Review: The Chosen and The Beautiful

If I was going to be honest, I was very excited to read this book. Like, I put my whole tbr aside, just so I could read this book. The Great Gatsby is one of my most favourite books in all of my love for classics and I was really interested to see in what this book had to offer. 

 

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, Asian, adopted, and 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.

QUICK THOUGHTS AND REVIEW: 3.2/5, BORING, WISH IT DID JUSTICE TO THE BOOK.

Possible Trigger Tags:

1. Alcoholism

2. Extra-marital affairs

3. mentions of homophobia

4. Mentions of drug abuse.

WHAT DID I FEEL ABOUT THE  BOOK'S:  

1. Writing Quality: The writing quality, is somehow a bit boring. It does give off immense classical vibes which is quite easy to pick up. But I will actually blame this effect on the original book "The Great Gatsby". The writing style is certainly original, but I do see it lacking around and not having that sparkle in it. It lacks that certain oomph, that certain X- factor that one would usually see in a retelling. The only good thing that this book accomplished with the writing style was the feeling of the classic. And passing the vibe check. I'd have DNFed this book if it hadn't passed the vibe check.

2. Setting: Imagine a Jazz club. Like posh, retro themed? Will it be called retro though? I don't know if anyone's seen Bengali movies, but I'm pretty sure Byomkesh shows the jazz club perspective really well. Imagine old, incredibly rich men and women in the 40s having the time of their lives in the upper circle as they watch the people in the lower tiers struggle during war. I am really bad at describing this, how the fuck am I a writer. You know what, let's just say I like the setting.

3. Character Development: The characters are pretty complex. Since the story is a The Great Gatsby retelling, I think one can guess how complex the characters can be.

The cast was splendid though. The story being told in Jordan Baker's character adds a different twist to it. Jordan Baker in the original story is considered as a shrewd character with a penchant for lying. Back then I didn't like Jordan Baker's character much, but this book did help me to see through the eyes of the very person that can be called as the most notorious female in the book.

Jordan Baker is smart, she knows what it takes to be in the upper high class of the American Society Pre-World War I era. She has the money and she's a splendid liar. Not to count that she's queer that makes me love her even more. While The Great Gatsby story is portrayed the same way as it does in Nick's perspective, a female gaze adds a different twist to it and that is what I like more about it.

4. Couldn't put it down- Ness: 4/10. It's pretty boring and gets quite repetitve.

5. Intellectual Depth: The intellectual depth is quite the same as in the Great Gatsby, that it's near about impossible to achieve the concept of what we know as the "American Dream" . It's just a meagre concept that people have that is immediately replaced as soon as they come across the riches. Gatsby's wealth could also be taken in as a symbolism where he throws lavish parties just to hide the fact that he might be lonely.

6. Plot: The plot isn't interesting much either, considering that I'd read The Great Gatsby before when I was a younger person and was hella into classics. Well, I'm still hella into classics, but there are so many books in my tbr right now, I don't think I have any space to include classics in them. I mean, its only May and my tbr list is already planned till December. It kind of freaks me out to know that I have already planned so far ahead, and yet I am nowhere near as close to ending my tbr than when I was back in January. So there isn't much plot to talk about except the fact that there is a female gaze instead of a male gaze now, which kind of makes the story better.

OVERALL, AN OKAY STORY, would have been more interesting if there were more original takes though.