Chosen and the Beautiful

This novel allows us a window into them 1920s that I would never have imagined. The main character is Jordan, a tangential character in the Great Gatsby. This Jordan, however has a depth that I couldn’t have attributed to any of Fitzgeralds characters. Many of the events in the novels are similar, but enhanced here by the characterizations and the lush writing. A magical aspect is added to the story and it also builds the mood of the novel. Honestly, I liked than the original. And I found it to be more well written.

This book made me really feel the need to re-read The Great Gatsby, or, more to the point, made me wish I had paid better attention the three times I've already read it. Fortunately, I remembered enough to be able to glean the relevance of Nghi Vo's reinvention of the original.

Vo's imagination takes us to a 1920s New York where magic is real and Gatsby may or may not have literally sold his soul to the devil in order to win Daisy's heart. Here, the story is told by Jordan Baker, and incorporates flashbacks to Daisy and Jordan's childhood in Louisville, giving more flesh to both characters. Daisy remains largely the same as she was when we all read her in high school, but Jordan is queer and a Vietnamese adoptee, who wants to have her own agenda, but hasn't quite figured out what it is yet. Oh, and when she's not playing golf or partying, she's been known to cut out paper shapes and bring them to life.

Perfect for fans who are ready for Gatsby with even more of an edge, what will really stand out to readers is Vo's sumptuous writing. Her descriptions of the mundane border on magical, and her descriptions of the magic are so down-to-earth that the reader, like the characters, has difficulty telling which is which, lending the entire story a glittery shine that lingers even after the last page is turned.