Published: June, 2013 by Doubleday
Pages: 416
Genre: Fiction
Publisher’s blurb: Crazy Rich Asians is the outrageously funny debut novel about three super-rich, pedigreed Chinese families and the gossip, backbiting, and scheming that occurs when the heir to one of the most massive fortunes in Asia brings home his ABC (American-born Chinese) girlfriend to the wedding of the season.
When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and quality time with the man she might one day marry. What she doesn’t know is that Nick’s family home happens to look like a palace, that she’ll ride in more private planes than cars, and that with one of Asia’s most eligible bachelors on her arm, Rachel might as well have a target on her back. Initiated into a world of dynastic splendor beyond imagination, Rachel meets Astrid, the It Girl of Singapore society; Eddie, whose family practically lives in the pages of the Hong Kong socialite magazines; and Eleanor, Nick’s formidable mother, a woman who has very strong feelings about who her son should–and should not–marry. Uproarious, addictive, and filled with jaw-dropping opulence, Crazy Rich Asians is an insider’s look at the Asian JetSet; a perfect depiction of the clash between old money and new money; between Overseas Chinese and Mainland Chinese; and a fabulous novel about what it means to be young, in love, and gloriously, crazily rich.
The Author: Kevin Kwan is the author of “Crazy Rich Asians,” the international bestseller now being adapted as a major motion picture. The sequel, “China Rich Girlfriend,” will be released on June 16, 2015. Born and raised in Singapore, Kwan has called Manhattan home for the past two decades but still craves pineapple tarts and a decent plate of Hokkien mee. Please visit Kevin at: http://www.kevinkwanbooks.com
My Thoughts: I bought this book on a trip to Salt Lake City, Utah, USA in May 2018 when I was attending a professional conference for geoscientists (I bought two Kevin Kwan books as I realized the book had a sequel). I had been looking for a new author with a somewhat different style of writing from what I am usually used to. On my last trip to the US in April, 2018 (Houston. Texas) I had noticed this book on the shelves of most of the bookshops I visited especially at the airports and on this trip it wasn’t different. I decided to read some of the reviews on the book and they were all screaming “Read the Book”!
Crazy Rich Asians was not as great as the reviews made the book to be but as a great sucker for historical fiction, it gave me a good education on Asians in general and the region which up until reading this book I had very little knowledge of their different diverse cultures and lifestyle. I loved the way the author wrote the book with all the Singaporean slags and the translations at the bottom of the page. It was quite witty, entertaining and sometimes outrageous but at the end of the day, Singapore is now in my bucket list of vacation destinations (I think I will just add Thailand and Malaysia).
