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Crazy Rich Asians Back-of-Book Description
When New Yorker Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home and quality time with the man she hopes to marry. But Nick has failed to give his girlfriend a few key details. One, that his childhood home looks like a palace; two, that he grew up riding in more private planes than cars; and three, that he just happens to be the country’s most eligible bachelor.
On Nick’s arm, Rachel may as well have a target on her back the second she steps off the plane, and soon, her relaxed vacation turns into an obstacle course of old money, new money, nosy relatives, and scheming social climbers.
(I didn’t want there to be spoilers here – but scroll to the bottom to see the back-of-book descriptions for the other two.)
My Thoughts
With all the movie buzz about the Crazy Rich Asians‘ Hollywood success, I decided I should try the book first. After the first book, I figured I would try the second… and then the third (after all, I’m not much for a quitting things once I start).
And if you’re wondering why I’m posting this now, long after the buzz has died down, well…. it’s because it took me quite a while to get through them all.
Let me explain why.
I purchased the book on my tablet about a month before the movie came out, thinking that would be plenty of time to get it read. Seems reasonable, right?
Nope. I really dragged my feet through the first half. I don’t know if it was the writing or what, but I found it incredible easy to get distracted. It wasn’t until about halfway through that I got really interested and curious about what would happen next. In all honesty, think the delay was largely due to the genre and the supplemental subject matter (clothes and purses and jewelry – all the things crazy rich people think about). I guess I’ve never really been a fluffy romance fan.
But I did eventually get pulled in. I liked the two main characters and I thought it was cool that I was reading about people who weren’t your standard white American romance characters.
And then! Right as I’m enjoying it and eager to see what happens for these two love birds – it just ends! Rather abruptly. I didn’t like that. But from a book-selling standpoint I guess it was a good move, because I decided I had to get the next one – China Rich Girlfriend – and read it right way. I needed to know what happened?! Did they stay together?! for one brief moment, there was suspense.
So I bought it and plunged right in. But then, once again I lollygagged through it. It just didn’t have that “can’t put it down” affect on me. I learned what i wanted but then I didn’t care that much.
Don’t get me wrong – it wasn’t a total flop. I liked the writing and the characters enough to finish it and buy the third one – Rich People Problems. While I am a little behind on posting my reviews, I still think it took me about three months to get through these books.
I do like to challenge my tastes every now and then by reading out of my comfort zone. But I thought the fact that this was about a different culture was going to be the challenging part. In reality, the new culture was fun and interesting. It was the shallow, materialistic stuff that was hard to relate to. The author threw in so much talk about clothing and purse labels, cars, watches, expensive art, etc. that it really started to bore me. Maybe I’m not cut out for the ‘crazy rich’ life.
However, if you’re a fashion blogger or someone who keeps up on the hottest trends, or gets a thrill from people spending money like its going out of style – well then look no further. You’ll love these books!
Materialistic parts aside, I did enjoy the descriptions of the cities and the food, plus most of the dialogue between the characters. I especially liked that he threw in some Chinese words with their meanings in the footnotes. I’ve never seen so many footnotes in a fiction book before and I loved it!
I also liked how the author kept the characters mostly consistent throughout all three books. There were some surprises and some character growth, but for the most part you could count on people remaining as likeable – or as unlikable – as when you met them.
Buy It Now!
Favorite Quotes From The Books
“… every single person occupied a specific space in the elaborately constructed social universe in her mind.”
“For weeks now she had been deconstructing every look, every word, every move of [his], searching for some sign, some evidence to confirm what she could not bring herself to put into words.”
“Finish everything on your plate girls. Don’t you know there are starving people in America?”
“… her entire existence revolved around the acquisition and preservation of fortune.”
“… be dressed elegantly – but forgettable – in daily life. As Coco Chanel said, ‘Dress impeccably and they notice the woman.'”
“Beauty fades, but wit will keep you on the invitation lists to all the most exclusive parties.”
“Weapons of mass consumption.”
“We all choose to spend our money in different ways, but at least we get to make that choice.”
“Scientists talk about how we inherit health issues from our parents through our genes, but we also inherit this entire lineage of fear and pain – generations of it.”
“… it always reminded me of how life can surprise you. Sometimes, the thing that at first appears flawed can end up being the most perfect thing in the world for you.”
“After all this time, with all the medical advances we’ve made, the human body is still an unfathomable mystery to us. The heart most of all.”
“Everything ends up seeming irrelevant in the face of loss.”
In Conclusion
It’s hard to assign a star rating to a genre of book you know was not written for you (in this case fluffy romance). But in the scheme of all books and my overall enjoyment – I’ll give the Crazy Rich Asians Trilogy a 3.5 out of 5 starts. I mean, I did take the time and spend the money tp read all three of them, when I could have stopped after one.
All in all it’s a decent, fun read. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who likes fashion, romance, and extravagant lifestyles. Or if you’re looking for a good beach read without a lot of weighty emotions, this is a great option. Bonus – the covers are also really pretty, making them great for book shelf decoration.
I still haven’t seen the movie – I’m looking forward to that. Have you? What did you think? Let me know in the comments.
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Books Two and Three
China Rich Girlfriend’s Back-of-Book Description
It’s the eve of Rachel Chu’s wedding, and she should be over the moon. She has a flawless Asscher-cut diamond, a wedding dress she loves, and a fiancé willing to thwart his meddling relatives and give up one of the biggest fortunes in Asia in order to marry her. Still, Rachel mourns the fact that her birthfather, a man she never knew, won’t be there to walk her down the aisle.
Then a chance accident reveals his identity. Suddenly, Rachel is drawn into a dizzying world of Shanghai splendor, a world where people attend church in a penthouse, where exotic cars race down the boulevard, and where people aren’t just crazy rich … they’re China rich.
Rich People Problems Back-of-Book Description
When Nicholas Young hears that his grandmother, Su Yi, is on her deathbed, he rushes to be by her bedside—but he’s not alone. The entire Shang-Young clan has convened from all corners of the globe to stake claim on their matriarch’s massive fortune. With each family member vying to inherit Tyersall Park—a trophy estate on 64 prime acres in the heart of Singapore—Nicholas’s childhood home turns into a hotbed of speculation and sabotage. As her relatives fight over heirlooms, Astrid Leong is at the center of her own storm, desperately in love with her old sweetheart Charlie Wu, but tormented by her ex-husband—a man hell bent on destroying Astrid’s reputation and relationship.
Meanwhile Kitty Pong, married to China’s second richest man, billionaire Jack Bing, still feels second best next to her new step-daughter, famous fashionista Colette Bing. A sweeping novel that takes us from the elegantly appointed mansions of Manila to the secluded private islands in the Sulu Sea, from a kidnapping at Hong Kong’s most elite private school to a surprise marriage proposal at an Indian palace, caught on camera by the telephoto lenses of paparazzi, Kevin Kwan’s hilarious, gloriously wicked new novel reveals the long-buried secrets of Asia’s most privileged families and their rich people problems.
