Speculative Fiction Under 260 Pages: Comfort Me with Apples and The Chosen and the Beautiful [Review]

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

• The Chosen and the Beautiful is one of those books that, the more I thought about it afterwards, the more I came to appreciate it. At the end of 2021, I found myself frequently recommending this title for folks’ 12 in 12 Challenge.
• In The Chosen and the Beautiful, Nghi Vo retells The Great Gatsby from Jordan Baker’s perspective – and in this story, Jordan is a queer transracial adoptee, born in Vietnam and adopted by a white American. Jordan may seem to fit right in with Daisy and Nick and all them, with her bold voice and romantic flings and ‘careless’ lifestyle… but the differences between them become starkly noted as the story progresses.
• I highly recommend The Chosen and the Beautiful if you enjoyed Gatsby. It is also possible I highly recommend The Chosen and the Beautiful if you hated Gatsby. The bones of the original story are present and obvious in this retelling, yet Jordan offers a different perspective.
  • Check out Lili @ Utopia State of Mind’s review for a critique of Jordan’s representation (Lili is also a transracial adoptee)
• Another departure from The Great Gatsby comes in the form of a touch of magic. It’s a light touch, in the vein of magical realism, serving to invoke some striking imagery and to add depth and dimension to the process of Jordan accepting herself.
• This was my first read from Nghi Vo. I definitely still plan to read her fantasy novellas. I enjoyed this novel so much that her next historical fiction novel (Siren Queen, set in “pre-Code Hollywood”) became the first book I requested on NetGalley in nearly a year.

Comfort Me with Apples by Catherynne M. Valente

• I consider myself of Valente’s writing and her creative stories, but not everything she produces appeals to me. It’s been awhile since I read a new book of hers.
  • …Actually, I’ve only read The Orphan’s Tales and Fairyland (and the last Fairyland book came out in 2016!)
• It’s not often I read a book where I want to tell folks, “I can’t say too much, it’s best if you go in not knowing anything”. But that sentiment applies to Comfort Me With Apples. First, let me address what I can without giving anything away.
• Some lovely and terrifying writing is on feature throughout this book. Certain passages draw your attention and pull you in and force you to look at some horror unfolding on page. A great example is the shock of the hostess gifts that Sophia provides. I reread the passage a few times. There’s build up about the importance of hostess gifts and the care Sophia puts in to selecting them and then:
  • “A knob of fresh cheese Sophia made herself, a squirming mass of tiny pink bloodworm larvae, and a sopping wet lump of fresh, glistening meat: a heart, still bright with oxygenation, just this side of beating.” They eat the gifts happily and the chapter ends thus: “Sophia’s smile unfurls as pure and perfect as the first smile ever managed. They like her gifts. They like her. She is appreciated. She is loved. It is such a wonderful thing in this world, to have friends.“
  • Another great example of this slow build of something mundane into something terrible is a pantomime that Sophie and her husband attend.
• All in all, Comfort Me With Apples is a tale well-suited to the novella format. Now on to the spoilery bits!

***SPOILER ALERT***

• I knew that this book was a Bluebeard retelling of sorts. I assumed ‘retelling’ in a loose sense, like how Helen Oyeyemi ‘retells’ Hansel and Gretel in Gingerbread.
• What I did not know was that this is also an Adam and Eve/biblical creation story retelling! It took me until page 53 to clue in that the chapter titles were types of apples. Only a few pages before it was confirmed did I pick up on Adam and Eve. Once I finally clued into that – ahhh, the apple symbolism makes perfect sense and seems so obvious (because in which most famous story does an apple play an important role?!).
• On page seven, I noted “Why is everything much too big for Sophia?” Well, that made sense once the situation was revealed 😛

*END SPOILER ALERT*

TorDotCom published both of these standout reads. What other titles from that imprint would you recommend?