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From the author of The Empress of Salt and Fortune and The City in Glass comes Don’t Sleep with the Dead, a companion novella to The Chosen and the Beautiful, Nghi Vo’s magical realism retelling of The Great Gatsby.

Whereas The Chosen and the Beautiful focused on Jordan’s piece of the story, Don’t Sleep with the Dead follows Nick in the aftermath of Gatsby’s death. Although twenty years have passed between both books, Nick is still just as haunted by Gatsby’s ghost as he was on the day he died. When the dead have started returning to the world of the living, Nick is sure Gatsby is back, and all the devils in New York know what he is willing to sacrifice to get him back.

The World

This was my first introduction to Vo’s fantastical reimagined world of The Great Gatsby and it was one of the most creative worlds I have had the pleasure of experiencing in a long time. With face-changing devils and anatomical beauties made of wax, where souls are written on the pages of a paper heart and hell is somewhere lost in the winding, maze-like hallways of a hospital.

I have no way of describing it other than odd, but in such a delicious way. Its weird, grotesqueness is contrasted with beautiful, sweeping prose, creating a striking balance between the harsh reality of the world and the melancholic poetry of Vo’s writing. Don’t Sleep with the Dead is filled with unique, yet sometimes vague descriptions of the world and its unusual magic, as it is told from the perspective of our favorite unreliable narrator, Nick Carraway, who doesn’t necessarily want to know the deep details of the world, especially when its horrors have turned their attention towards him. Although this did leave me with questions, it also made me that much more curious.

The Love Story, or Lack Thereof

This isn’t a love story. It is a story about love, in all its longing and yearning. It’s a story about how love can dredge a soul up from the pits of hell, despite the impossibility. It’s a story about how a man can be brought back to life through the memory of love alone. But it isn’t a love story. There is no happy ending in which Nick and Gatsby ride off into the sunset, both alive and together. But, that does not mean there is no happy ending.

“‘Why do you need to see Jay Gatsby so damned much?’”

“‘Because who would I be if I didn’t?’” (Don’t Sleep with the Dead, Nighi Vo)

There is one thing Nick is haunted by even more than the ghost of Gatsby. His heart. Or, more precisely, the question of if he even has one.

Don’t Sleep with the Dead focuses heavily on Nick’s identity. As a man made from enchanted paper with the sole purpose of dying in the war, he does not feel real, especially when he fails his purpose and comes home, alive, to continue on the rest of the “real” Nick’s life. Some might argue that his purpose then became Gatsby, which he failed too upon his death.

So, who is Nick? Is Nick even a person? How is Nick supposed to continue on, living another Nick’s life, grappling with the sins committed by a Nick that wasn’t him?

“‘Be a little kind to yourself, please. If you can be whoever you want, wouldn’t it be nicer to be someone you liked?’” (Don’t Sleep with the Dead, Nighi Vo)

The ending, the final gift Gatsby gave him, was the perfect way this story could have ended. A chance to rewrite himself, to shape his own destiny. To become real in all the ways that matters to him. To give himself a heart that is truly and utterly his own. Gatsby was never going to give Nick his heart, but at least he gave Nick the chance to create one for himself.

So, this isn’t a love story. But, perhaps Nick can finally learn to love himself now that he has a heart of his own.

Sins to be Remembered

(Trigger Warning: this passage mentions the topic of rape and its inclusion in the story.)

This is where things got a little rocky for me. In Nick’s pursuit of answers concerning the possibility of Gatsby’s return, he encounters a man who reminds Nick of some of the awful things he’s done. Well, not “paper” Nick, but “real” Nick. And these things are really bad, causing Nick to spiral, for how is he supposed to continue on, knowing that this man he is trying to be has done such atrocious, unspeakable things?

This subplot is not the problem for me. In fact, I think it goes well with this story about a man reclaiming his heart for himself. And it is through this incident, and December’s timely appearance to save him, that Nick realizes how to get Gatsby back. It is important to Nick’s development and the progression of the story. But, because this is a novella, only 112 pages, this encounter and the information it presents felt very out of left field to me. It was sudden and seemed almost random amidst this short story about Nick tracking down the ghost of Gatsby. Especially when dealing with a topic as sensitive as rape and death, I think that more time should have been allocated to this plot line and Nick’s struggle dealing with the fact that “real” Nick raped someone.

Also, maybe I need to re-read The Great Gatsby, but would Nick Carraway do such a thing? But, in Vo’s rendition, we never met the “real” Nick. We only see “paper” Nick, so, in her world, it’s possible. Either way, it’s not the plot line I didn’t like, even if it surprised me. In fact, I think that was exactly its purpose: to be shocking. It just felt a bit disjointed from the rest of the story.

My Recommendation

Since the events of The Chosen and the Beautiful stay true to what happens canonically in The Great Gatsby, this can be read as a standalone novella. But, it will make you yearn to know what came before, to delve entirely into this odd, beautiful world and experience it in its true beauty, as well as anything else written by such an interesting mind and poetic hand.

Although I cannot say I would recommend Don’t Sleep with the Dead to everyone, as I think it would be a much more meaningful read when read alongside its companion, between the captivating world and the way she weaves poetry into her words, I can confidently recommend Nghi Vo as a writer. I did very much enjoy my experience reading Don’t Sleep with the Dead and look forward to reading more from Nghi Vo in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Don’t Sleep with the Dead comes out April 8th, 2025. Happy reading!