abbyschafer's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
I read this as if it was an extended version of the movie
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, and Racial slurs
Minor: Fatphobia
readingwithhippos's review against another edition
3.0
The award for truth in advertising goes to this book title, because Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan is about exactly what it claims to be: wildly wealthy Asian people and the competition, backstabbing, and debauchery that make up their privileged lives. And I must say, I enjoyed it quite a bit.
It's dishy and fun reading about horrible people, people you'd never in a million years want to associate with in real life. It feels delightfully naughty to be a fly on the wall, listening in on the catty judgments of that dress she's wearing, that plane he just bought. The characters' lives are so far outside of my own lived experience, their actions so over the top and ridiculous, the book gave me the same eyebrow-raising enjoyment I used to get in my college days from watching soap operas.
It was especially fun getting a peek into the upper crust of a culture I'm not too familiar with. I think we've all read plenty of books about bored, rich white people—they're a dime a dozen these days, and most don't offer anything we haven't already seen before. The ultra-rich Chinese, as depicted here anyway, are in some ways very similar to the WASP-y New Englanders I've encountered in fiction before, but in others are so, so different.
Kwan's decision to give us an inside view of Singapore's elite through the eyes of Rachel, born in mainland China (which in itself is apparently a social faux pas) and raised modestly by a single mother in the US, provides some relief and much-needed perspective to the otherwise outrageous lifestyles portrayed in the book. An economics professor with a sweet, girl-next-door vibe, Rachel has no idea what she's getting into when she agrees to attend the wedding of her boyfriend Nick's childhood best friend. Nick has been pretty vague about the details of his upbringing, and their life together in New York is a far cry from what awaits them when they touch down in his home country—he's a much more eligible bachelor than Rachel ever realized. And you can just imagine everyone's reaction when they see how attached Nick has gotten to a no-name American with none of the connections or status they hold as all-important.
Though at 400 pages it overstays its welcome a bit, Crazy Rich Asians is fun and gossipy, perfect for light and frothy holiday reading.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
It's dishy and fun reading about horrible people, people you'd never in a million years want to associate with in real life. It feels delightfully naughty to be a fly on the wall, listening in on the catty judgments of that dress she's wearing, that plane he just bought. The characters' lives are so far outside of my own lived experience, their actions so over the top and ridiculous, the book gave me the same eyebrow-raising enjoyment I used to get in my college days from watching soap operas.
It was especially fun getting a peek into the upper crust of a culture I'm not too familiar with. I think we've all read plenty of books about bored, rich white people—they're a dime a dozen these days, and most don't offer anything we haven't already seen before. The ultra-rich Chinese, as depicted here anyway, are in some ways very similar to the WASP-y New Englanders I've encountered in fiction before, but in others are so, so different.
Kwan's decision to give us an inside view of Singapore's elite through the eyes of Rachel, born in mainland China (which in itself is apparently a social faux pas) and raised modestly by a single mother in the US, provides some relief and much-needed perspective to the otherwise outrageous lifestyles portrayed in the book. An economics professor with a sweet, girl-next-door vibe, Rachel has no idea what she's getting into when she agrees to attend the wedding of her boyfriend Nick's childhood best friend. Nick has been pretty vague about the details of his upbringing, and their life together in New York is a far cry from what awaits them when they touch down in his home country—he's a much more eligible bachelor than Rachel ever realized. And you can just imagine everyone's reaction when they see how attached Nick has gotten to a no-name American with none of the connections or status they hold as all-important.
Though at 400 pages it overstays its welcome a bit, Crazy Rich Asians is fun and gossipy, perfect for light and frothy holiday reading.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
bbewnoremac's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
darkndani's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, this book was okay. It wasn’t bad by any means, but I didn’t love it. There were so many different story lines happening and so many random people it was hard to follow along at times. And out of all of the stories, I wasn’t super invested in any of them.
Towards the very end I was really into Rachel and Nick’s story line but then the ending felt unresolved. And not even in a “there’s going to be a sequel” kind of way. Just unresolved but still ending, if that even makes sense.
I enjoyed the movie more and I think that’s why I liked this book at all. Maybe reading the physical book vs the audiobook would have been better.
Towards the very end I was really into Rachel and Nick’s story line but then the ending felt unresolved. And not even in a “there’s going to be a sequel” kind of way. Just unresolved but still ending, if that even makes sense.
I enjoyed the movie more and I think that’s why I liked this book at all. Maybe reading the physical book vs the audiobook would have been better.
sara_evaney's review against another edition
2.0
2,5 stars
I thought this was going to be a quick funny book. But no. There was no humor and it dragged on and on.
There were about as many characters as Asian people exists, so most of the time I had no idea who was who and much less how they were related or even relevant to the story.
I think that was the problem. Most of them weren’t relevant. And for some reason we got to read from every single point of view anyway. Which didn’t make the characters any less flat though. The only one I liked was Astrid.
What also very much annoyed me was that half this book was random Chinese or some other language. I don’t speak any of it. Sure, keep names in the language they belong in. But if you’re writing a book in English translate translatable things! I read this as an ebook, so the footnotes were at the end of each chapter, which I did not skip to every time, because who can be bothered?
I guess I won’t be continuing this series. Maybe I’ll watch the movie and hope that that’s better.
I thought this was going to be a quick funny book. But no. There was no humor and it dragged on and on.
There were about as many characters as Asian people exists, so most of the time I had no idea who was who and much less how they were related or even relevant to the story.
I think that was the problem. Most of them weren’t relevant. And for some reason we got to read from every single point of view anyway. Which didn’t make the characters any less flat though. The only one I liked was Astrid.
What also very much annoyed me was that half this book was random Chinese or some other language. I don’t speak any of it. Sure, keep names in the language they belong in. But if you’re writing a book in English translate translatable things! I read this as an ebook, so the footnotes were at the end of each chapter, which I did not skip to every time, because who can be bothered?
I guess I won’t be continuing this series. Maybe I’ll watch the movie and hope that that’s better.
amandag98's review against another edition
5.0
This book was everything I was hoping for and more. Absolutely in love with Kwan's ability to build a world that seems like it revolves around the book's main characters.
jeannamarie's review against another edition
5.0
Fun quick read. I actually preferred the movie for this one, but the characters are just so much better when you can hear their thoughts about all the other characters.
keinbock's review against another edition
4.0
A rare case in which the book is better than the movie. The ending was comparatively lackluster, though I did enjoy the story
lauramah95's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
apocowilde's review against another edition
3.0
Fun to read because I saw the movie but I wouldn’t recommend it because the language is just too much.