Reviews with content warning for Classism - The Chosen and the Beautiful

Reviews tagging 'Classism'

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

25 reviews

scifi_rat's review against another edition

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asiamd's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I think this book was really well written and the imagery the author used to get some of the scenes across was amazing, but I also feel like the magic aspect of the book while it was amazing and added a lot more wonder into the book it was kinda unnecessary. Idk I didn’t really vibe with this book even though it was great just not for me! I also didn’t catch a lot of the hints dropped in the book which made it kinda confusing for me especially when you add in the magic aspect. Overall I’d give it a 6/10

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aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No

2.25

I never read the Great Gatsby and based on this, I will never read it. I think the magical realism was cool but I didn't think it was as much magic as I would've wanted. I think the setting was cool as well. But overall, this was kind of boring and I didn't care for any of the characters. I liked the one twist in it because I honestly didn't see it coming but looking back, maybe I should've because it was def hinted at. The characters annoyed me and I think a lot of the ideas were sort of half assed and just thrown in without much expansion. There were interesting moments, but the story moved on from them so quickly/easily that it felt pointless to even have them in there.

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madamenovelist's review

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adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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catesaav's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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atamano's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

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zoiejanelle's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

you actually need to love Gatsby to enjoy this book. as someone who was fascinated and inspired by The Great Gatsby, i really liked how closely this book resembled the original text in terms of pacing, plot, and themes. the dissimilation and destruction of Jordan’s “American Dream” is an interesting parallel to Gatsby’s, and i really loved how the author added a new layer of complexity and authenticity through her perspective as well as her backstory and heritage. Jordan was, like all the characters, a bad person. her struggle to reconcile her tumultuous upbringing, the standards and values of the world around her, and the question to defining and understanding her own identity (as a Vietnamese person and a queer woman) were interesting and unlike anything i’ve read before. i loved seeing the world — Daisy’s flightiness, Nick’s perceptiveness, Tom’s abuse, Gatsby’s ambition — through her eyes and i especially loved that she and Daisy in particular had more agency in their own stories.

as many others have stated in their reviews, i didn’t fully enjoy the magical elements. i think this was due to a lack of proper world-building at the outset. after immersing myself in one version of Gatsby so many times, i wasn’t keen on blindly accepting the, at some points, poorly explained magic systems. however, the magic was sooooo cool and i wish these systems and histories would have been fleshed out so i could have bought into them with more enthusiasm.

the writing style, the pacing, the hopeful (yearning) conclusion were all extremely reminiscent of Fitzgerald’s original work, and Vo’s unique perspective on immigration, Vietnamese culture and community, and womanhood make this work really stand out. a very interesting book that certainly won’t be for everyone but definitely holds its own in comparison to other Gatsby retellings.

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