Book - Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Having seen the seminal film, I felt there had to be more to it than to than the love story and I was right. The book does give us a lot more detail on the back story of the why the Asians are crazy and rich although 403 pages later, I couldn’t name the different families and how they connect to each other. It matters not.

The story revolves around Nick, heir to a super fortune and only son of uptight Singapore based Mrs Young and his girlfriend Rachel, l the New York-raised only daughter of a single mum who’s built up her life from nothing upon arriving from China. There is snobbishness everywhere, from Rachel’s lack of wealth to her single-parent not to mention she’s one of those from the dreaded Mainland. Like in the film, I kind of route for her and wonder why she hasn’t flown straight back home and got on with her life rather than waiting for the proverbial knight to save her from such savage snobbery. There are a couple of likeable characters  though. Her Singapore-based college bestie sits amongst the super-rich but more down to earth, similar to Nick’s cousin the goddess-like fashionista Astrid.

I was thinking of reading the series but there’s only so much of the overbearing, shallow super-rich I can take without the vital humour. The book has a slight edge over the film as it doesn’t centre around the opposite sides of the tracks romance element but it does take it all a bit too seriously. I’d have preferred a book like this to be full of satire although it sure deserves its huge success. I may read others by the author for the sheer effort he puts into the details.