A review by writewithapendragon
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

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