Review: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
Picture credit: Instagram account @marvelloustale
Fun read!
I rarely pick up Asian fiction because good ones are so hard to come by these days. The top 1 on my list remains to be Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls and I read it when I was 16! Over the years, I have been cautious in picking up Asian fiction because of my fear of it being ruined by badly written stories or misappropriation of culture. Can’t blame me because white authors tend to try very hard to write an Asian literature but ended up, failed very badly. Although, in this case, Kevin Kwan is an Asian, something was still putting me off; the poor reviews. The most common review I have come upon: Kevin Kwan is being too long winded, spending almost an entire page to describe a chandelier in the room and it might not even be crucial for the storyline.
So, after watching the movie and finding myself a bit burned out on fantasies and thrillers, I picked up the book, feeling slightly worried because it was quite a thick book and I was telling myself to try to like this book, hoping that it will not turn out to be another boring trashy fiction that I will give up halfway reading it. But 20 pages in, and then 40, 60… it was ridiculously unputdowntable. IT IS SO TRASHY AND ENTERTAINING, IT IS MY KIND OF EASY READ. It was a well-written story about the life of the Chinese super-rich. So, obviously, gossip is a MUST in this context. Basically, CRA is like Dynasty on steroids with more soapy scenes, gossips, interesting characters, bigger houses and a lot more money.
Speaking of the long descriptions of Kevin Kwan on chandeliers and other irrelevant things, I might have fathomed after much thought. The long descriptions about jewellery, chandeliers or decoration pieces are not supposed to make sense, they might not be crucial for the storyline, but they are crucially important for the world-building. They are there to show and ‘intensify’ the wealth of the characters and their abilities to waste their money away on the things that are useless or unnecessary to other people’s eyes.
Plus, Kevin Kwan surely did his research so well on the things that only the socialites can afford to splurge on. I don’t find it boring when I was reading these long descriptions of furnitures or fashion pieces because, in fact, I might actually have learned a thing or two about the high society; it’s not always about Chanel, Hermes, Dior and Louis Vuitton after all.
Picture credit: Instagram account @patriciadorfer
There are a few characters that I really like, such as Astrid Leong, Charlie Wu and Peik Lin. I don’t dislike Rachel, I think she’s okay. It’s just that I find Astrid’s story more interesting. Not forgetting how sweet Charlie is; all the things that he did selflessly for Astrid just to put joy back into her life. He truly is a Prince Charming. Peik Lin is unlike Awkwafina. She’s more of a short and plump girl in the book but I like her nonetheless. What did Rachel do to deserve a friend who is willing to buy so many designer dresses for her?!
To be honest, I didn’t like Nick Young, not even a single tiny bit. To me, he’s just this coward who expects Rachel to fend off all the verbal attacks from his family members. Every time a family member approached them during one of the many gatherings, he would make silly excuses just to escape scrutiny or interrogation, to the point where I feel Rachel’s the man, not Nick. The part where he knew that he was not going to win if he were to start another debate with his grandmother about him staying in Singapore or going back to the States infuriated me the most. Just because he didn’t know how to respond, he thought it’s best to excuse himself and leave Rachel to have some PRIVATE time with his grandmother. What utter bull is this?! He was supposed to be there for Rachel, given that he did not choose to prep Rachel about his family background. Instead, he threw her under the bus, multiple times.
Picture credit: Instagram account @omgbookss
Another small detail that I cast heavy doubt upon is, Nick Young drove Rachel from Singapore to Fraser Hills, Malaysia in a 1963 Jaguar E-Type Roadster. I mean, I get it, the car still probably costs about £150,000. It shows that he’s filthy rich, spending money on a classic car that probably spends more time at the garage than on road. But, COME ON. There’s no way the car can be driven for such a long distance!
Thankfully, the love story between Nick Young and Rachel Chu isn’t the one that has all the limelight in Crazy Rich Asians. Otherwise, I don’t think I would have finished reading the book and killed all my brain cells.
Overall, I still like the book very much! Every character has his/her individuality in it since the story was told in the main characters’ point of views. I totally see myself becoming more invested in their lives as the series progresses. I went into this book thinking that I would be satisfied reading just the first book and not finishing the series. But after finishing, I totally want to know where the story goes! If you love watching Dynasty and/or a fan of seriously trashy crack-lit, this book is for you.
Disclaimer: This book contains classism, racial slurs and slanderous statement about homophobia.
