Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and quality 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 with one of Asia's most eligible bachelors on her arm, Rachel might as well have a target on her back. Initiated into a world of dynastic splendor beyond imagination, Rachel meets Astrid, the It Girl of Singapore society; Eddie, whose family practically lives in the pages of the Hong Kong socialite magazines; and Eleanor, Nick's formidable mother, a woman who has very strong feelings about who her son should--and should not--marry. Uproarious, addictive, and filled with jaw-dropping opulence, Crazy Rich Asians is an insider's look at the Asian JetSet; a perfect depiction of the clash between old money and new money; between Overseas Chinese and Mainland Chinese; and a fabulous novel about what it means to be young, in love, and gloriously, crazilyrich.
No, your eyes did not just stop working. Yes, I did indeed rank this 1.75 stars. I know, it's an unpopular opinion but this book wasn't good. I didn't even finish it even though I read over 200 pages! I know, I know, every book in the past that I marked DNF (did not finish) I ranked 1 star. Why does this one demand the extra .75 star? Well, because the movie was amazing. Which really has nothing to do with the book but what can I say- it's my blog, so I can do what I want! (Imagine a small childs tantrum here)
Nick Young. Uhm, no way would I be okay dating a guy for TWO YEARS who then gave me ZERO prep for meeting his family and in fact HID the truth that his family actually didn't like me and was not happy that I was being brought to meet them. NO WAY. That is a total game-ender for me. I was so annoyed with how he was being so laissez faire with his dating life to the AMAZING Rachel Chu. Nope. I'm sorry... Not sorry.There were WAY too many names in the beginning of this book. There was a family tree in the first few pages that I kept going back to reference. I'm sorry, what? YES, you read that correctly, I had to reference the family tree multiple times in the first 200 pages of this book and I had ALREADY seen the movie!!!The chapters are from different people's perspectives. I'm not all about that writing style in general, but usually it's like two characters, maybe three. Okay sometimes four but that's rare. There were SO many. And by so many I mean like 6 perspectives in this book. Too many. (Okay, I didn't actually go back and count, but there were a lot... trust me).I was exactly 212 pages into this book before I decided to stop reading it. Which is really a shame because I actually went out and bought the books, assuming I would race through them right after I saw the movie. (Sidenote- go see the movie, it's excellent). I was so nervous, in fact, that the first book would cliffhanger like To All The Boys I've Loved Before- that I had to get the second one! Now here I am, sitting on two books that I may eventually try to read again but am in no hurry to do so. (This is a trilogy but my weird reasoning only required me to buy the first two books).The last thing I didn't like? I never got emotionally attached to any of the characters. I think that's a problem when you've been in their lives for 200 pages. I should be invested! I wasn't at all.
Rachel. A smart, self-sufficient, good job having, cute clothes wearing heroine.The movie. (Okay, I know that shouldn't go into the "liked" section for the book but I did like the movie!)
Go: to the theater and see the movie (have I mentioned that yet?)Eat: food from a street vendorListen: The Crazy Rich Asians soundtrack! It's amazing!
The summer - although I picked this up over the summer and still didn't finish it.
Click here
