The Chosen and the Beautiful [J0330]

2022 PB with minor wear. 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 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.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "This book was great. Of course, it is closely connected to Great Gatsby, so you have to know Gatsby to understand this book, but I love the twists and turns. Imagining Jordan Baker as Vietnamese and Gatsby as multiracial certainly puts new spins on this text. I appreciate it the historical items that came up in the text, as well as other aspects that were necessary to make the Vietnamese character fit into 1920s New York. I really enjoyed this."; "A rewrite of Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby from the perspective of Jordan, who in this book is of Asian heritage. It is so refreshing to read and helped me see The Great Gatsby from a whole different side. What striked me with her especially is how she embodies honesty. While Nick's narration feels so fake and immoral, Jordan always seeks the truth and stands for justice. A truly masterful take on the classic."; "A truly interesting counterpoint to the original novel, which remains one of my favorites...there are elements of the magic system that I wish were fleshed out a bit more clearly, but this was really a pleasant surprise!"