REVIEW: crazy rich asians by kevin kwan

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
Series: Crazy Rich Asians #1
Published by Doubleday on June 11th, 2013
Genres: Asia, Asian American, Contemporary, Family, Fiction
Pages: 396
Format: eBook
Source: Library
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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.

yall i have been wanting to read crazy rich asians for forever. like back then i never really looked into the story and stuff but i was like “asians?? we out here!!” so i added it to my tbr. then recently, the movie trailer came out, i watched it, and i was like “this movie looks doooope” and now here we are, the book read.

i kind of didn’t know what to expect because based on the trailer, i really only had a brief plot. the main character finds out her boyfriend is rich as fuck and she has to navigate through his world but honestly, this book is kind of like singaporean gossip girl. it doesn’t have the actual, you know, gossip girl, but the people live such lavish and extravagant lives like gossip girl. there is so much drama going around through the families, like gossip girl (just with like, 95% less sex), and the book was giving off extreme gossip girl vibes. i really loved reading it because it really just felt like asian gossip girl.

i think one of the more important things i wanted to get out of this book was the culture. singaporean culture is much different from mainland chinese culture, taiwanese culture, ect ect. there are people of chinese descent everyone but of course every country is going to have their own cultures and beliefs. i’ve been to singapore once, a very very long time ago, so i really don’t have much recollection of their cultures and what it was like there. and i most definitely did not live a super lavish lifestyle like they do in the book. maybe this book isn’t super accurate to how rich people really are in singapore but it was still super fun to read about the super rich asian people and how mundane they can act despite all the money and stuff they have. and the footnotes at the bottom of the page with info on the slang and references used by the characters were actually super interesting to read because it was a mini-cultural lesson. 

i think the only major issue i had with this book was that the romance between rachel and nick didn’t seem that convincing to me. maybe because a lot of the book didn’t focus in on the moments between the two as much as i expected but it just didn’t feel like they were dating to me, that they loved each other. and honestly, as i think about it more the characters weren’t that well developed either. i just don’t feel like i know the characters as well as i should, they all seem very superficial to me, which i know that they aren’t. i think part of that is the be blamed on the fact that this book jumps between perspectives of characters so much. it isn’t just rachel and nick. i liked the characters kwan introduced into his story, i just wish i got to know them more. 

(i also read through the second book too which was pretty good. character development still lacks in that book too now that i think of it.) 

but yea, i really enjoyed the first and second book. swear, these books are filled with drama so although there were slow parts, i think it’s super fun to read. and it also helps that i kinda see myself in these characters (asian rep yay!) and i also love the aspect of reading about singapore. k now let’s hope the movie isn’t a SCREW UP !!

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