I know, I know. My finger is really on the pulse of what's hip and popular right now, right? For real though, I'm definitely the last person in the entire universe to start reading Crazy Rich Asians. In my defense, I bought this book back when the movie came out and everyone was reading it, but I just never got around to it. Of course, I was waiting to see the movie until I read the book, so I never ended up doing that either.
The plot of the novel centers around Rachel Chu, a young professor living in New York with her boyfriend Nicholas Young. As the story begins, Nicholas invites Rachel to spend the summer with him and his family in Singapore. Rachel, envisioning a normal family visit, happily agrees. When she arrives, however, she is stunned to learn that Nick's family is wealthy beyond anything she could have even imagined. They have billions, and Nick is set to inherit it all.
Immediately, Rachel is drawn into a world full of the kinds of luxury that most people will never experience. At first, she enjoys the private jets and expensive accommodations, but soon the stress of managing the upper crust of Singaporean society becomes too much. Nick's family views her as an inappropriate match and begins trying to push her away in ways both subtle and overt. When their scheming intensifies and crosses a line, Rachel must decide if staying with Nick and trying to be a part of this world is what she really wants.
It took me a while to make my way through this book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The picture Kevin Kwan paints of the ultra-wealthy Singaporean society is outrageous and endlessly interesting. I have no frame of reference for determining how accurate the lifestyles portrayed are, but the amount of detail and author's notes included throughout the text lead me to believe that a lot of it is correct. In either case, it was a very fun and engaging read. The only tricky thing in the text was keeping track of who all the characters were. There were a lot of names and relationships to keep track of and my memory isn't the best with those kinds of details. I did have to refer to the family tree in the front of the book a few times while reading, but it turned out fine in the end.
I found myself wondering while I read, if I were in the main character's place, would I be upset with my boyfriend for not disclosing his enormous wealth? On the one hand, it would be awesome to suddenly discover that you were set for life. On the other hand, all the social complications that come along with all that money would not be fun and require preparation and training. To be blindsided with it isn't fair. At the same time, Nick was so naive in the story about his own situation that it's clear he didn't mean to hurt Rachel. Ultimately, he probably should have been smarter about things than he was, but how much can you blame him for that when his whole upbringing was so entirely different? It was interesting to think about, and whenever a book gets you thinking like that, it's a good thing.
There are two more books in this series, and I already have them both, so I'm going to continue on with it. I'm looking forward to seeing how the story continues to unfold. These are fun reads and a nice way to usher in the summer.
2025 Reading Challenges Tally:
Goodreads Reading Challenge: 5/40
Clear the Shelves 2025: 5