Crazy Rich Asians was Pretty Wild
June 16, 2018
Kevin Kwan
Adult, Chick Lit, Contemporary
When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she imagines a humble family home and 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 she is about to encounter the strangest, craziest group of people in existence.
Scandalous, addictive and filled with jaw dropping opulence, Crazy Rich Asians is an insider's look at the Chinese jet set; a fascinating depiction of the clash between old money and new.
Okay.
This was definitely what I expected it to be.
There was so much food. Language. CULTURE.
Sure, this is Chicklit but I didn't feel that it was simply a light hearted read.
I have to admit, it was kind of hard for me to get into and I had to make myself read it in order to make progress.
Of course, it's easier to enjoy if you're a fan of Asian dramas - particularly East Asian dramas. I think it was compared to a k-drama but it really doesn't have any of those vibes other than the major "don't marry my son!" because the girl is usually of a poorer background and also the menacing ex girlfriend trope.
And of course, there were many references I didn't get except probably nasi goreng because rice is life.
The story focuses on Rachel chu and her boyfriend Nicholas Young. Rachel is 29 and unmarried, which is pretty old by Chinese standards so her mum is eager for her to get married.
Nick and Rachel are simply people who want to mind their own business and enjoy their romance. However, they were a little bland so without the drama, they are basically nothing.
Eleanor (Nick's mum) was harsh on Rachel before getting to know her.
"Did she go to university in New York?"
"No, she went to Stanford, in California."
"Yes, yes, I know Stanford," Eleanor said, sounding unimpressed. It's that school in California for those people who can't get into Harvard.
Of course, the prejudice got worse after she met her.
"Well, I love to cook. I can only dream of one day having a kitchen as beautiful as yours, Mrs. Young," Rachel said.
Eleanor smiled graciously. I'm sure you can - with my son's money.
Also, there was quite a bit of snobbery. I knew about the discrimination of darker skin individuals in the Asian community but the amount of prejudice within the Chinese community caught me by surprise! Eleanor and her friends look down on the Chinese from Mainland China as she is Singaporean Chinese. She sees Rachel and other Mainlanders as peasants.
There were two characters that I really disliked: Eddie and Barnard. Eddie was a grown up version of a spoiled brat who was proud of having 3 mistresses after marrying his wife. Not surprising, though.
Bernard is a whole load of terrible things as well as showing an instance of him being a lowkey wannabe black guy.
"N*ggas in Macauuuuw!" Bernard exulted, raising his arms rapper style.
*self censored, just in case xD
He had the AUDACITY! xD I obviously know that a lot of non-black people say stuff like these when no black people are around but STILL.
Oliver is probably the BIGGEST gossip I've ever read about. I'm not the biggest fan (or enemy) of morally grey characters but I really liked reading about him.
Now for some spoilers...
Can't believe Michael FAKED cheating on Astrid. Faked the mistress and child. Even the dirty text. DANG! Just to get away from the marriage.
Also Charlie is a DARLING!
He's still in love with Astrid yet he advises her to try and stay with her husband. It's not often you see moral people in a scandalous book like this.
And, you know, as this is an adult book, there were some not-quite-PG scenes. No detailed sex scenes/other not so appropriate scenes but some stuff I just couldn't vibe with.
I feel lowkey bad for not giving it a higher rating but it needed some extra oomph, not just a faster paced last 100 pages.
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| 3.5 stars out of 5 |
1 comments
Testing, comment.
ReplyDeleteKeep it all clean, man. Well, if you really wanna curse, use minor swear words. And I mean the minorest of minor ones.
"Or what?" you ask in indignation.
"Or else."