Book Review: Crazy Rich Asians

Title: Crazy Rich Asians
Author: Kevin Kwan
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Series: Crazy Rich Asians # 1
Date of Publication: June 2013
Publisher: Doubleday

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Synopsis

When Rachel goes to Singapore to meet her boyfriend Nicholas’s family and attend a wedding, she’s looking forward to a fun and relaxing vacation.  Never in her wildest dreams did she expect to find out that he’s from one of the wealthiest families in China, and that his family and their friends are incredibly manipulative, conniving, and shallow people.  Meanwhile, Nicholas’s mother isn’t happy that he’s dating an American with no wealth of her own, and she’ll do anything to make sure that her son doesn’t put a ring on that gold-digger’s finger.

My Thoughts

This book is a gem in the romantic comedy genre.  Riddled with numerous laugh-out-loud moments, this is a must-read for anyone looking for a fun read.  I listened to this story as an audiobook, and the reader was fantastic. There were times when I finished my commute or ran out of chores to do, but I still wanted to curl up with a cup of hot chocolate and listen to what would happen next.

Written in the third person, the novel follows a few different characters, catching a glimpse into the perspective of the rich and famous, as well as how they look from those on the outside.  We primarily follow Rachel, as mentioned in the synopsis, but we also follow Astrid.  Astrid is extremely wealthy and experiencing marital problems.  However, I would have been happy just following Rachel’s storyline. While Astrid’s chapters were funny at times, the plot wasn’t particularly compelling to me, and the “twist” at the end fell flat.  It was a little too far-fetched, and I wasn’t really sure of its point.

I hadn’t seen the movie prior to reading the book, but I’ve heard (shocker!) that the book is better than the movie.

I highly recommend this book to those who want a modern-day romantic comedy that feels like it was written in the golden era of the genre.

Find the book:

Goodreads | Amazon