Want to fit in a fun read before the summer’s over and be one of those people who reads the book before the movie? Or maybe you’d like to incorporate more diverse authors, subjects, and characters into your reading lineup. Well, the characters in Kevin Kwan’s 2013 novel are certainly diverse, unique, and maybe even a little crazy—“crazy rich,” that is. Before seeing the movie that’s coming to theaters this August, you might just want to check out Crazy Rich Asians, the book.
Set in Paris, Hong Kong, and primarily Singapore, the story follows a variety of rich Asian families and the spectacles in their lives, while the main plot centers on Nicholas Young, who’s been living in New York with girlfriend Rachel Chu. When the wedding of Nick’s best friend means a trip home to Singapore, Nick invites Rachel to come along and meet his mysterious family for the first time. But nothing could prepare Rachel for just how wealthy Nick’s family really is—and the kind of rules they play by.
This is a world where a hotel’s discrimination toward a family leads the family to purchase the entire hotel. Where a suspected marital affair prompts a pick-me-up shopping trip of over a million dollars in jewelry. Where there’s a yoga studio inside a private jet on its way to an island resort bachelorette party—which ends in problems for Rachel, caught in the middle of it all.
Matters only grow worse when Nick’s mother decides to take his future into her own hands, desperate to break up the relationship with Rachel through any means necessary.
While often more soap opera than literary in its writing, you can’t help but marvel over all the distinct details Kwan incorporates to bring the story to life, from his knowledge of Malaysian honorifics to his familiarity with ancient family rivalries. And when the characters go to eat, the descriptions of street food and dessert cakes are a delectable insight into comfort cuisine that readers might not be immediately familiar with.
That’s another reason this story is worth paying attention to: because of the representation of cultures that are not always seen or portrayed accurately, both in novels and on screen.
August 15, 2018 marks the release of the Crazy Rich Asians movie, based on Kwan’s book and featuring a multicultural cast from Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, and more. It’s also the first modern studio Hollywood production to have an all-Asian cast in 25 years. The film is not a period piece set in the past, and not a martial arts movie, as were previously some of the only opportunities for Asian roles. The characters are also not stereotypes or background characters for the most part—they are leading men and women who deal with love, money, family and drama in real life. Well, a slightly crazier, richer version of real life.
The impact of such a film is already being seen through the responses of Asian American celebrities who applaud the endeavor as “historic” (@HaydenSzeto), proud to see representations of themselves on screen and an authentic cast for the novel. When Kwan first published Crazy Rich Asians, an interested movie producer actually wanted to change Rachel Chu to be Caucasian instead (Sun). But audiences of all ethnicities and income levels have shown that they like Kwan’s tale just the way it is, because of the stories they recognize and relate to within it.
As Kwan stated in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, “No matter our background, we all have crazy families” (Sun).
You can find Crazy Rich Asians on the shelves at the Charleston Campus Library: PS3611.W36 C73 2014.
Learn about Asian culture through film in our Asian Studies video collection, available online through Kanopy Videos.
And if you love Crazy Rich Asians, you can borrow the second and third book in the trilogy from the public libraries.
Works Cited
Sun, Rebecca. “’Crazy Rich Asians’ Author Kevin Kwan: “Why Does Hollywood Think We’d Want to See This Movie With White People?”” The Hollywood Reporter, 2015, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/bookmark/crazy-rich-asians-author-kevin-804381. Accessed 26 July 2018.
@HaydenSzeto. “Pulled over in a shady part of Burbank in 80 degree heat to watch #CrazyRichAsians trailer. This is a historic moment for Asian Americans and I could not be happier….” Twitter, 23 April 2018, 9:46a.m., https://twitter.com/HaydenSzeto/status/988459192359927808. Accessed 26 July 2018.
