bustle | Veranda Magazine | The Week | Bookish | St. Louis Post-Dispatch | Den of Geek | LGBTQ Reads | Pittsburgh City Paper | Bookstr | Tatler HKA Best Fantasy Novel from the Last 10 Years for Book RiotA Best of the Year Pick for NPR“A vibrant and queer reinvention of F. Scott Fitzgerald's jazz age classic. . . . I was captivated from the first sentence.”—NPR"Nghi Vo is one of the most original writers we have today."—Taylor Jenkins Reid on Siren Queen“A sumptuous, decadent read.”—The New York Times“Vo has crafted a retelling that, in many ways, surpasses the original.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred reviewImmigrant. 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 and Asian, a Vietnamese adoptee 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, The Chosen and the Beautiful, 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.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Fantasy
Lgbtq+
Historical Fiction
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More Details:
Author
Nghi Vo
Pages
272
Publisher
Tor Publishing Group
Published Date
2021-06-01
ISBN
1250784794 9781250784797
Community ReviewsSee all
"Overall I thought this was fantastic, especially with the ways it subtly critiqued the original text, but the final plot twist wasn't that interesting to me."
Sarah Brown
"3.8 stars. An intriguing and poetic take on The Great Gatsby, except from the viewpoint of Jordan Baker. The additional elements of magic are not misplaced, especially when coupled with the careless nature and strong drink the characters indulge in.
SPOILER:
I do have one question about creatures made of paper: if they do not bleed, how can they bruise? "
E Hinkes
"All time favorite book. When I originally read The Great Gatsby, I immediately took a liking to Jordan Baker. To have her rewritten with such depth, as a fellow queer Asian-American, was a dream come true. Vo ties fantasy elements with realism and culture that not only brings further depth to Fitzgerald's story, but can also be a standalone story for someone who hasn't read Gatsby at all. Having Jordan be in love with Daisy from the start and even with Nick was a deep and meaningful twist, not done lazily."
嫦娥
"Queer The Great Gatsby retelling "
Maram
"I know this book has great reviews but I couldn’t even finish it. Just a repeat of Gatsby. "
S E
Shari Eshem
"The author has a fine writing style, but I think this is a real loser as a novel. The background makes no sense: if you have the presence of magic ( very arbitrary) and the prevalence of bisexuality, don’t you think society would be affected by this, instead just patching it into the environment of the original novel. If you are going to trash “The Great Gatsby”, why not write your own version without borrowing the names from the original."
H G
Harold Goldfus
"I really enjoyed this! A retelling of The Great Gatsby through the eyes of a minor female character, in a magical alternate 1920s where Jay Gatsby really did sell his soul to get what he wanted. The way the book calls back to the original story is fantastic, and it manages to keep the babyish mannerisms of the women while peeling back the layers to show the person beneath. I loved the way Jordan came to look at her identity over the course of the book as well.<br/><br/>The final twist at the end kind of disappointed me a bit because it returned focus to a character I didn't care much about and the actions involved felt pointless, but the rest was great."
a
awesome_user_984860
"Demon bargains in the gilded age. Honestly I was rather taken by the portrayal of the microaggressions Jordan dealt with, and how everyone glossed over them -- including her. As someone who hated The Great Gatsby because I couldn't find a real plot, the way this turned out was definitely surprising and I enjoyed it a great deal."
Amanda Ebbutt
"I really liked the idea for this book, and the re-telling/re-imaging was done really well in terms of keeping with the storyline and themes of The Great Gatsby. However… the magic system was not fully explored until like 2/3 of the way through the book, and so it felt more like magical realism for the majority of the story. And (I had this same issue with The Great Gatsby) the ending felt kind of rushed, especially with certain revelations in regard to Nick."
Eliza Lamont
"Okay. I adore the Great Gatsby. I love the atmosphere and the writing of this retelling thus far (about halfway through). It’s written beautifully and I have heard amazing reviews of this book. However after reading the first half I’m confused as to what the hype is about. So far there’s been almost no plot and it’s mostly just been about empty sex. I want to love this book but it just feels like a beautiful world with an empty story. Is it worth finishing? And I just missing the magic? "
Jami Gellerman
