The Chosen and the Beautiful

De: Nghi Vo

Narrado por: Natalie Naudus

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"Gatsby the way it should have been written—dark, dazzling, fantastical."—R. F. Kuang

"Luxurious, thrilling, and sexy."—Adrienne Celt

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.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tordotcom

Hypotonic and lyrical

I literally just finished this book. I’m still speechless.

I went into this book almost completely blind with only a vague understanding that it somehow tied into The Great Gatsby—one of my favorite classics as a teen.

What I didn’t know was this hypnotic dark alluring lyrical book was almost a retelling of the original story, with a ribbon of dark magic woven into the story. It’s told from the perspective of Jordan, once a minor character now turned into a focal point—a beautiful rich Vietnamese adoptee, connected to Daisy, Nick, Tom, and of course, Jay Gatsby.

It’s effortless, gorgeous, and absolutely heartbreaking.

Naudus’s narration style is perfect for this book. Lyrical and rich, personal to each different voice. 10/10. 5 stars. Could not recommend higher.

The way the Gatsby story should be told.

The author so cleverly weaves magic and Demons into a Gatsby story. It is done so seamlessly that it doesn’t distract from the story of wealth, indolence, xenophobia, and what passed for sophistication in the early part of the 20th century. It’s too bad that the characters were not more likable, because the world they were inhabiting was interesting enough to continue to read more stories involving the protagonist.

Haunting

Nghi Vo always writes such lovely, haunting stories. This one, a queer, magical reimagining of the Great Gatsby, is fantastic. It slips and slides darkly through you, like the magic around the edges of the story.

This book was really boring to me.

I struggled to finish it. Maybe you have to have read The Great Gatsby but I didn't like it at all.

Natalie Naudus can do no wrong

This book was amazing, lovelier then but honoring the original.

I also genuinely appreciate that Natalie Naudus is so talented that I never have second guess choosing an audiobook that she has narrated. She brings everything to life so beautifully.