Kevin Kwan has a new book coming out soon. It's called China Rich Girlfriend, and if you don't know why this is shriek-worthy news, allow me to introduce you to Kwan's first novel, Crazy Rich Asians, which came out a couple of years ago. It follows a group of obscenely rich and dazzlingly attractive Chinese jetsetters gathered for a wedding in Singapore.
Here are six of the most wonderful things about this gloriously, irreverently fun and dishy novel, which you will definitely want to read before diving into Kwan's latest.
1. This book is set in a world comprised entirely of people of color. To say this is refreshing is putting it mildly.
2. All your covetous fantasies will be stoked by elaborate descriptions of the trappings of excessive wealth. This is the literary version of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. There are private jets with yoga studios, dogs with names like Vanderbilt and Trump, climate-controlled closets, gallons of Hennessy, extravagant jewelry, so much real estate porn — literally anything money can buy, and then some.
3. This book knows exactly what it is, and revels in it. There is romance, sex, infidelity, more gallons of Hennessy, conflict and intrigue. There is the never-ending tension between old money and new. But I love that this book doesn't get mired in late capitalist critique. It's unabashedly voyeuristic, and leaves it at that.
4. You know how Edith Wharton does that wicked but exceedingly righteous thing where she meticulously details, and then skewers, the late 19th century American upper class and those who yearned to join it? That's what Kevin Kwan does, but for newly moneyed 21st century Asian golden boys, fashionistas, and "Chuppies" (Chinese yuppies). To wit:
5. The character Astrid Leong, who glitters at the social epicenter of this uberwealthy Chinese enclave:
6. The footnotes scattered throughout the novel: one part useful information, three parts snark. Here is one such note on a unique style of architecture.
I could go on and on, but do yourself a favor and just dive heart first into the pile of glitter that is Crazy Rich Asians.
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