Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

33 reviews

carefulfearanddeaddevotion's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

3.5

In the words of the late great Aretha Franklin, "beautiful gowns." 

Lovely lovely writing and atmosphere, but what else was going on? nothing. truly felt like i was a long island socialite lounging about doing jackshit during a hotass 1920s summer...plus vague magic? idk. can't tell if the fact that i read The Great Gatsby nearly a decade ago hurt or helped my enjoyment of this book. i remember loving Fitzgerald's prose, and the same is true of Vo's. I'd pick up any book she wrote simply because her writing is so nice. Plot and and especially world-building? Leaving significantly much to be desired. 

Wish the magic system was explored more. I don't really understand how it works or its significance in the world. Not really sure what demoniac is either. She mentions the Manchester Act a couple times, but I wish she went more in-depth into Jordan's identity as a queer and Asian member of high society. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Racism, Xenophobia, Vomit, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Grief, and Death of parent

zombiezami's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Moderate: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Abortion, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Child death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Slavery, Transphobia, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, War, and Deportation

writewithapendragon's review against another edition

challenging mysterious sad slow-paced

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

5.0

This book is short but it took me a longer time to read than I expected. Vo’s prose is beautifully poetic, each word carefully chosen. I want to go back and annotate, I enjoyed the language so much. Gatsby itself is so over-done that I wasn’t expecting this to be so unique and captivating, but it is a truly singular work.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

lzad's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Homophobia and War

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

2.0

Vo's prose is as lovely as ever, and the magical realism elements are interesting, but the added magic and focus on Jordan are really the only major divergences from Gatsby -- overall, the story felt heavily reliant on the reader already being familiar with Gatsby (which I say as someone who is Very Normal about Gatsby), and I don't know that it really offers any more nuanced or thorough a glance at most of the characters, including Jordan. Could have definitely been a lot more fleshed out and more of a genuine retelling than effectively a companion novel, just feels a bit disjointed and shallow.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Car accident, Abortion, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicide, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and War

itsheyfay's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Death, Homophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Vomit, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and War

scifi_rat's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Pregnancy, War, and Classism

kaspersbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

“Under the wrack and wreck of what had come before, the sky was new, and I reached for it with a yearning eager hand.”
the picture this story creates is enticing and beautiful. the writing is gorgeous, lyrical and dark. 
it provided a retelling of the great gatsby that i have always wanted: queer. 
focusing the retelling through the lens of a reimagined queer vietnamese adoptee jordan baker is incredibly intriguing given she does not get much of a voice in the original. though one could also say she does not truly have a voice here either given she is often treated like an exotic piece of art to be admired. 
the dynamic between jordan, nick, and gatsby intrigued me the most and it left me wanting more. i never cared for the drama between daisy, gatsby, and tom in the original and the same could be said here. there were times i did dislike just how strictly it followed the original simply because i wanted more of jordan, nick, and gatsby and less of daisy and tom.
i do wish it touched a bit more into jordan’s self discovery of her heritage and the magic that connects her to it. but the book is just as whimsical and fleeting as the characters contained within it.
the book does take a whole new look into gender, race, and class during 1920s america. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Homophobia, Racism, and Abortion

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Toxic friendship, and Classism

madamenovelist's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism