Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Title: Crazy Rich Asians
(Series: Crazy Rich Asians #1)
Author: Kevin Kwan
Genre: Chick Lit
Publisher: Doubleday
Publishing date: June 11th, 2013
ISBN: 9780385536974

Synopsis: 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.

My Review:

“Remember, every treasure comes with a price.”

Chick-lit is not really my go-to category to read, but a friend of mine enjoyed the movie version of Crazy Rich Asians so much that I decided to check out the book. The book does have a fairly easy premise girl falls for secretly rich guy, and it is the main plot of the book, another category I don’t like dwindling into: Romance.
Despite my apprehension, this book came to me like a fresh breath after ducking out of a science fiction marathon. It is quirky and fun, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Even though the presentation of Asian wealthy culture probably is exaggerated (in the same way Gossip Girl was) it is highly addictive and entertaining. It takes us into the life of some crazy rich Asians and the book is almost over before someone drops the title into a conversation.
Though the main plot is rather predictable and goes like a standard romance, I did enjoy the story-line following Astrid Young. In fact I did find Astrid much more intriguing than the romance between Nick and Rachel.
In chick-lit I tend to find the characters shallow and paper-like, Crazy Rich Asians made its characters come alive. As a whole I did find the characters to be surprisingly complex for this type of literature. The complexity of the characters made room to empathise with them and what they were going thorough. Even if their surroundings were rather crazy, it seemed like they were people. Though people with a lot of money. A lot.
The story is also written in a very fun and quirky way, at several points during the story I found myself chuckling to myself amused by the crisp dialogue and the insanity that took place. I found Kevin Kwan’s humour very easy to resonate with, which is part of why the story felt so fresh to me. It did not feel like a story I’ve read a hundred times over even if it went in the direction I expected it to.

“Aiyoooooh, finish everything on your plate, girls! Don’t you know there are children starving in America?”

I do recommend reading the book rather than watching the movie, because the movie stripped away the complexity and you are left with the cliff-notes speed version of the story. The book has much more to offer than the movie has. I do believe a TV show had been better suited for this book due to all the story-lines  it covers. But that is not to say the movie is bad, the movie is entertaining, but everything is better explained in the book and the drama is better reasoned in the book.

Also the audible edition of this book with Lynn Chen as the narrator is also quite entertaining and gave this book an even higher energy.

About the Author:

Kevin Kwan is a Singaporean American novelist best known for his satirical novels Crazy Rich Asians, China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems. In 2014, Kwan was named as one of the “Five Writers to Watch” on the list of Hollywood’s Most Powerful Authors published by The Hollywood Reporter.
Website | @kevinkwanbooks |